Saturday, October 10, 2009

Intervention

As the weather gets cooler, I've been developing a craving for corduroy. I'm not quite ready to wear it, but it seems like a good time to hunt for it at the thrifts.

I have no idea why, but I'm fixated on finding a pair of black corduroy pants. On my first foray, I tried on some black and some brown, but none worked. I'm used to pants being too short, and many of these were. Then there were the ones that were just...I can't think of how to describe them...those low-rise pants that gape in the back and slide down your rear? Who do they fit? Whose body is shaped like that? Already I was discouraged.

At the second shop, I turned up a cute, black, corduroy skirt. (Of course I bought it.)

At the third shop, things were looking grim. To begin with, their pants are grouped by size: S, M, L, and XL. Why is that a problem? Because I can never figure out where MY size is supposed to be. It seems like it goes from size eights in the M section straight to size fourteens in the L section. Do I need a secret password to get into the room where the tens and twelves are kept?

And then, on my way to a dressing room, I saw a pair of green cords. Not exactly what I was looking for, but they looked long, so I grabbed them. I get to the dressing room, I'm trying things on, and I get to the green cords. Oh my goodness, I didn't notice, but they're low-rise.

Okay, I don't wear mom jeans, but I'm not a low-rise kinda gal either. Once they hit a certain point, I spend all day pulling them up, and that is not my idea of fun.

But, what the heck, I tried them on.

"Hmm," I thought, "These look good. But I know how it is with these pants--wait until I bend over and they slide down my bum." I bend over, and, are you ready? They don't gap. They don't slide. They stay put. They are contoured. They are engineered. These are some fancy pants from Christopher Blue (which I'd never heard of, but I'll be watching for now). You can't tell from this picture, but, incredibly, they are long enough too. ---cue the angel chorus--

So what's the point of this whole story? I couldn't decide whether or not to buy them.

I carried these pants around the store with me while I looked at everything else. I stopped in at two other dressing rooms and tried them on again and again while I agonized over whether to buy them.

Why? They were $7.99. I am such a cheapskate. Do I need an intervention?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think they are cute and you obviously have the figure for them! Wear and enjoy!


Penny

--ginger. said...

Oh. My. Gosh. This TOTALLY happens to me when I thrift. I actually asked for a discount on a $2.50 scarf the other day because it had a spot. Something is seriously wrong with me. $7.99 is like the equivalent of $50 in a retail store. Good job going for it, tho. They're totally worth $7.99. High five.

BJ_Mama said...

Thanks for the tip....I'll be on the look out for some Mr. Blue's myself

meredithp said...

Yes, you do! :-)

ecky said...

i am the SAME way! if something is over $5 I have to do some serious thinking before i can get it! how ridiculous are we?!

nicki l said...

Dear Darling Petunia,

Buy them and dye them black! Here in the UK you can buy stuff called Wash n Dye which dyes clothes in the washing machine. It is easy peasy to use. I'm not sure if it is available in the US, I will ask my Mom, but if not Dylon is the brand in the UK and may be available by mail order. It's brill!

rachel @ idlepines said...

I totally understand!! My favourite opshop has all clothes for one dollar each, so I tend to turn my nose up at things that cost $5 or more!!!

Darling Petunia said...

Okay, I feel better now. I'm not the only one spoiled by thrift store prices. When it came time to pay, all three things I'd picked out only added up to $15--somehow that seemed really cheap, even if it did include an eight dollar pair of pants!