Clothes Horse

Preparing for a move and dealing with Max’s worldly possessions stored away in Unit 29 is one thing; dealing with my own stuff is quite another. This weekend, as I ran my fingers over all the delicate wears that occupy my three closets, I came to a hard decision—the time has come to think about pairing down the wardrobe. In fact, I spent three hours Sunday saying goodbye to some of the every day wear that I haven’t been wearing. Of course, this clothing found a more worthy home at the local women’s shelter, which happily took three boxes.

It was even harder going through my gowns, cocktail dresses, and clubbing outfits. After days and days of great thought and meditation, I’ve decided to part with 29 outfits (obviously an ominous number), some of which I never got around to wearing. Because I easily have $6000 invested in these items, I decided to try my luck at consignment and the Internet.

I have an appointment with the folks at Easy Elegance, a local consignment store downtown this week. They get first dibs at the Mandy collection. Then, I’ll take anything they don’t want and post it to Craig’s List. I’ve never had experience selling on the Internet before, and I wonder how it will go.

I sort of doubt that the consignment shop will take any of my hoochie mama outfits. Some of these made it into the Mandy’s Fashion Hall of fame, and it will be a sad day to see them go (even though in reality a stubborn 10 pounds have kept me away from them for the last 18 months). Among the articles to go is Dave’s favorite, a two-piece, suede, pink, micro-mini and halter top, as well as my favorite salsa sensation worn at a 2004 Latin dance conference in Puerto Rico. When I look at these photographs I am reminded of some fun and not-so-fun moments back during my days as a single gal. De musico, poeta, y loco, todos tenemos un poco.

It’s funny how wardrobe really can reflect a person’s lifestyle. Since I’ve happily settled with Max, I sport a lot more jeans and a little less make-up. And even when we’re out on the town, my dress tends to be a tad more conservative. Maybe some of it can be explained away by the fact that I don’t have quite the figure I used to, but in a way, I actually think the more casual style reflects a growing confidence in myself and in my relationship. Who knows?

Either way, I hear that houses and flats in Germany rarely have built-in closets (something to do with the fact that the housing is priced by number of rooms and closets count as rooms) and I doubt very seriously that, even after this pairing down, I’ll find an armoire large enough for all of my clothes. Maybe instead of bulky sweaters and jeans I should rethink getting rid of my space-saving micro mini after all?