I have this shirt that I bought in 2006. I remember clearly when I bought it - it was out the Downeast Outlet in Provo right next door to the Albertsons where I was working. I never had name-brand clothing growing up, unless it was a hand-me-down. This shirt was from American Eagle and something about buying a name-brand, even at an outlet, made me feel rich and hot.
I've worn this shirt a ton over the years. I wore it out with friends during the summer, to class, probably out a few dates, on a spontaneous trip to Wyoming, etc. I have so many fun memories while wearing this shirt!
Now, from these two pictures, you can see that it's not the most flattering color on me. Nor is the fit flattering - it's too short and too low cut.
And yet, I have pulled this shirt out of the Goodwill pile numerous times and it continues to hang in my closet.
Why?
Maybe because it was the first name-brand shirt I bought?
Maybe because seeing it reminds me of a different time when I felt rich? Hot? Fun?
I'm not sure.
And I'm not sure why I still can't let it go. I have a bag of stuff to take to Goodwill this week and I can't bring myself to drop it in the bag, again. It's not like it's going to magically look good on me or fit correctly. So why do I hang on?
Any insights?
What do you hold on to?
I put on a shirt the other day and realized I bought it in High School!!! Not sure why we keep things...
ReplyDeleteUm, I kinda love that I have a very distinct memory of the bottom-most photo of you—you're in my car! On the way to Jackson!
ReplyDeleteI'm so very guilty of hanging on to far too many things for sentimental reasons. I think sometimes we are afraid we'll forget unless we have the object to serve as the trigger for a particular memory.
As I clicked to come to your blog I was just thinking how it had been a while since I'd read, and then there's a picture of me in your most recent post! That was a fun day. And I know what you mean. I had a sweater I loooooved and I kept wearing it even after a dog jumped on me and tore it, until my mom made me throw it away because there was a hole right on one of my boobs and I'd just been wearing dark tank tops under it hoping that people wouldn't notice. :)
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