My Closet: A Metaphor for Life, Part II

As I started clearing out my closet last month, I did some thinking about  how my closet got to be such a mass of clothes in the first place!  

I've already admitted here in the blog that I have a Thing for Fashion.  I don't mean to say that I adhere to Fashion.  (Because I don't.)  But I do follow along.  I appreciate Fashion . . . as an art form.  I  appreciate the juxtaposition of . . .

color

line

texture

form

when it comes to wearable statements of art.

And, really, I always have!

(My sister and I playing paper dolls in 1967; I was in second grade so my sister must've been about 4.)

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite pastimes was playing with paper dolls. I loved collecting the cut-out sets you could buy at the dime store most of all, but I was also really happy just cutting people out of catalogs and collecting them in folders.  It was all about choosing outfits and figuring out what clothes I liked best of all.  I had the most fun dressing the paper dolls up to . . . go somewhere and do something!

It was the same, for me, with my Barbies.  I loved collecting - and even making - clothes and accessories for my them.  I liked to create ensembles and clothing combinations for their Barbie-life adventures.  (Some of my friends made me crazy -- because they never wanted to change their Barbie's clothes.  They liked Barbie-action; I liked Barbie-fashion!)

The fashion-bug stayed with me as I grew older.  When I was in junior high and high school, I learned to sew and made most of my own clothes.  I got great pleasure in choosing patterns and matching up fabrics to create unique and one-of-a-kind pieces for myself.  For awhile, I even dreamed of some sort of career in fashion.  One of my friends in high school was also an excellent seamstress.  Together, we took our high school elective classes in the home ec department -- courses in tailoring and creating your own patterns and fashion design.  It was fun (and a nice alternative to biology and algebra!), even though we both gave up on the dream of fashion design careers.

So.

What happens when a young fashion junkie grows up and gets a walk-in closet?  

Clothing EXPLOSION!

(This is magnet was a gift from my sister several years ago.)

As I emptied my closet, I came to the realization that . . . I'm too old for paper dolls and Barbies now, so I've collected life-size clothes . . . to dress myself up! 

And that, my friends, is how my closet became the MESS that it was.

(Stay tuned.)

 

 

Comments

[margene]

Oh yes, I traveled that very same road. My closet was stuffed full of good quality clothing (some tailor made) and styles I rarely wore. I couldn't fit on more things into my closet or drawers. Then something snapped and I went through with a vengeance. It is wonderful to see light between my garments and it's now easy to find something to wear, something I want to wear, every day. Looking forward to hearing more of your journey!

[Patty]

The throwing...it's hard isn't it? I did the switch yesterday and did some tossing. I've got some pretty old stuff in the rotation still!

[Carole]

I never played with dolls. My mom tried hard to get me interested in paper dolls but - meh. And Barbie dolls? Nope. I wasn't a tomboy by any stretch, I was a girlie girl but just didn't like dolls. Hannah, on the other hand, loved dolls when she was little.

[Marilyn]

And sometimes clothes have sentimental associations and so they are saved for those reasons and are just hard to get rid of...but...happy closet downsizing!!

[Vicki]

I feel an epiphany coming!!
:)

[Jo]

What a trip down memory lane--paper dolls were so much fun, even the improvised ones. I quit sewing after making a Simplicity Stuff 'n Sew couch!

I have heard that clothes wearing is one of those ubiquitous 20/80 things. You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. It's hard to analyze whether that's true or not, but there are sure a lot of seldom worn items cluttering my closet! Good luck with the reorganization!