There is something about a favorite sweater or pair of jeans that puts a spring in your step in the morning when you're on your way out the door. When you find something flattering, and you see your silhouette for the first time, with your angles and curves lined up just so, with the colors bringing out the right undertones in your skin...it's like you've found the costume perfect to the character you're playing in your life. It's "you".
Because of this, I appreciate those who simply do this the best. Unfortunately...I don't have the money for brands and designers I love. So what is a poor grad student with this sartorial sensitivity to do?
Over the course of my time in grad school, I have become an avid thrifter. Second hand clothing has somewhat of a stigma surrounding it, so I've kept much of my Goodwill habit a secret (...unless you know me well, or you ask where I got something, in which case I get very excited to tell you about it). But a good 75% of my wardrobe is second hand, and that's all thanks to the force of nature I have officially dubbed my "Fairy God-Donator".
Fairy God-Donator (or FGD) started off in my mind as a woman, probably a little older than me, with a great job, exquisite taste and my exact measurements. She is closest to "Madame Chic" in Jennifer Scott's "Lessons from Madame Chic" series, or Marie Kondo (author of "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up"). She was donating Banana Republic sweaters and denim, J Crew dresses, and leather boots in top condition, in the styles I would have selected, and I was snapping them up like there was no tomorrow. But over the years I've come to realize that she's more of a spiritual being (sort of like the "spirit" of Santa Clause). She is everywhere; at Urban Exchange in Grand Rapids, at Savers in Naperville, at Clothes Mentor in Aurora...leaving little gifts to her grad school style protege when she was finished with them. The "spirit" of my FGD lives in every generous woman who gives her clothes to these stores in the hopes they find a new home with someone who can appreciate them.
So this post is dedicated to my own FGD...and highlights some of the more generous and beautiful pieces she has left behind, just waiting for me to find them.
The Banana Republic Martin fit tweed wool trousers. How did you know I couldn't find a single pair of dress pants that I liked? They are dressy without being glossy and overdone - perfect for the more casual style that hallmarks academia. These would have been a huge investment, and a good one...but thanks to you, they were the price of my Chipotle that day.
The Calvin Klein T-Shirt dress. Its Parisian chic-ness was masked by its wrinkled and dusty appearance at Goodwill...so much so that the woman at the register took pity on me and charged me a dollar for it - thinking it was a forlorn nightgown. Some downy fabric softener and a round in the permanent press cycle turned this into a wardrobe staple.
Remember when we met? So briefly... in the form of a friend who didn't want these Rachel Zoe pants anymore? That was a magical moment. It's almost time to wear these again, and I have plans for them.
And finally, today I found your latest gift; a current season Robin Piccone jumper. It was hanging, so unassumingly with the dresses, but you knew it'd catch my eye right away. It's like you heard me when I said I was looking for a jumper this spring/summer. You saw me last year when I missed out on the Lilly Pulitzer for Target collection, and somehow managed to get this into my hands.
For any woman who is trying to clear her clutter, and feels the least bit guilty about donating something (maybe because you never wore it, maybe because you spent a lot of money on it) this is a message for you. Those donations are appreciated. Good homes are found with new people who will love them dearly. Go be someone's Fairy God-Donator. I know someday when I'm buying my own high end clothing (yes...someday for sure), I will be happy to give them away without reservation when I'm finished. Somewhere, someone will have a moment of pure magic as they happen upon them.
I love thrifting, kindred spirits.
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