I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. My lack of wardrobe is due to Catholic school. I also blame my total lack of clothing sense there. I grew up wearing a blue serge jumper and a white blouse with saddle shoes and a tastefully placed emblem that read “SMS” over my left (at that time none existent) breast. Each year when school began, the only wardrobe shopping we had to do was possibly for a new blouse if one of the two I had from the previous year did not fit or had finally worn through. Or possibly for a new blue serge jumper, but that didn’t happen too often because our frugal moms bought them as big as possible – just this side of them falling off after you zipped them – so that they would go with you through at least two, it not three, growth spurts. Hey, blue serge jumpers were pricey!
The saddle shoes followed the same rule. Small enough that you didn’t walk out of them but big enough to handle foot expansion.
And here’s the thing. I liked it that way. I liked not having to get up and decide what to wear or what someone else was wearing or whether I would look fashionable or not. Every girl in my class sported the same dorky look. There’s simply not much you can do to spiff up a blue serge jumper with white blouse and blue and white saddle shoes.
I was in clothing heaven.