7: Clothes

As my small group continues our own mutiny against excess, we came up with several ways to examine our clothing and reassess the way we view clothing.

I chose 7 non-descript items of clothing for work and wore variations of them all week. I got absolutely NO comments on my clothing so here are the conclusions I came to:

1. My coworkers think I'm weird but they are not going to say anything to me.
2. I see a variety of people each day so it's possible that they didn't see me consecutive days to know that I wore similar clothes.
3. Nobody really noticed at all and I am the only one preoccupied with my wardrobe choices.

In addition to those conclusions I also learned:

1. I have too many clothes, and I need to unlearn the value of buying something shiny and new. That was a value instilled in me long ago and is one area I want to investigate more.
2. I truly enjoying getting dressed and making choices regarding colors, fabrics, styles. And while I enjoy it I need to remember it's a choice, not an expectation. And when I get frustrated and feel "I have nothing to wear" I need to be chided!  
3. The American culture values consuming and newness A LOT and I get sucked in unwittingly too often. I want to increase my awareness of such messages and feel more confident questioning them.

So continues my saga with this book 7. I've realized I cry each chapter I read. Either because I overly identify with the author or because her lessons are refreshing and that soothes my soul in ways that are touching (and therefore covered in tears).