The Excavation

I had the morning off and instead of doing something really worthwhile like going to the gym or to the bank or to the Post Office (all of which I really, really need to do) I decided it was a stellar time to clean out my closet.

I didn't want to tackle cleaning my actual room (which, since Louisville, has been a really frightening sight) so I figured - let me just weed out some of the many clothes that I own that I rarely, if ever, wear.

I think when all was said and done I parted with, like, two pairs of jeans and one sweater. One pair of jeans was pleated, purchased circa 1994 at a Banana Republic in a mall in Cincinnati when I was visiting my brother. I also got a black bodysuit at the time because, you know, bodysuits were totally "in" in the early 90s and would stay tucked into - you got it, pleated jeans.

The other pair I inherited from my friend Jessica at some point after we'd all moved to NY. She was a bit of a shop-a-holic and would have to clean out her closet every few months because she just couldn't store all of the clothes she had. I would go over there and troll through bags of her stuff on a regular basis. The jeans were a little peg-legged and almost stone washed and I'd torn a big hole in the knee one of the first times I wore them falling up the stairs at a Chinese Restaurant near Columbia.

I have absolutely no idea why I kept them for this long.

I also have no idea why I can remember complete histories for nearly every item of clothing I own.

The big question is, why do I hold on to so many clothes that I so rarely wear? Rationales tends to break down into several main categories:

1. Sentimental Value. This is a biggie. With sub-categories.
a. Clothing that had some historical significance in my life (My black velvet senior prom dress. Really.)
b. Clothes purchased while traveling (Like this great pair of hippie pants with camels embroidered on them that I bought while in Amsterdam at a flea market. They now need about six minor repairs, but will be like-new once that's done. No matter that they have needed these same repairs for over seven years.)
c. Items that I once loved to wear but are now horribly out-of-fashion. For some reason I hold on to in case they... come back in to style? (A black shrug and several, I shudder to say it, tube tops from, god, when? When were shrugs really popular? And why do I still own four tube tops when I am thirty-years-old?)
d. Stuff once owned by ex-boyfriends ('nuff said).

2. The "I hate these pants but they will be useful if I ever start to temp again" items. I have a slew of really lame clothes (button down blouses, pleated khakis, cheap blazers) that exist for this purpose alone. God-willing, I won't need them for a long, long time, because I have grown very attached to the idea of having jobs where I can where, really ANYTHING I want, but I keep them around. Just. In. Case.

3. The "If I lost ten pounds this would look great again" section, and conversely, the "If I gain five pounds this would be useful to have around" drawer. It happens. Sometimes. Some of the stuff is ridiculous, like the previously mentioned black velvet senior prom dress which is in all honestly not nearly as "timeless" as I once thought, hello 1993, or velvet pants that I wore to several memorable parties my senior year of college, which ALSO qualify for sentimental value (and why all the black velvet?) but certain jeans come in and out of my life as my body sees fit. And there are always my very favorite corduroys, which I believe I have even written about before (get a life, Citymouse) purchased at the Urban Outfitters in Ann Arbor, MI in the Fall of 1993, which truly, have only gotten better with age. But don't we all?

So, my closet is not much cleaner, but I had a rollicking trip down memory lane. I also realized that I own thirty-one tank tops, in various colors and styles. Which can only mean one thing.

It is about time for summer.