Member-only story
The Jacket That Got Away
Balancing minimalism with fashion
I don’t usually go to the mall. I thrift the majority of my clothes, but I was recently accompanying my husband, who needed some clothing.
When we were walking through the mall, I stopped. Sitting in the display window of a shop was a beautiful, blush-pink jacket. Rose pink. Strawberries-in-cream pink. It jumped out at me, like it was in color and everything else was black and white.
We walked into the store, where a salesperson immediately walked over to help us. I realized this wasn’t your typical mall store. The jacket I’d seen was the last one in stock, and it was on sale — for $77, down from over $100.
I tried it on. I still loved the color, but I was unsure of the fit. I also I didn’t really have anything to wear it with. I don’t usually wear pink.
The salesperson was waiting patiently, but I decided against buying it, saying it was too expensive. She seemed surprised.
My husband said he’d buy it for me, but I politely declined. It was too much money. I could thrift eight pieces of clothing for that. I have plenty of debt already, and several jackets hanging in my closet.
On the way home, my husband said, “You’re allowed to be spontaneous, and just buy clothes because you like them.”
