Another day another snowstorm? An onslaught of snow, a nor'easter, winter storm #6, is falling as I write this, at the rapid rate of 3 -4" an hour with wild wind gusts and no end in sight... I am as prepared as possible having spent the last two days hunting and gathering food, wine, ice melt, and dog food. What now? Binge watch six seasons of Mad Men? Tempting and seductive as that sounds, I like to alternate periods of snow day indulgences with some sense of accomplishment. On my agenda - clean out my closet - thats not big news but today we are doing Alan's too - (actually we did this a few months ago and I am first writing about it today :). Here's the story...
Alan, AJ, my husband, has been in the clothing industry in one way or another for all of his life - even back in high school and college he worked long hours at various local flea markets . Clothes are all about convenience and comfort first, getting a bargain second and style, a dismal third. A typical shopping ritual of Alan's : go into a store, study the merchandise for an hour and them maybe if he actually buys something (which takes a lot) he owns and wears it for the next 20 years –literally – I’m not kidding.
I've heard all the lines and excuses in the book when it comes to getting rid of old, nasty, outdated things – a few of his favorites:
"I can't give that away – it’s cashmere",
"This is Armani, what are you crazy? I paid a lot of $$ for this" (yes back in 1985..)
"I got it for free from my friend/business connection Peter, Ed, Scott, Joey, etc. etc.
Shredded collars, a hole or two - this never mattered much – he’d smirk at me like I was crazy "it's comfortable!"
For years I never said a word and just let him be - until now... I'm not sure what precipitated the change of heart on his part, but I'm not complaining. Here are a few before and after photos..
ALANS UNIFORM:
The uniform is basically the same every day no matter what the activity … Left to right - Going to work, Hiking in Arizona, Visiting colleges.
Alan, AJ, my husband, has been in the clothing industry in one way or another for all of his life - even back in high school and college he worked long hours at various local flea markets . Clothes are all about convenience and comfort first, getting a bargain second and style, a dismal third. A typical shopping ritual of Alan's : go into a store, study the merchandise for an hour and them maybe if he actually buys something (which takes a lot) he owns and wears it for the next 20 years –literally – I’m not kidding.
I've heard all the lines and excuses in the book when it comes to getting rid of old, nasty, outdated things – a few of his favorites:
"I can't give that away – it’s cashmere",
"This is Armani, what are you crazy? I paid a lot of $$ for this" (yes back in 1985..)
"I got it for free from my friend/business connection Peter, Ed, Scott, Joey, etc. etc.
Shredded collars, a hole or two - this never mattered much – he’d smirk at me like I was crazy "it's comfortable!"
For years I never said a word and just let him be - until now... I'm not sure what precipitated the change of heart on his part, but I'm not complaining. Here are a few before and after photos..
ALANS UNIFORM:
The uniform is basically the same every day no matter what the activity … Left to right - Going to work, Hiking in Arizona, Visiting colleges.
Even the baseball cap - "Millburn Tennis" is the same. It is old and ratty - I have offered to buy him a new one on several occasions but he just likes this one…
There is a slight change in attire when the weather is warm - Black warm up pants become black shorts -
There is a slight change in attire when the weather is warm - Black warm up pants become black shorts -
What did we get rid of? Pretty much three quarters of his closet. Funny, quirky stuff that won't be missed and actually never gets worn anyway.
Below:
Ties that are too wide and too loud, Hawaiian shirts circa ???, Outdated shoes, jeans and an oversized sport coat.
Below:
Ties that are too wide and too loud, Hawaiian shirts circa ???, Outdated shoes, jeans and an oversized sport coat.
I'm not quite sure where this came from but I'm sure it was a freebee...
When all was said and done it was time to go shop for a few new things. Men's style is so much more straightforward than women's so we went with traditional quality basics, paying extra attention to fit, fabric and comfort.
Left to right: Featuring Navy tweed sport coat, Grey cashmere sweater, black down vest, dark wash jeans.
Additional purchases included V neck, fitted cashmere sweaters in classic colors - Navy, Black, Grey, and Burgundy, ties in a more modern narrower scale and loafers in black pebbled leather.
All in all I think the makeover was a big success!
But lets be realistic - On a day like today you need very different attire and accessories…a plow and a shovel and a ridiculous hat for starters..
I will quote a friend who called this morning and when I asked how he was doing this was his response - "I feel like I"m living in a snow globe!"
Stay warm and safe. Off to my Mad Men binge - is it five o'clock yet?
Thank you for reading, Lori
Additional purchases included V neck, fitted cashmere sweaters in classic colors - Navy, Black, Grey, and Burgundy, ties in a more modern narrower scale and loafers in black pebbled leather.
All in all I think the makeover was a big success!
But lets be realistic - On a day like today you need very different attire and accessories…a plow and a shovel and a ridiculous hat for starters..
I will quote a friend who called this morning and when I asked how he was doing this was his response - "I feel like I"m living in a snow globe!"
Stay warm and safe. Off to my Mad Men binge - is it five o'clock yet?
Thank you for reading, Lori
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