Posted on by PeaceBang

Buyer’s Remorse

I popped into Marshall’s yesterday to see if I could find a bright, festive blouse to go with my black suit for today’s MLK Concert. It’s only January and I’m already longing for some CULLAH. I love my black and charcoal and navy and silver with splashes of blues, but sometimes a girl wants a bit of poppy pink or emerald green to snazz her soul.

I found a mint green Calvin Klein blazer that I tried on ($35!) and felt mildly enthusiastic about. Only mildly because yea, it fit nicely and yea it was $35 for a designer, but who cares? How many times have I said to you and to myself, “Don’t get anything ya don’t LOVE!” And I knew that the color was really making me feel like an enormous leprechaun or bowl of mint chip ice cream, which believe it or not, is not a good thing. But other women shopping in the store were like, “Oh, that’s so SPRINGY and it looks great on you!” so I bought it. Victim of vanity! Dumb girl. I got home and put it on and felt immediate horror and regret (“Yes. An enormous bowl of mint chip ice cream”). It’s going back, as is the big, floppy ivory white sweater that seemed like a great idea at the time (so warm, so cozy, so $16) but that added enormous flompy volume around my thighs and butt. File that one under What Was I Thinking?

I am looking forward to the first appearance of the crocuses (crocii?) and bought myself a little bright pink primrose to look at while I do the dishes. That will have to do for now.

Please be supportive pastors and share your own stories of Buyer’s Remorse. I need to know I’m not the only dumb leprechaun out there.

6 Replies to “Buyer’s Remorse”

  1. Oh dozens, don’t you worry! I think specials or sales are the worst. I got a very light open knit apricot coloured cardigan on sale a while ago that I’ve heardly worn. It just hasn’t been right for any of the weather we have (it’s either too warm or too cool) and I don’t have the right things to go under it.

    I just got rid of a fuchsia silky skirt that was really a touch short and also just not the right style for any of my settings i.e. work, weekends, going out. I think I wore it twice in about six months before it went to the charity shop.

    I just did a big work wardrobe overhaul and decided what bits I needed in case you’re interested (I’m seriously not clergy, but still…) http://birdybegins.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/a-sneak-peek-at-my-stupid-wardrobe.html

  2. Usually shoes, especially heels that are too high. I try them on, jut out a hip and feel chic, then walk around in the store just long enough to talk myself into them. Then when I’m getting dressed in the morning, I put them on with an outfit, and I just can’t imagine wearing them all day. The first thought that pops into your head when you put on a pair of shoes just should not be “Life is short.”

  3. I am a Marshalls shopper, too. My rule is to never buy something that I wouldn’t want to wear every day. Sometimes I will do just that if I buy something on a Friday: wear on Saturday, wear to church, wear to work on Monday. This rule helps me pass up low-priced designer clothes. It’s not a deal if you wouldn’t wear it every day!

  4. Oh, you are soooo not alone on this one, PB! I do not have the face shape for most hats, but my inner Lady Mary longs to be able to wear them. Inevitably, I end up talking myself into purchasing one in a hat shop. (We have a hat shop in Cambridge, MA that is particularly fabulous and tempting. It must have distorted mirrors and/or drug-infused room oxygen that skews one’s judgment.) Then I get it home only to discover that, no, my face has not magically changed shape during the commute and that, no, I cannot wear this fetching new chapeau either. Back it goes, every single one, every single time! [Hey, just think of them as ART! You can always keep a few around on display to make you happy! and are you telling me that you’re in Cambridge? Why haven’t we met for coffee yet? – PB]

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