garments

There are clothes in my closet that i do not wear.

I suppose that is true for many people.

What i am getting used to again is that i'm not wearing them NOT because they don't fit or because they are out of style, but mostly because they are for (very) warm weather and it is currently cold. Sometimes i do wonder if i'll ever wear them again--my favorite sundresses from Cameroon, for example. They are comfortable and they are blue, two qualities most of my favorite clothes share, however they are not the most fashionable garments around. I'm not particularly trendy and i don't choose my clothes because they are (or are not) fashionable, but now that i'm around a full-length mirror i have realized that these dresses aren't...flattering...particularly. They are very simple, very loose, shifts. The prints are bold and bright. They are perfect for the tropics where air movement is essential in the humid heat and the bright blue fabric contrasted nicely with iron-rich dirt and green plants. I'm not so sure i have the requisite confidence to wear them in hip, sexy Southern California.

Meanwhile, they hang in my closet taking up space. Should i give them away? i wonder. Would that benefit anyone: would anyone wear them? Should i cut them up for a quilt? Should i have left them in Cameroon? I can't undo that decision--and i miss some of the clothes i did leave there! I can't find things just like them because they're three years old.

Clothing choices here *are* plentiful, and i can find anything in my size. Clothes shopping here is easier than going to Mokolo, the imported-used-clothing market in Yaounde. Very nice things from Korea, Germany and other countries were available there, but if you saw a skirt or shoes you liked and they weren't in your size, too bad. No other choices. Here, there are changing rooms so that you can try things on instead of giving it your best guess. Here, you can say "I'm just looking" and the salespeople believe you. Here, other than sales (where the crowds freak me out) anytime is pretty much as good as the next for someone who is not a fashionista. There were definitely better times to go to Mokolo: right after a shipment there were more options but prices were relatively high. Right before a shipment there were fewer choices but more bargains. It's been quite a jolt to go from paying about $2 for something to paying much, much more here!

I think i'll let the dresses hang for a little longer, at least until it is feasibly warm enough to wear them again. And if i don't wear them then...well, i have five months to get used to the idea of letting go.