“Why do you have to have ALL your clothes there?” my Dad asked me last weekend. If you haven’t heard yet, Lance and I are moving back home! We are going to rent my parent’s beach house in the meantime before we can buy another house. I have already moved down and started my new job, and Lance will follow in a week. I only brought less than a third of my wardrobe (as you can imagine, it’s huge). However, I’m planning on bringing my entire closet. Without much closet space at the beach house, my dad protests my decision to bring all my clothes. “Why can’t you just keep one season in storage,” he asks. I insist that I have all my clothes with me. “But transitional wear is coming up! Right?” Maybe I’m being a little too difficult?
This discussion got me wondering. Why are my clothes so important to me? Why do I long for them to be with me?
When you think about it, they are really just pieces of cloth, just fabric and material. I know that we shouldn’t let material things come before God or become so important we can’t walk away from them. Here lately, I’ve tried to be more about the “experience” and not about “things”. When I look at something I really want, I remind myself, “You can’t take it with you when you’re gone.”
Though, besides the facts, my clothes are so much more to me than just the name brand, price tag, or the apparent statement.
They are memories. This might be why it’s admittedly hard for me to let go of most of them. I can look at any one of my garments in my closet and tell you the story behind each, even from years before.
…This was the dress that I wore on my first night out in college with my new sorority sisters.
…This is the dress that I wore when I saw my brother walk across the stage at the University of Georgia through facetime. I’ve never felt so proud.
… This is the skirt and top combination I wore in Spain (my first Europe trip) when I was anticipating 70-degree weather, but it was freezing cold. I would have rather worn my new outfit and be cold than to wear jeans that day. My pictures were perfect!
…This is the cream lace dress I wore when I received my Master’s Degree.
…This is the little black number I wore out for the first time after coming from a bad breakup.
…This is the gorgeous royal blue pea coat I wore to an outside date, and spent on it, my very last cent. I had to eat Ramen Noodles for weeks just so I could afford it. It was totally worth it.
…This is the dress I cried tears on when I found out my best friend was pregnant.
…This is the lace maxi dress I wore for my very first blog post 4 years ago.
…This is the classic black jacket my mother bought for me while shopping together on my 27th birthday. I will always cherish our mother daughter time.
…This is the blouse I wore when Lance proposed to me.
These clothes, these symbols of moments of my life, are my children. They are a collection of my life stories. They are a timeline of memories that can be revisited every time I re-wear a piece. My clothes are tangible pieces of my life’s significance.
When I frequent an outfit, I am revisited by immense events from the past.
It’s not just a dress. It’s a feeling of that moment in time when you felt your very best-confident, smart, beautiful, courageous. In the eyes of a 20 something fashionista, clothes are a feeling… which can mark a moment in time forever.
With every new dress or garment, there is so much potential in your story.
From my closet to yours, thanks for stopping by.
-Morrell
