The bargain closet
For once, avoiding the mindf*** of a shopping spiral
I was strategizing the correct outfit for my first night in London, where I’m visiting my first college newspaper editor. We’ve got theater tickets then a nightcap in a nice little pub. I think these two locations may be the same thing? I didn’t get all the details on it. But in my mind, I needed something theater-y, pub-y, and comfy enough that if I fell asleep mid-scene, I’d get in a nice cozy (cosy?) nap.
Historically, I overthink these things. Especially if I’m going to be among unfamiliar people in a room where I don’t know the tone. Having begun this earthly journey as a self-conscious small-town kid, I have a fear of over dressing, or under dressing, and I began this familiar anxiety spiral last week.
Part of it was mid-term pressure. Students and professors alike are white-knuckling it this time in fall—send your kid a care package, and buy us all a drink if you see us—and when I’m not close-reading the work of young journalists, I have to reset by doing the complete opposite. Bargain shopping is usually a good palate cleanser.
But this time, it wasn’t. I was halfway through a panic trip to the mall—convinced I needed an oversized trench that would definitely not fit into my bag—when I realized this was more anxiety than an actual packing need. I would be spending money better spent on museum tickets or whiskey. I would have rather been walking the dogs, or smug-watching the Mormon wives. As we used to say when the kids misbehaved at the store, I abandoned the cart and got myself home.
Instead of shopping for a new personality that would somehow fit into a room that I did not know and that likely wouldn’t notice me anyway (the blessed cloak of middle-age invisibility), I raided my own closet. I recombined all sorts of fun things I’d nearly forgotten.
I get into the habit of wearing things that feel like blankets when I’m focused on work, and it was nice to spend an afternoon trying things on not in a poorly lit discount store hotbox, but in my cozy place, with music going, and dogs nearby, and Jim outside starting a day fire. Enjoying what I have already.
A room tone to take with me.
Very packable.
Because I am always interested in packing less and smartly, I would love to know your favorite go-to travel outfit. What’s your suitcase strategy? Do tell.
And happy almost-weekend.
"...shopping for a new personality that would somehow fit into a room that I did not know and that likely wouldn’t notice me anyway" -- I feel this deep, deep in my soul.