Evolution of Clothes

When I was a girl I had two distinct sets of clothing: my school clothes, and my play clothes. When I was a young stay-at-home mom, not only was there no money for two distinct sets of clothes but there was no need. Later, when I returned to college I again had a set of school clothes. After all the years of not having a separate and unique set of things to wear, and even though finances were tight and so shopping was challenging, it was fun to have new outfits.

Over the past 20+ years as I've been a career-woman, I have always had work clothes that have been separate from my every day outfits. The other day I was thinking about this and realized that as the years have gone by the delineation between the two sets of clothes is blurring somewhat.

No longer do I wear suits and pantyhose (heaven forbid!) and tight high heel shoes that cause my feet to almost sigh audibly when they are removed at the end of the day. The older I get the more important comfort becomes to this aging body of mine.

Now, in the summer months, most of us wear capri pants at work. There are some who continue with the high heeled sandals I, for the most part, have gone the way of flats. Some still wear jackets to dress up their outfit, as do I depending on my mood and the day ahead.

My play clothes these days also consist of capri pants and my new favorite thing - yoga pants. They're like capris only softer and with an E-L-A-S-T-I-C waist. Need I say more?!

The nearer I get to my "R" day the more my two sets of clothes seem to be merging. They're turning into a single set of comfortable but nice-looking set of clothing. No more work clothes vs play clothes - just clothes. I think it's a metaphor for the new life that is ahead.

Meanwhile, I'm cleaning house here in the Velvet Room. Tweaking settings here, moving things there, adding and removing other things, getting ready for company coming next week. I'm looking forward to visitors dropping by!

8 comments:

Donna M. Kohlstrom said...

It seems that most of my life I've had the two sets of clothes too!

But now that I'm retired and live in FL, I have one set of clothes...casual. Shorts, slacks, t-shirts and short sleeve blouses. Don't tell anyone...elastic and stretch are my favorite comfy outfits! LOL!

Anonymous said...

I don't know what I'd do if they made me wear heels again. Of course, no one made me wear them in the first place. I thought they looked good.

When I was a child, we had school clothes, play clothes, and something called "Sunday school dresses" (which we also wore on field trips and visits to elderly great-aunts in the city). The latter were often uncomfortable but signified the relative importance of an occasion.

Karen said...

Oh, I'm with you! Comfortable and nice.

Deb said...

when I lost weight I found that I have a variety of clothes....I really enjoy skirts and dresses again...

Linda Hoye said...

Donna, I'm looking forward to my retirement time when I can have one set of clothes!
Kathy, we do it to ourselves sometimes, don't we. I remember crinolines on Sunday too. Ouch!
Karen, we do get wiser, don't we!
Deb, good for you! I have too many clothes in my closet that I can't wear at the moment

Joanne said...

I love capris. I remember seeing a fashion "expert" on The Today Show about 4 or 5 years ago, and he said capris were all done. Obviously he's been proved wrong. Capris can stay around forever :)

Anonymous said...

Very informative blog. I love today's modern fashion. It is really cute and works great for work attire.

Janna Leadbetter said...

I love this, Linda. Not only because I agree, and think clothes are only worth their comfort and mixing/matching ability, but because wardrobe plays a role in my MC's world. I liked reading what you wrote here, and thinking of her.