Using My Talents For Good

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. -Oscar Wilde

One of my boyfriend’s many endearing qualities is that he is very much a “guy”. This translates into many great advantages such as he is always there to fix things, he is a grilling master, he doesn’t mind dealing with the more disgusting household chores, and serves as my own personal live-in spider killer. Lucky for me, this dude-ness does not translate into an insane love of sports. Phew! But with the aforementioned advantages there are also the inevitable challenges. There is often confusion as to what qualifies as a dirty clothes hamper (hint – it is not on the floor next to the bed nor on the bathroom floor where one has literally stepped out of their clothes) and sometimes the necessity of a shower needs to be pointed out. Only sometimes, and these are challenges we are working on.

But what I am writing about today is his lack of acknowledging when the need to buy some new clothes has reached near code red urgent levels. I am sure sometimes it is simply feeling as if there just isn’t enough time to devote to something so menial, but when I casually mention that maybe a little shopping expedition is in order and this is met with a blank stare while wearing a thread bare T-shirt with visible holes that is his “favorite”, I know that something must be done. My man has a very informed, classically cool and relaxed sense of style, but sometimes some assistance or a loving push is needed to help with necessary re-stocking. So a plan is made to take a nice scenic drive outside the city followed by a stop at the discount outlets at Woodbury Commons.

I embark on our journey that Sunday morning with an excited feeling in my stomach at the prospect of this allowed shopping experience! Having never been to this mecca of shopping before, pulling up and figuring out where to begin can be a little daunting. A sudden summer rainstorm forces us into John Varvatos. Not a bad place to start, but no prizes found. We venture into a few more stores with no luck, until we reach J Crew where some new T-shirts are purchased, which surprisingly do not include holes but are still deemed winners by my man, and a very comfy pair of linen pants to beat the summer heat.

The day rolls on without too much luck until we arrive at the Barneys outlet store. As you may have gathered from past posts, Barneys and I have had a long and wonderful, if not somewhat dysfunctional, relationship. It is very love-hate due to the fact I have no business shopping at a store that sells clothing at such a price point, though I have usually been restrained enough to keep my trips to visit this tempting lover to the downtown Co-op store and the annual warehouse sale. I will say that I have never regretted a purchase I have made at Barneys and those pieces are in consistent rotation in my wardrobe. But enough reminiscing about my past transgressions, on this day, I went nowhere near the women’s section and kept my steal-like focus on the task at hand.

At the Barneys outlet, many options were looked at and evaluated before a rather sizeable pile was taken back to the dressing room for further assessment. Discoveries were made, such as RRL and Generra fit him really well and Steven Alan and APC pants need to go at least two sizes up from what one would normally wear unless you are going for that look that leaves no question as to which side you tend to put your package. Though it was difficult to narrow it down and still stay within budget, cuts were made, and we left with 3 great button-downs of differing styles for differing seasons and a simple pair of trousers. The final stop was a trip to Theory for a pair of fitted pants that still left him with his dignity, oh, and an ice cream to share for the ride home (yes, one to share…a lot of dough had been laid out and one has to make cuts somewhere!). And even though I went home empty handed, aside from the ice cream, the pleased expression on my love’s face served as the ultimate reward for a job well done!