My Overfilled Closet and Women’s Fall Fashion

Stage one: Entitlement

You are walking around the mall and you spot a mannequin wearing a puffer coat with a black leather jacket and lambs fur, and a dress with the universe imprinted on it, with shiny silver boots to complete the outfit. You do not particularly care for the outfit, but then you notice the large red sign that says, “Just in.” Okay, so like every other season, with the 2014-fall season brings several new fashion trends. Some trends I am thoroughly excited about and others make me scratch my head and scrunch my nose. These “nose scrunching, head scratching” fashions like that puffer coat, dress, and shoes, may include anything from the t-shirt dress, Timberlands, to novelty prints. Who would have thought that bright red lips with a tongue sticking out would be worn on our clothes, or zebra prints stitched on a sweater and faces from Star Wars on dresses would be popular. Some novelty prints I truly enjoy are things like stencils, neon patterns and watercolor prints. Over the years I have realized, there will never be a day where I say I have enough clothes in my closet. With new fashion trends coming out every month, how could I pass them up? The point is that my closet is overfilled! But hang on, I just saw a pair of ripped denim jeans that I absolutely need! The question is this; do I really need that dress covered in numbers, or that fur jacket that is oversized and stuffy? In addition, once you buy an outfit, you realize it would not be complete without accessories to go with it. Burgundy suede jackets and leopard print accessories are necessary! Oh, and how about that leather shoulder strap purse? I cannot believe the feel of brand new leather! It is quite invigorating! It is almost as if I am entitled to purchase styles I love! What would happen if we did not have the latest and greatest fall fashions?

Stage two: Weakness

Fashion is my angel but yet my demon. If everyone is wearing a style, and I find it hideous, I may still try it on in the store and find myself “liking” it and purchasing it. Walking around Mills today, you will see people wearing Crocs! Close to a decade ago, these intriguing, awkward, bright colored plastic clogs were the talk of the town. After that phase ended, we heard about their demise and since then, we have never heard of them since. “I wasn’t particularly bothered by their ‘demise’ because I never particularly found them attractive,” senior Justine Dougall says nonchalantly. However, when I look down at her feet, she is sporting a pair of bright red Crocs. “They are really comfy, that’s why I wear them,” senior Andie Stone says. After a day of looking around the halls of Lewis Mills and seeing Crocs squishing and squashing on many students’ feet, I make a trip to the mall after school. Then, sadly, my resolve of not liking Crocs wavers, and I purchase a few different colored Crocs. Yes, sadly it is true- my closet just gained one more item. Help! I am sinking in clothes! My closet barely shuts anymore. Christos Garkinos the owner of ‘Decades’ on Melrose, a celebrity stylist and now a fashion designer answers the question, “what is the difference between fashion hoarding versus collecting?” He says, “I am often in closets with shopping addicts. You can tell the hoarders versus the collectors. The hoarders will have three of the same Chanel blouse in different colors—all with the tags on and never worn. Then they turn to me and ask, “Do you think I’m crazy?” Umm…my response is usually a high-pitched ‘No, of course not!’ Collectors gather important pieces from designers and are not full of the consumption urge; they’re more like editors.” You know it is bad when your walk-in closet in your bedroom morphs into your entire home!

Step 3: Mental debates and the ultimate decision

Walking by that mannequin in the store, you clench your hands to your sides knowing you should not even think about buying the latest fall fashion jacket and dress. Slowly but surely, you turn around and just glance at the price tag. $320 dollars! Oh my! That is ridiculous! Next, you find yourself asking an assistant to take it off so you can add the jacket and dress to your collection. It is not even close to winter, but you figure you will wear it….eventually. It feels like a struggle every time you walk into an outlet store. You feel like you need some new color tones in your closet, some fresh styles, and some new shoes. Forgetting you have that same shirt in pink, blue, gold, and green, you buy it, and months later wonder how your closet became so overfilled. Even when your closet is filled to the brim, when you see that vintage style mini-dress on the rack that just came out, the mental debate begins. Should I wait a couple weeks to buy this so the price goes down? We usually add it to our “purchase pile” and decide we need it now. Our ultimate decision is the very decision that leads to your broken closet door, cracking hangers, and full shoe racks. Fall fashion is thrilling and fresh! But with time, we forget the impact it has on our closets. If we buy too much our closets will, in time, become more than overfilled.