I Just Wanted Some Pants

I’ve been in a “getting rid of” phase here at Casa Baer. I’ve unloaded some unwanted things and given away some things I still want but never use (can you say good-bye to about $1,000 worth of gorgeous high-heeled shoes), and made my jewelry box about ten pounds lighter. It was time to donate these items to new homes and people who will – hopefully – enjoy them the same way I did for years.

You see, I used to be a paralegal and worked in professional law offices for the majority of my life. While it wasn’t absolutely necessary, it was encouraged, to “look the part.” I never minded getting dolled up for work. In my mind, you dress for the success you want. A lot of days I was more dressed up than my boss, but I truly didn’t mind being “overdressed.” Business suits, nice dresses, high heels, jewelry, make-up, neatly coiffed hair were all part of the professional image.

In 2015 I left that “professional” world behind and adopted the lifestyle of an innkeeper. Business suits, nice dresses, high heels, jewelry, make-up, and neatly coiffed hair are definitely not requirements for running an efficient and profitable B & B. Oh sure, I still wear some make-up and a little bit of jewelry but anything else just gets in the way when I’m cleaning or cooking. High heels are not even safe in this working environment. My hair sometimes gets coiffed and sometimes gets twisted up in one of those messy buns on top of the head. I live in the moment when it comes to my hair.

But, I held on to some of the “old life” clothes, shoes, and jewelry when I moved to Mississippi. You know, just in case. I don’t know about you, but I’m a “just in case” kind of girl. I like to be prepared. I overpack when I travel because . . . well “just in case.” I carry a large purse with oddball things inside . . . just in case.

With all the downsizing going on, I decided that instead of purging everything at once, I’d just chip away at things a little at a time. “Get rid of one thing every day,” I said. So, when the day came to go through the jeans drawer, I was ready to just finally ditch every pair that didn’t fit, no matter how cute they were or how expensive they had been. Chances of me fitting into those jeans again are slim to none so out they go. I was left with 3 pair. Of course, they were not the cutest pairs, but at least they fit, and I wouldn’t have to walk around all day with the button undone.

“I’ll get me a couple of new pair,” I says to myself. Fabulous idea, if I do say so myself. That’s where the trouble started. They don’t make jeans today like they did a few years ago. First of all, everything has spandex in it. I’m not a fan. I don’t like clingy jeans. Second, jeans are all peg-legged these days. Not even straight legs, peg-legs. Peg-legged jeans make my hips look even bigger than they are. Give me the old-fashioned bootcut pants that have a more slimming effect on the top half. Bootcut jeans are almost impossible to find right now.

Fabulous bootcut jeans

Atrocious skinny jeans

So I ordered some on-line. But wasn’t sure about the size. So I ordered 2 pair, 1 in one size, 1 in another. Neither fit properly. Either too tight around the middle or waaaayyyy too long. (Remember last week’s post about my short girl problems?) Returning items is a pain in the butt sometimes. (sigh)

Actual, in the store, shopping here in Vicksburg is challenging. There are a few clothing stores, but none that offer non-peg-leg pants. I tried the discount stores, hoping some of last decade’s fashions might still be available. Nope. Only those darned skinny jeans. Skinny jeans everywhere. I even tried the men’s department. Same damn skinny jeans.

But I hate to waste a shopping trip, so I dejectedly wandered around the store a little bit, letting myself be lured over to the clearance racks where pants aren’t even available. Hey, who doesn’t love a good clearance right? Besides, at this point, I need a little retail therapy to cheer myself up at the loss of my ill-fitting cute expensive jeans which I can’t seem to replace with worthy equivalents.

So, I checked out a few things, some cute summer tops, a new pair of slippers, some undergarments, even a thing or two for my husband. I stacked my arms with things and twined hangers around my fingers. Eventually looking at items on the racks became harder and harder. In fact, at one point I struggled for a full three minutes with one hand to get a blouse off the rack that had become entwined with the other tops next to it with all those spaghetti straps and plastic price tag thingeys. When it was free at last, I discovered – to my horror – that this blouse was so ugly I couldn’t get it back on the rack fast enough. Then I had to look around to see if anyone saw me even somewhat interested in it. I did struggle to get it free for inspection for a full 3 minutes so anyone could have walked by. Hey, dress for success right? That blouse did not scream success. It was a failure on all sorts of levels. I didn’t want anyone to see me even contemplating it.

Anyway, I walked out of there with $85 worth of stuff and not a single pair of pants. I guess I’ll just keep wearing the same 3 pair of jeans. Summer’s on its way so it’ll be shorts and sundress weather eventually. Which reminds me, I need to go through my shorts drawer and get rid of the ones that don’t fit, and I know there’s going to be a few pair of those. At least they don’t sell peg-leg shorts.

What clothing items do you have difficulty finding? Do you ever get distracted by the clearance section? Do you on-line shop for clothes? When was the last time you cleaned out your dresser drawers?

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Word of the Day: Wanchancy

Fun fact about me: I like confusing people by using words like north, south, east and west.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, January 2022. Images by Google and giphy.com