Ariana Brown...yay! Thanks to Angela (Hi Angela!) who sent me a link to a version of this poem. I think it is the bomb and super true.
Who spends over 10$ on pants? or 15$ for a coat?
Thrift stores rock.
I do buy my undies new like Ms Brown and most of my shoes, but I have gotten shoes and boots at thrift sometimes. And I once got undies...new in the package...at a thrift store. Used undies...not yet. Not yet.
Looking around the wee shed I see that I paid (or was it Mom?) for the ladder new, and I use it all day every day. The wee shed was bought new. Most of the food was purchased new but all at a discount or the cheapest and much of it was grown or shared or whatever. Not unexamined retail price purchases. The solar components were bought new. The laptop I'm typing on was new 10 years ago or more. Cheap, on clearance, but new. The non-undies clothes were used or gifts and the occasional deeply discounted new purchase. One pair of boots was new and only on sale, not clearance.
Thrift...probably 80% of my wardrobe is from thrift stores. I was just going through the button down shirts this morning. I'm down to the ones I like and wear with one exception. If I don't wear it more, I will regret the 3$ purchase price and pass it on or turn it into a rag. Most of my t-shirts are gifts or give-aways from events. I bought the "live long and potlatch" t-shirt in Vancouver BC as a souvenir ages ago. And one from Ghost Ranch in NM. One at Silver City ID to commemorate a trip. The other 20 t-shirts I didn't pay retail within the last decade. One t-shirt, a jammies shirt now, is from the mid1990s when I was a professor and bought it to support a student group.
Jeans. Not a single pair purchased retail. I have one last pair of Carhartt's I bought new, on deep discount. That was when I lived in Spokane so about 12 years ago. They are too big right now, so may be turned in to something other than pants soon.
Dish towels and dish cloths all gifts and all lovely. 2 new dish cloths (thanks Anne!) are on the wall as decor until the ones in rotation turn into scraps of yarn. Like next week.
Other new stuff...some pencils from Portland OR, gotten as a gift souvenir (thanks Pam!) and I still have half of them. Others used. Nice pens from Portland, OR (Thanks Chris!).
Things I paid retail for myself though...um...mostly I just pay retail for things I am giving away, and the aforementioned underpants. Though the undies, those are from TJ Maxx or Ross or another discount store on deep deep discount. 5$ a pair TOPS usually 2$ a pair. Bras ...same deal.
Coats I'm mostly getting from work lately. The department buys us one or two a year and I wear them until they are a bit ragged and until a new one shows up. Then it MIGHT get demoted to a chore coat at home. I do have one leather coat (suede when I bought it) that I bought new over 20 years ago. A few years ago I used boot grease to make it more water proof and now it is the perfect leather car coat again. Dammit! Bit big and I mostly wear it for chores. Several coats from thrift including the rubber rain coat (also great for butchering) was 2 or 3$ at thrift.
Nuts to pay retail all the time unless that is something you really really enjoy. Have at it.
I will stick with the advice from Ariana and her mom...every thing goes on clearance. 10$ is plenty to pay for a pair of pants. And mesh that with the Tightwad Gazette advice to have a back stock of clothes from yard sales and thrift and rotate them into play and restock as needed. It's like a pantry stock of clothes.
Speaking of which. I need to inventory my pantry and eat more of it. SO well stocked. Brought home in shopping baskets and bags that were gifts or thrifts.
