Clothing

I’ve learned a valuable wardrobe lesson from my dad these past ten years. No one, absolutely no one but you, cares or pays attention to what clothing you have on. These are the only items he has worn the past twenty years. A few pairs of pants. A dozen shirts and a few fleece jackets. That’s it. He hasn’t spent a penny on clothes in well over a decade. I’ve offered to buy more pants as some wore out and I’m always met with a resounding no. He says there are still a few pairs that are fine, just rotate them.

He goes to sleep in the shirt he wore during the day, wakes up and repeats for another day and night. I used to try to convince him to let me change his clothes daily, but he always refused and I eventually gave up. Unless dirtied during the day, each outfit gets two days of wear, sometimes three depending on his mood.

Maybe it’s because he was older that no one ever noticed. Heck, I didn’t notice til he started living with us. Or maybe everyone notices and no one says anything, though I strongly doubt that. Looking back, his selection of this particular wardrobe may have started after my mom got early onset Alzheimers back in the 90s, or maybe after she died in 2000. I think maybe only she ever cared what he wore? But then again, in hindsight, her closet was also a lesson in simplicity so perhaps not.

I should have paid more attention. All that money I would have saved! My closet is overflowing with too much of everything. Back when I worked full time, I thought my outfits were a statement of who I was, my worth. Everything had to be coordinated and nothing repeated. You know, back before Covid. Before we became a nation of leisure wear. Now all I worry about are cute masks.

Thanks to dad, I’m reminded daily that less IS more. When there is no focus on what you are wearing, the focus shifts to what you are saying. Who you are, what you wear, or how many times you wear it is absolutely irrelevant. Except underwear, change that daily.