A fitting send-off

Some of you may know that I am doing a "purge lite". It's an ongoing process, not helped by the fact that a lot of stuff hides in plain sight. For example, a box labled "Old Clothes" in my basement storage unit seems like something that should have gone at the beginning. But it didn't.

Though these aren't actually just any "Old Clothes". They were my favorites from junior/senior year at college and after graduation, when I got my first suits.

I liked these clothes so much that I held on to a shirt whose collar had almost totally detached. ("If I wear a sweater over it, can you tell?")

 

And a DKNY jacket from when DK first launched NY and which I had stalked at the Hanes Mall Belks until it came down to a price I could kind of afford. I liked to wear this with leggings and boots and a dove gray silk body suit (remember them?). I owned a similar style jacket in green velvet and I rocked that with velvet leggings. I liked my equestrian look!

The blue suit was my first ever. When I lost one button, that was my perfect excuse to buy new ones that reminded me of the YSL Rive Gauche perfume ad.

(Kind of, maybe?)



You can't tell from the outside, but it had a gorgeous green silk lining.

My parents gave me money for a second suit for Christmas one year, since I was working at Nordstrom, so could get a nice one with my employee's discount.

I got this thick wool dobby suit that was sort of "Mobster" inspired. I never saw that movie, but I probably would have dug the tailoring.

My mom pointed out that it wasn't exactly a conservative interviewing suit. That is true.

And I made it even less conservative by wearing it with bright t-shirts and tights.

My favorite was mustard, prompting one of my witty colleagues at the boutique investment bank I worked at (yes, I did get an office job) to say "Boy, Stephanie. Did you take a bath in mustard?"

I also remember wearing it on a plane because I thought people should be more glamorous on planes. And that was before terry cloth sweatsuits and Uggs. (You have a lot to answer for, Juicy Couture!!)



Btw, these shoes. I got them in Berlin. I thought they were heels.






A lot of these clothes were Ann Taylor, including this dress, which I think was heavily inspired by the long brown and white polkadot dress that Julia Roberts wore in Pretty Woman.

I don't have the shoes I used to wear with it and can't remember even what they were.





Liz Claiborne was another favorite. I had these two skirts that I loved and that looked great with a loose floral blouse.






I wore them a lot with brogues - what comes around, right?


I got this velvet skirt in Berlin and felt very sophisticated when I bought it and wore it, usually with plaid or paisley tights.

A couple things I noticed. Sizes really have changed a LOT! A size 10 back then would be a 6 or a 4 today - and it wasn't even all that long ago!

Things were made in the US, too.

So farewell clothes! For those of you that are wearable, may you have a happy life on the back of some teenager who gets a kick out of the '90s retro vibe.

*sigh*