After the Purge

On Saturday, I did what I had been putting off for months–I cleaned out my closet. What I thought would initially take an hour to do turned into a five hour ordeal not helped by the fact that I had my Salsa Mix blasting on the iTunes. Every so often, after emptying one dresser drawer, I’d get up and dance for a bit…or simply sit between the piles of clothes on either side of me, one that was the “Go away!” pile, the other the “Keeper!” pile. What brought on this Fall cleaning was that in the most recent weeks, I had been unable to put away any freshly laundered clothes. I had clothes popping out of the drawer, which prevented me from adding anything new to the mix. My closet was another story. For a number of years I have watched the shiny chrome bar sag beneath the weight of pants, skirts, sweaters, blouses, and coats, all dangling from all manners of hangers.

It was due to great necessity that I went through and tossed what I had forgotten that I owned. Some things I did keep. I re-discovered a pair of black ankle-length straight leg dress pants that have a very Audrey Hepburn vibe. They’re my own version of a cigarette pant. Half of my clothing did find new homes among the closets and drawers of my two younger sisters. One (wo)man’s trash and all that.

Today, I went out and purchased three new articles of clothing. Because my birthday is on Thursday, an aunt bought a gift card to New York & Co. for me. I’m not one who shops there on any kind of regular basis. In fact, I only see the inside of the store once a year. I’ll let you guess when that is. The gift card was for $50, and I assumed that I would be able to purchase one top. As it turns out, there’s some great promotion going on. I was able to walk away with a deep V-neck ballet-inspired wrap-like (without the wrap) top in cyan for $9.99; a pair of straight leg jeans for $24.95; and a pair of midnight blue cotton pedal pushers that hit my leg just below the knee for $7.49 (after a 70% reduction from the already reduced $24.99 tag). I’ve already got plans for those pedal pushers. My strappy gold Chinese Laundry heels (purchased a couple summers back) look nice with them.