I like clothes shopping. My oldest daughter and I firmly believe that a couple hours amid pretty things is a great way to decompress and lift our mood. This is especially true when the skies are 10-days of gray, accompanied by weeks of below freezing temperatures.
The last time my daughter and I were in Dallas, we enjoyed a fun shopping afternoon at a few department stores. As I surfed the racks, I came across this Free People shacket for the bargain price of $128 (sorry no pic of the tag-I tried to find it online to show you!).
I remembered when my kids were starting middle school and ripped jeans came into style. I told the girls that Dad would happily cut messy holes in their jeans and save the $60. Of course, these types of jeans became the norm…the look of well-worn denim seen even in my own closet (shhh🤫).
But a shacket that looks like it came out of a foreclosed house that was vacant for 20 years, stuffed in a basement box, worn out by whoever owned it…for that price? Yet, the $128 tag wasn’t my major takeaway. Instead, I contemplated one of the lessons in The Emperor’s New Clothes. The age-old, ever-present vanity combined with the deceitful yet brilliant tactics of tricksters (advertisers).
If the delusion created by clever advertisers captures enough attention, the brand or item becomes the must-have. I’m guessing it’s safe to say all of us have walked by clothing asking, “who in the world would pay for this?!” I’m also positively guilty of buying the must-have-whatever at some point in my life…but never this shacket.
Certainly, what one person thinks is beautiful another finds ugly. Whether the budget is $5 or $500, different brands will appeal to different groups. This shacket might be viewed as trendy on a famous Hollywood actress, but bring further concern to a school teacher already worried that the student wearing the shacket is homeless.
When the kids were younger and I said “no” to something expensive (for a child who would outgrow it in a minute), they would assume we couldn’t afford it. For a long time, I’d answer, “you’re right, we can’t”. As they grew, I changed my response. “We could buy that, but we choose to spend on other, more important, worthwhile, durable items, experiences, (whatever).”
No diss to the URBN brands-Free People, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters (and more) who sell plenty of very cute clothes. Well-done getting obscene prices for the particularly ragged, tatty pieces. Many other companies are doing the same.
I guess today’s tale comes from a mid-life mama who still tries to reflect classy fashion, but is unapologetic about “messy” clothes still looking messy, regardless of the cost, popularity or person wearing them.
Do I sound old?
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Tales from a Mid-Lifer 
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