Clothing Emergencies?

Well, I've been hit with a few clothing emergencies. Okay, so they aren't emergencies, but as life happens I'll need a couple things. I dodged a bullet with buying a suit because my son's daycare graduation was moved to a new date that clashed with a business outing. Given the choice I chose family. I always will. Yes, I know it's daycare and it's not a recognized diploma, but my son worked very hard on his Going to Kindergarten song and at four years old he knows if dad is, or isn't, there. Back to the suit though, this will likely require a consignment store. I don't see too many suits in a style I like on the thrift store racks. Consignment means paying more, but not everything second hand is going to be cheap or found in a store that relies solely on donations. It's sort of a negative connotation about second hand - that's it's cheap, beat up, useless stuff. Yes, you have to sift through the rough (and there's lots of rough), but you can find the odd diamond and when you do it can be very rewarding.

Clothes issue number two: I'm beyond saddened that my favorite pair of shorts have a rip in the crotch seam. They're my go to shorts - they're black and go with just about everything. I have sorta looked at shorts in thrift stores, but I'm not really impressed by the over abundance of plaid. Sure, it looks cute on my kids, but I'm a grown ass man and I'd look stupid. Guess I'll just have to take my shorts to a seamstress/tailor and see if they can be salvaged. I really hope they can be. It's a small tear and I'd hate to think my favorite shorts are done in by a ripped crotch seam.

With some recent weight loss my clothes tend to fit a little looser than they used to and I have a few items I'm keeping, no matter what. Not willing to give up my lobster shirt, I had it given the slim fit treatment and taken up a bit.

How could anyone part with this piece of maritime awesomeness?

My lobster shirt is just one example of an awesome salvage job when it comes to clothes and there are many reason to save clothes. Here are a few of them:

1. It keeps clothes out of landfill. If the item is still 90% good and can be fixed, why toss it? If you loved it that much to buy it, you should love it enough to fix it. This is why I don't buy into trends like plaid shorts. I want to love my clothes for more than one season. Weight loss (or gain in some cases) can make that multiple season loving a little harder. To minimize the beating my wardrobe took due to weight loss I had a couple items taken in. For example, I had my lobster shirt brought in and given a slim fit shape. Now I can wear it and keep lovin' it. 
2. It traditionally supports small business. I've taken shoes to a cobbler (yes, those still exist if you look hard enough) because I wasn't ready to let go of a perfectly good pair of cross trainers where the sole started to separate from the body. I probably could have fixed that one myself, but I wanted it done right. To the cobbler! That same cobbler has since replaced the zipper on my favorite jacket, thereby extending the life a couple years.
3. It can save money! I had the aforementioned shoes fixed for approximately $10 and my jacket was salvaged for $30. You can't buy Adidas cross trainers for $10. It's just not going to happen. My Adidas have long since perished (recycled) and if you look at my most recent second hand footwear purchase, it was $50 - five times more than the repairs to my old cross trainers. The math is pretty simple on this one, but sometimes the math doesn't add up. I once scored some tub chairs for $50. I thought they'd look awesome in the living room. Unfortunately, reupholstering was going to cost more than buying new. I received quotes typically around $900, yet The Brick had new ones for $300. That saddened me. I don't have a lot of money, and those that do, are probably not going to spend three times more for old office tub chairs versus brand new ones from The Brick. To say the least, the tub chairs didn't get reupholstered. They had a second lease on life in the garage for a bit, but even then, as space became scarce, they were eventually tossed. It was a sad day.

This is where we're at. I need shorts without crotch rips for this fine summer and I need a suit for the odd business occasion.  I'll see if my shorts can be salvaged (fingers crossed they can). In terms of a suit I've thought about renting when needed. I'm still on the fence about it. It's not a terrible idea, but I find the online catalogues are 99% tuxedos and require some form of lead time. I'll figure it out. I guess it'll come down to cost and what's available.

Coco out.