150. Raise Your Hand...

...if you shop like I do.

Find something that fits great, looks great, at a great price; buy one in every color. 

Work-worthy sleeveless tops from JCPenney. They were on sale for a certain price, but they rang up at an even more reduced price.  Plus, I used my Penney's card for an additional 15% off that day.  Soon they were going to be paying me to take them off their hands.  I exaggerate:  I did not buy them in every color -- only three of six available colors.  But that's only because they didn't have the other colors in my size, and, well, one of the colors was magenta, which really looks quite hideous on me and, when I see it in clothes, makes me want to vomit. I'm an equal-opportunity color-lover except when it comes to magenta and neons. (Although I can tolerate them in small doses -- very small doses -- such as in prints. And magenta flowers?  I'm all about it.)

May I also take this opportunity to mention, in a separate but related topic, that it's nice getting older.  When I was young, I was far too self-conscious of my arms to go sleeveless.  And I am a sweater.  No, I am not a cardigan or a pullover -- I am a person who SWEATS.  So going sleeveless, especially in these days when we are all trying, or should be trying, to cut back on air conditioning, is a great option.  And not going sleeveless, when you are indeed a sweater, and inevitably end up with large sweat rings on your garment under your arms, regardless if the temperature is 40 below or 100 above, is not a good look.  It's a good thing that as I've gotten older, I don't care that my arms are as big as a man's, or that I have some extra fat and cellulite, or that I'm pale.  Screw it.  I don't have the perfect body, but I'm fit enough, and healthy. 

Several months ago, I was working out at the gym with Abigail.  I of course was sweating, A LOT, as I do.  And Abigail was bothered by the fact that I had a sweat mark somewhere near one of my nipples.  She said, "That's an unfortunate location for sweat to show," and I'm quite sure she wanted a) me to cover it up, and b) to not let anyone know that she was with me. God, I can remember being like that.  I'm sooooooo glad that phase is over.  What a trivial, trivial thing to worry about.

It's so freeing. Another good reason for being over 45. 

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One hundred and fifty posts this year. Two hundred eleven nonstop since November 1, 2007.  I guess I'm on a roll, and I like it.

Comments

[Kristen]

Yup, I do shop like you do. I have a stack of my standard "dressy enough" uniform of variations on the v-neck t-shirt. To go with my favorite brand of pants, of course. I don't have one of those in every color, but variations on plain black and black with subtle pinstripes or other understated design elements.

Congrats on hitting the 150 milestone!

[Adrianne]

Hello sweater vests in black, orange, and brown. Hello poufy-sleeved-blouse with sleeves-to-my-elbows -that covers my tattoo- in cream and navy. Hello just good enough for work pants from the thrift store in both green and tan. Hello winter turtlenecks in black (2), orange, green and light blue. Yes, my hand is up. (ps, I know the grammar is bad.)

[moiraeknittoo]

Oh hell yes, are you kidding? Especially since I'm of a size where the only shirts seem to come in the "Metallic Vomitous" or "God Awful Ugly Print found on acid tripping 60s curtains" see through polyester fabric in stores right now. When I find something that works, I buy as many as I can in colors that work for me, and like six black ones. :P

[Terri]

I also buy several if I can find them. My work pants are black, with an occasional burst of navy, gray, or dark brown. I do enjoy my sweaters in the winter though.

[margene]

Yes, yes! I would not what to be young and self conscience again! I do the same thing....buy every color I like in clothing. It makes getting dressed SO easy each day.

[kathy]

I shop like that too! Thought I was the only one. The even better way to shop is to have a friend call saying they have sleeveless tanks on sale, names the colors, I choose what I want, and voila, she brings them to me! And, yes, being over 45 is liberating. My arms are very skinny and long so I always wore sleeves to break them up--back in my youth when I cared about such insignificant things.

have a great day!

[Ellen]

When I was younger I used to NEVER sweat. We lived in Alabama, and summers there were in the 90's for weeks on end. Sometime in the past 10 years I have become a sweater in unfortunate locations. I can look like I wet my pants, so I have to be careful about what color I wear! And I sweat anywhere there is constricting clothing--bra, waistband, you name it. I runs down between my breasts, and down my back into my pants. At the gym I don't mind it so much--everyone is sweaty there, but when I get into a hot car on my way to work...well, not the best way to start the day. The best I can hope for is that the A/C will dry it out before I have to get out of the car. My top reason for hating summer.

[Mary Beth]

What a fun post...great thoughts to end the week...off to see if I can find a bargain in multiple colors.

[Cheryl S.]

I'm raising both hands - one because yes, if I find something I love and they have it in different colors in my size, I have certainly been known to buy several. I even bought two of the exact same pants in the same color once. The other hand is raised because I, too, am a sweater and have to deal with those wretched sweat rings.

[Ann]

Lol, sleeveless after 40. My 24 year old neice has arms that "flap in the wind" worse than mine ever could. Shop...I just bought 3 tops, 2 bras and another pair of capris yesterday and am off to Ann Taylor Loft for their slae on sale merchandise. I am in the middle of reorganizing my stash-yikes should be staying away from yarn for a loooonnnngg while......

[britt]

HA! I do the same thing, thought I have been known to purchase 6 of the exact same t-shirt (same color too) b/c they were 97 cents. I mean who can pass that up? I sweat alot at the gym, but I think you are supposed to there and thankfully i go to a gym where no one wants to "check you out" so I don't worry about what sweats and where the sweat lands. Trivial is right!

[maryse]

i've been buying multiples since i was old enough to buy my own clothes. and i buy multiples of the same exact thing too if the fit and price is right too. i love the colors you chose. i would have picked those colors too.

and the sweat. i have a friend (male) who sweats in a giant mickey mouse head pattern on his chest. cracks me up when mickey shows up on his t-shirt.

worse than the nipple sweat mark is the groin sweat mark. now that's unfortunate.

[marianne]

Yes, of COURSE.... the problem is finding something I like and it fitting well... I hates to shop. I have 3 linen skirts, (lt blue, sage green, beige) 4 linen sleeveless tunic tops bought a few years ago.... I'm going to cry buckets when they fall apart.

[Cara]

I shop the same way - although I bought two magenta shirts this season - it looks good on me. What can I say?

And the sweating thing? I am so with you. I sweat all the freaking time. I was a sweater before I had the baby and now? My cup overfloweth.

[Kathy]

I shop the same way.

[Roxie]

I, too, am what every Alaskan wants - a heavy sweater. When I go sleeveless, I look like a flying squirrel in drag. And I still wave byebye with the best of them. My theory is that people are so worried about how they themselves look, that they don't really notice the people around them. And if nothing else, I can always be a bad example.

Major score on those shirts! Bravo!!

[Lee Ann]

Is there a fortunate place for sweat to show?

(rolls eyes...)

I want that sweater. I look like crap in magenta. Teal, too. Anything that can be described as a "jewel tone" makes me look like I need to go hurl into the petunias.

Haven't been around much but I'm sort of returning to blogreadinglife. Hiphop performances last weekend and this weekend, but soon I hope I'll be actually posting, once I put my ass back on. I miss you. Will try to say so more often, sweetiepie. :-)

[Cathy-Cate]

Both hands raised here!

Because if you go back to get more of the same thing, they're gone. Forever.

There is a perspective that only seeing time pass, crises happen and be weathered, and also trends come, go, and COME BACK AGAIN after being mocked in the interim (HA!), gives you. I also give thanks for perspective. A certain ironic viewpoint comes with it.

[Sarah]

Another sweater! I am way too easily amused this morning!

[Sarah]

Also, I would raise a hand, but the sweating for me is sometimes quite stinky.

[naomi]

Yup. And sometimes I'll buy two in my favorite color.

[Sarahfish]

Wow, that's quite a streak! Congrats!

You know, I have become a sucker for Magenta. That colour was the one that had me realise that I'm probably not an "Autumn" as I had thought but more "Winter" as my mother. It totally makes my face light up! Though the coral can just stay on the hanger! So not a coral person.

Anyone else remember the "Colour Me Beautiful" programme?

[Tygher Knits]

I shop the same way, if it's at all feasible. I recently found a sleeveless top I loved, but the only other color other than the black/white print I loved was .. oddly enough .. a magenta print that did not at all flatter me. *sigh*

I have tried to cut back to only buying two or three tops when I find good styles. Because ... well .. buying 6-7 of something ends me up with 30 tops I never wear because I have too many!

[Dave Daniels]

So, you're liking the getting older stuff, huh? I remember saying that. Just wait. Did you get your application for AARP yet? I got mine the other day. It was shocking, really. It was a true milestone moment, and I'm not even "that" old. Yet. *sigh* And, speaking of wet stains, seniors get discounts on adult diapers with their AAARP card. :) One less thing for you to worry about.

[Cookie]

I got my AARP invite the day before I turned 30. I hate those people.

Congrats on the posting!

In my climate, if it's summer, I'm sweaty. I've just given up. There's no point in trying to fight it anymore. Oh, and I may buy several of the same thing at one time, but you'll never get me to admit it. ;^)

XO

[Diane T]

Yep, my closet is full of the same tops in different colors. I live in LLBean pima cotton v-neck t-shirts, short sleeves for summer and long sleeves for cooler temps. I have to remind myself to wear something else occasionally. I think I'm in a rut.

Nothing pisses me off more to find jeans that fit me *just right* and go back to buy the same style and the second pair just isn't as comfortable. What's up with that?

It was a giant leap for me to buy sleeveless tank tops to exercise in. Still working on this phobia. Maybe when I'm 60 I'll let my batwings fly.

[Barb]

Hee, hee, I shop like that too.... I was watching "What Not to Wear" the other day and the "contestant" picked up 10 of the same style shirt in different colors. I commented to dh that is something I do. I have had, at one time, 3 of the same style shirt in different colors that I wore all the time. Now I'm down to only 2 (one of the started falling apart!).

[jmelissa]

I do that! I have a bunch of identical shirts in different colors... much easier that way! (and, finding shirts that are flattering, look good with jeans, don't wrinkle much, and are easy care is kinda tricky...)

[Andi]

O.M.G. I do that with shoes, tops, shorts, jeans… It's an affliction!

And I thought I'd tell you, because of your post on Lasagna gardening, I now have two 3 x 3 raised beds from Gardner's Supply (they came within a week of ordering!) and will put the 5 heirloom tomato plants that my brother has lovingly raised from seed into them this weekend. Wish me luck.

[donna lee]

I like to shop (yes, I really do so just stop) but don't do it often. And I love being over 50. Yes, I am one of the whitest white folks you will ever see and my arms are no longer as thin and toned as they once were. And I do not "glow" or "perspire" I also sweat. A lot. I envy folks who don't and I always feel a mess in the heat because of it. But I now wear my sleeveless shirts and skirts without hose all summer and tough for anyone who doesn't want to see my neon skin! I am more comfortable in my own skin than ever and I worked hard to get to this place. So, if anyone doesn't like it, they can just avert their eyew but they'll be missing the chance to meet one terrific old chick!

[Joan]

And I've enjoyed every single one of those 211 posts-- Thanks, Norma!

[Seanna Lea]

I have a lot of once off clothing in my closet, but with nearly everything being in black, blue, grey or purple there is a tendency to never shift out of my little color niche. Which is why a lot of my knits don't match at all (except for nearly anything matching black).

I am not a big sweater, but I figure that if I am at the gym that my job is to sweat as much as possible and by the time I'm done with the elliptical or the treadmill the sweat is a sheen on my skin.

I did a half marathon last weekend, and it was just warm and dry enough that I never really felt sweaty. But when I was done I realized that my lips were really salty.

[claudia]

I think it would take 2,111 posts before you ran out of words. Maybe more.

;-)

[Kristine]

Back when I could afford to shop (sigh) yes, I absolutely shopped like that.

And is it a good sign that I'm mostly over that at 28? It could just be new motherhood talking, but I figure, I'm not wasting nursing pads when I'm at home, if someone wants to come see me, they can deal with the occasional leakage. Plus, it's fun to watch people simultaneously stare and avert their eyes. Makes me think their eyes are going to fall out of their heads. Hehe.

[Kathy]

I am ever so slightly older than you (46) and so with you on the age thing. I am absolutely delighted to be this age because I know what I want and I'm not worried about what I look like on any given day. I can wash my hands, change my shoes and go to the grocery store in my gardening clothes because I need to pick up three things for supper, and I can chat with the friend I bump into without apologizing for how I look. I couldn't manage that at 20 or 30. I like being free from the major anxiety of "what will people think?" They'll think what they want to, as do I, and it doesn't affect me at all.