In the Closet

Every so often, I wonder if I have too many clothes. There is a rule of thumb that you should get rid of anything you don't wear within a year (except for the occasional, semi-formal/formal outfit). I think I fit that, but I have extenuating circumstances.

I'm no Imelda Marcos, but I have a taste of why women need so many shoes. I have work boots in black and brown, so they coordinate with the clothes I wear to the office. I have everyday sneakers and walking sneakers. I have black and brown casual shoes for business trips. I have leather sandals for wearing to go out and my synthetic sandals to take out the trash or watering my planters and getting my feet wet. For particular uses, I have hiking boots and thongs (a.k.a. flip-flops or zoris). Finally, I have dress shoes in black, brown, and cordovan.

I do cycle through the work and casual shirts and pants in my closet within a year (and,within those groups, I have polo-style, rugby-style, short sleeve button-front, and long sleeve button-front). T-shirts go just as quickly because I use them for exercising. Tank tops and sweatshirts are seasonal, but I wear them at least once, as well. Sweaters are a bit iffy, but I keep them on hand in case I attend a dressy-casual occasion in the winter.

In the southwestern U.S., we are very casual dressers. If you see a man in a tie, chances are he's a lawyer or a banker. If it's a college student wearing a tie, you can assume he has a presentation in class that day. (I once wore a tie to a wedding in Las Vegas, NV. The groom's younger brother took great pains to button his shirt for the occasion.) Still, I have my summer suit, my winter suit, and my mix-and-match blazer and slacks. I have more ties than I know what to do with, and most of them are "novelty" (Scooby-Doo, Garfield, pool balls, popcorn, the Muppets), but I don't have a plain charcoal gray tie to match my suit at funerals (I generally use a dark purple). In the past year, I attended a wedding, a funeral, and two semi-formal dinners. Plus, I have a wedding next month. That's five occasions in fourteen months. I'm used to dressing up (in the southwestern U.S.) about five times in five years.

I can't get rid of my dress shirts, either. A man has to have light blue, light red (or pink), light yellow, light green, and light purple for variety. They can be solid, striped, or checked. White shirts have just as much variety. What weight of cotton are they? Do they have a subtle pinstripe? Do they have buttoned or French cuffs (which need cufflinks)? Is the collar button-down or regular? What shape is the collar?

I've gone on too long as it is, but I have a similar problem in my mom's house. After all, I don't want to shlep clothes back and forth for a weekend, so I keep some up there: T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, polo shirts, jeans, slacks, shorts, about everything except dressy stuff -- and my mom is trying to get me to take some of my dad's clothes.