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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Possible Reasons to Get Into ShapeNot my reasons, necessarily. Just hypothetical ones.
1. To fit into better clothing.
2. To wear a certain Halloween costume that you didn't feel comfortable wearing before.
3. To participate in activities you were physically unable to do before.
4. To improve your health.
I know we're not supposed to say that fat people are less healthy, but I have to tell y'all that my hypoglycemia has improved dramatically since I've lost a little weight.
5. To look sexier.
Cheekbones, high waist-to-hip ratio. Human biology says these are sexy.
6. To be able to try new... um... yoga positions.
7. To get more clothing on sale.
Smaller clothes always seem to go on sale more often. To be able to find better stuff at thrift stores.
8. To go up the parking garage stairs without breathing all hard and making your lunch dates worry that you're going to have a heart attack.
Reasons to Lose Weight that May End in Heartbreak
1. So that people will love you.
2. So that people will treat you better.
3. For revenge.
4. So that your life will go from miserable to awesome.
Thrift Store Shopping
I don't mind telling y'all that I'm kind of broke right now. This mortgage and all the expenses that houses incur are kind of killing me. But it's all right -- I have a house. I have equity.
So, in the meantime, I've been losing some weight, right? Remember I told y'all that? And, I'm glad to be losing it, but at the same time, I can't afford to buy new pants as fast as I've been needing them.
Enter: Thrift store shopping.
I have tons of fluctuating issues with thrift store shopping. Sometimes I think it's cool, and fun, and good for the environment. I know lots of people who shop exclusively at thrift stores, and they find really awesome clothes to wear, and I admire them for it. I like vintage clothing, in general. I like the idea of wearing something creative, and something you won't find at every single mall on earth.
But then, sometimes, it gives me PTSD over growing up poor. The smell of the Goodwill will depress me, I mean, and I'll have to turn around and leave.
Other times -- times when I'm fatter -- I hate thrift store shopping because, apparently, fat people never give good clothes away. I don't blame them. When you're fat, it's hard enough to find good-looking clothes. Why would you give your good stuff away without knowing if you'd be able to replace it? No, fat people have to hold on to their good stuff. I know, because I've been fat. More than once.
I'm still pretty fat, but less fat than I was before. Less fat than the pants in my closet, in fact. So, over the weekend, my boyfriend and my youngest son and I went thrift-store shopping. And, oh my god, I am going to shop at thrift stores for the rest of my life, y'all. I mean, at least for as long as I'm less-fat and I have a mortgage I can barely afford.
We went to this one by my house -- one of those gigantic ones with a name like Value Village or Thrift Town or Used Universe or whatever. One of those ones where all the aisles are organized by color, and all the signs are in Spanish, then English, and the staff who sets the prices has NO IDEA what's valuable and what's not.
I mean, granted, what's valuable to me doesn't have to be what's valuable to them. It's good when everyone likes different stuff, right? But still -- it doesn't cease to amaze me how you can go into a thrift store and buy either a polyester jewel-toned skirt suit with big gold buttons for $11.97, or else a wool sweater for $1.93.
Luckily, this thrift store didn't have Depressing Smell. It just had the normal, slightly musty thrift-store smell that fades from your nostrils within a few moments.
I found two sweaters, one top, one skirt, a pair of work pants, and two pairs of jeans, for $30! Dude! And they were nice, too. Some of the stuff even seemed new. I've noticed, lately, that the Goodwill carries new clearance merchandise from Target, Mervyn's, and Wal-Mart. So maybe this Value Thrift World store does, too.
One of the pairs of jeans was from the Gap, and it was good to know that I can wear pants from the Gap now, because I haven't had the guts to try on Gap pants in an actual Gap store yet.
I probably would've bought more stuff, but I was tired of looking through the racks. You have to be in the mood for it, and we were pressed for time. My boyfriend didn't find anything because he wasn't in the mood. My son, however, found a $6 men's blazer that he simply needed to own. He needed it, y'all. For formal wear. For cool weather. For the simple fact that it was six dollars and it looked good on him. Never mind that he's only 10 years old. He needed it, so I bought it. I can't deny him. I know how it feels, to need cool clothes like that.
So we raked it in, and I was glad we went. Just like, for the second year in a row, I was glad we went thrifting for our Halloween costumes, too. A while back, we went to a smaller local thrift store -- our costume-luckiest, and my boyfriend bought a suit and a shirt to use in his costume, totalling about $9. I bought a bee-oo-tiful ladies' full slip (the kind of thing you'd only find in the lingerie section of the thrift store, these days) for $2.32, that will, with a few yards of tulle, become my fairy costume.
I know a photographer who uses thrift store lingerie for photoshoots. I know several bloggers -- including some of y'all reading this, maybe -- who regular post their thrifting finds on their Flickrs. I know artists who scout thrift stores for art supplies. During the summer, I bought a bunch of Barbies from the thrift store to use in my own project. It was, like, twelve barbies for six dollars. Something ridiculous like that. Beautiful Barbies in all colors and vintages. And then a big-headed Filipino Bratz boy, for good measure, for 75 cents.
Anyway. I'm happy. I'm broke but I'm happy. You know? I'm realizing lately that it's totally possible to be both, as long as you have people to love and a little bit of creativity.
Tell me about your thrift store finds, your reasons to get into shape or not, or whatever you want to tell me.
Labels: Halloween, materialism, parenting, vanity
6:25 AM #Comments:
Going to thrift stores in chichi neighborhoods that you might otherwise hate is almost always a good idea. Rich people discard expensive stuff with great frequency. I have stuff in my closet from Valentino, Donna Karan, Maharishi, Monsoon, Jigsaw, Ralph Lauren, and tons of other designers as proof. And I didn't pay much for any of it. (I also got it all in London. UK charity shops are really the best, especially in my old neighborhood, which was just nice enough to have tons of good stuff but not so luxurious as to have jacked-up prices on everything. Note to Londoners: Marylebone is overpriced, go a couple of miles north to West Hampstead, Golders Green, and Temple Fortune.)I recently had that happy Gap experience in an actual Gap (outlet) store. The pants fit, apart from being too short. I was pretty pleased.
# posted by
jax : 11:44 AM
Losing weight out of revenge is like crash dieting -- it works, but not for long.
Far more motivating is being able to do things you've never done before. My insane Running One Thousand Miles In A Year Goal is actually within reach, and that's something I could never have dreamed of in the past.
# posted by
Mike : 11:56 AM
My reason for getting in shape is avoiding back surgery. The cool clothes from the better stores for cheaper than my fat clothes is a very nice bonus.
I haven't found it yet but I am on a thrift store hunt for the perfect leather jacket.
# posted by
Berta : 12:40 PM
I am the WORST at thrift store shopping. I have a friend, however, who needs merely to lay hands upon the racks or bins, and will come out with the overlooked Dior suit in pristine condition.
As for losing weight, my nightmare is that one day my son's school peers will tease him with "fat mama" comments. I shouldn't approach it that way, though, should I? After all, "Optimism is the faith that brings achievement."*
*COTTON!
# posted by
: 12:43 PM
I think I needed to hear that, about revenge being a bad reason. In fact, I know I needed to hear it. Thank you, Gwen.
My favorite thrift store find is always jeans. See, I am morally opposed to spending the amount of money on jeans that one must spend on jeans these days, because I am not allowed to wear them to work, therefore I do not wear them on weekdays. I am not spending like thirty dollars on something I can only wear on weekends during cooler weather! Especially since I live in Tennessee, and as you from living reasonably near, we have winter for maybe two days in the middle of February. So I go to the thrift store, and you do indeed have to be in the mood to search and search and search and try on and abandon and search some more.
I found two pair of girl jeans that fit me (usually I wear boy jeans) and do not make me look like hot white death or give me muffin top, and I paid five bucks apiece for them!
It is so true that it is harder to find the bigger sizes. I sifted through all these size fours and hated them (the jeans, not the owners) with all my might. HOW DARE YOU BE A SIZE FOUR, totally cute jeans? WHY ARE YOU NOT MY SIZE INSTEAD! MAGICALLY GROW LARGER! Stupid jeans. Don't be cute and not my size. It's just mean.
The pink and grey plaid pants that were not my size made me the VERY saddest ever.
# posted by
Ali : 2:26 PM
My fiancee and I have lost a combined 90 pounds over the last year or so, and you're absolutely right about how expensive it is. We wore our old clothes until they were way too big, and got new ones on the tight side, but we've still had to do two more or less wholesale replacements. I do recommend the Gap outlet at Katy Mills; at one point we bought five pairs of pants there for $100. Also, Lands End isn't the most stylish, but they have good sales sometimes, and their clothes are durable (especially love the wrinkle-free, which saves on dry-cleaning).
Not to mention the fact that carrots/lettuce/apples are considerably more expensive than chips/candy!
# posted by
: 2:36 PM
All of my Italian shoes came from thrift stores. I had to look long and hard to find ones that were in pristine shape, but they all cost me less than $5 a pair.
I think my favorite thing about thrift stores is that you know the clothes aren't going to shrink or change shape much. One of the reasons I quit buying tops from Lane Bryant is that they always shrank when I washed them, even if I washed them in cold and rack dried them. Of course, when I'd buy them a size too big to counteract that, they ... didn't shrink. I just gave up.
# posted by
Marchelle : 4:52 PM
Marigoldie and Tina are thrift store shopping champs. They don't always use their powers for good, so good must be made from their tomfoolery.
I am more into flea market shopping. There's a good one a short walk from me every weekend, weather permitting.
# posted by
jagosaurus : 5:43 PM
My reasons for losing weight:
1. So I'll be ready to get knocked up next year after I finish nursing school.
2. So after I get knocked up, I will have the stamina to a) push a baby out of my hoo-hoo and b) keep up with a little kid once he or she becomes mobile.
3. So I will like my body better.
4. So my husband will like my body better and we can have more hot sex.
5. So when I'm an old lady I won't be bent over and crippled from osteoporosis and arthritis. Oh wait. The skinny ladies have more trouble with osteoporosis. Hmm. I guess I'll have to eat a donut once in a while.
(I've been on Weight Watchers Online for two weeks. I definitely don't need any new clothes yet.)
# posted by
girl_in_greenwood : 10:15 PM
Jax: I used to work with a guy from London, and he told me London thrift stores were way better than our Houston ones. Since then, I want to go to London just for that. Here, the designer stuff gets snatched up and teleported to "boutique" (i.e., more expensive) thrift stores.
Mike: Plus you did a half marathon, right? Or had you done that before? I can't run for anything, but I like being able to do lunges now. And push-ups, almost.
Berta: Ooh, good luck on the jacket! Fun.
Jennifer: Oh, shit. That cracks me up every time. Did you see that COTTON is now featuring their URL on the LED? I think they want me to link them. But I'm too lazy.
Also, I agree that you have to have the Thrift Store Luck. Some have it, some don't. I have a little. (Not as much as I have Parking Space Luck, though.)
Ali: I wouldn't say it's a *bad* reason, just not a very sustainable one. With any reason that involves other people's reactions, you risk getting the wrong reaction and then losing your motivation. I think anger and spite are very strong motivators, in general. If you could start a diet for revenge, then continue it because you like it? Best of both worlds!
And I hear you on the smaller size envy. I try not to even look at the smaller sizes. It's the same feeling as finding cute clothes at Target, then realizing you're accidentally in the maternity section.
UpperKirby: I love that Gap outlet. Bonus: Katy Mills is, like, a million miles of walking, so you're burning calories the whole time you're there. Congrats on y'all's weight loss, btw.
Marchelle: Yes! re: the shrinking. One of the jeans I bought was from Lane B, and it was a size bigger than the other pants I was getting, but they were obviously shrunken down. Because, yeah, their stuff is unreliable as far as shrinkage goes. I agree.
Jag: That's exactly who I was thinking of, but didn't know if they wanted to be put on the spot about it. :)
I wish we had cool fleamarkets here, like the kinds I read about. Ours are mostly wholesale goods, Mexican goods, and live puppies.
Girl in Greenwood: Two weeks is a good start. Good luck to you! I know you'll be having hot sex before you know what hit you.
# posted by
Gwen : 7:07 AM
One of the things that inspired me to start losing weight was finally finding some clothes that fit in Target and realizing I was in the maternity section! Now I know I'm not the only one.
I'm a lot healthier and have more endurance after losing weight too. My borderline high blood pressure is back down to normal.
It's interesting to see the difference in thrift store clothes regionally. In Toronto, thrift stores had very trendy clothes in small sizes. In Syracuse where I just moved a lot of things are now way too big for me, and there's a lot of big flowery dresses that look like they would be worn to church! I've managed to find good stuff in both places though.
# posted by
Melis : 8:18 AM
Gwen: I hear you on the pushups. I freakin' cheered when I got through my first set of them.
How many pushups in that set? Uhh 3, girl style, heh.
# posted by
Berta : 10:22 AM
Gwen: I've been checking out your blog since I read your book a few months ago and I had to finally say hi. Hi!
Target Maternity *totally* happens to me, too! I had no idea it was so common! And just to join in the weight loss stories: I've lost 20lbs so far this year by running. 30 more to go! And I'm doing it because I put on a lot of weight during a break-up and now it's time to get rid of it.
I've lived in Houston for about a year and I love shopping at thrift stores, so I'm curious where this awesome not-Goodwill-smelling thrift store is....
Also -- I just want to tell you that I checked out Cavemen last night, largely because you said good things two weeks in a row, and omg it *was* funny. I can't believe it got canceled.
# posted by
j. : 2:02 PM
just wanted to say hi, found your blog, off 'big fat deal' and love your post today... i'm a HUGE thrift store/consignment shop person and have to agree, when heavier - it was more difficult to find nicer things... consignment shops usually have better stuff but that also means, they're a bit more expensive... i have to thank my mom for teaching me great sales skills - i can pretty much find a good bargain, regardless of where i shop...
i want to lose weight so i can cross yet another goal off my damn list! :o)
# posted by
jodi : 3:19 PM
Gwen and Jag, thanks for the shout-outs! Woo! Nothing, but nothing beats the rush of finding a true thrift-store treasure. My latest find: a 1950's OLEG CASSINI(!!!) Young America total Grace Kelly black cocktail dress with a plunging back in perrrrrfect condition. I still can't believe it. They're selling for two or three hundred dollars on Ebay, but for now I'm keeping mine. It fits like a glove.
# posted by
tina : 3:57 PM
How ironic... Just when I think I am all alone, the only person in the world with these problems I find that Gwen's blog/fellow readers apparently have them too! Small world.
I hope everyone accomplishes their goals here. I know I'm about to ;P
Good luck!
# posted by
: 5:50 PM
You and your commenters are right on the mark about thrift stores. I started shopping there when I was losing weight and continue to do so, tape measure in tow.
I love a particular style of pants that used to be made by Northern Reflections and is no longer sold at their stores. I scout like mad for these at every thrift because they make me look terrific. The St Vincent de Paul charity thrift has wonderful coats for $5 each; found a super London Fog navy winter coat there. At one Vancouver consignment shop, I found a Burberry winter/summer trench coat for $80.
Love to save money!
# posted by
Mary : 7:06 PM
I have been lurking for at least a year and LOVING your stuff - always checking for new. But the fact that we are losing weight at the same time is more helpful than you'd know :) It's nice to hear someone else knows what it's like.
Thank you.
# posted by
: 10:48 PM
I agree that you most certainly have to be in the right state of mind for thrifting. Sometimes all you want to do is douse yourself in Germ-X as soon as you enter--in which case, head to the mall.
I've only gone thrifting for about six years, but I've found some amazing thrift deals. A Burberry trench coat for $11.93 at a Goodwill, a white trench coat (with black detailing) for when I dressed as Elle Driver for Halloween, and so many gorgeous vintage dresses.
But, as a teacher, the children's books are the best find. Fifty books for about 25 bucks? I'm SO there.
# posted by
Christine : 12:15 PM
I am losing weight because I live in New York and am surrounded by cheap, trendy clothing I cannot fit into. I want to browse through the clothing sold on the streets in Williamsburg and know that it will zip, dammit.
Girl_in_greenwood--I'm at two weeks on WW online too. My second weigh in is tomorrow.
# posted by
Mary : 1:41 PM
Melis: Don't you love thrift shopping as sociology? The clothes say things about the neighborhood, and then the pricing of the clothes say things about the store employees.
Ex: Yesterday I went to two thrift stores in poorer parts of Houston. One had a section called "Better Ladies" (meaning better clothing). It was full of Faded Glory and other Wal-Mart brands, while the "Ladies" was full of Ann Taylor Loft.
Today I went to two Goodwills in a suburb of Austin. Each had a "boutique" section that was full of Target brands. Meanwhile, in the non-boutique section, I found a cashmere twinset from Harold's for $9. (Not my size, though, dammit.)
Berta: Yay for you! Yeah, when I said I could push-ups now, I actually meant that I could dip one or two inches while in girl position. But still! For me, that's progress.
J. in Houston: Congrats on your weight loss, and for being able to run. You rock.
My thrift store: I think it's actually called Family Thrift Center, and it's on Highway 6, near Little York.
Other dirt-cheap ones I like: Family Something on Durham and 11th (behind the Kroger), and Value Village on Shepherd and 24th (across from Fiesta), although that one does smell a little mustier.
I want to check out Sand Dollar on Yale and 19th, which I haven't been to in a while, but that one might be too skanky. I'll let y'all know. You might find those ones too run-down/scary-neighborhoody... email me if you want and we can discuss in even greater detail.
Jodi: Thanks for dropping by, and for commenting. Come by again and share your shopping skizzills.
Tina: That's the awesome. And don't you love that, if you get tired of your dress, you *can* sell it for $100s?
Amy: That's what we're here for. To share and feel less alone. :)
Mary: Word. Saving money is like a high, isn't it?
Anon: I'm glad. I like that so many of y'all are going through what I'm going through, too. That's always fun, to hear that y'all know exactly where I'm coming from on a given issue.
Christine: Yeah, I actually bought the hand sanitizer to keep in my car for apres-thrift. I feel you. Dude, do you have pictures of yourself as Elle, maybe on Flickr? Sounds like a fabulous costume. And, word word word on thrift store books. Even when I wasn't thrifting for clothes, I always checked out the books on a regular basis.
Mary: Isn't the clothes-horse habit seriously the most intense motivation? I dream of losing 20 or 25 more lbs, then traveling merely in order to shop.
All of you guys are awesome. I kind of wish we could have a bulletin board just to talk about this topic all day.
# posted by
Gwen : 9:00 PM
Yeah, I did do the half-marathon: My first! What's awesome is that when I finished, I really felt like I could've done the other thirteen miles for the whole deal.
If there's a reason for anyone to try getting fit, it's that -- doing things that you previously felt were impossible. I won't even tell you the super-cheesy thing I wrote on the nifty Adidas booth, where they let everyone have a sharpie to record their motivation for joining the race.
# posted by
Mike : 9:01 PM
Dude. I was *just* looking at your Flickr, right while you were commenting, coincidentally.
And now you have to tell me what you wrote. Cheese out, man. Just do it, as they say.
# posted by
Gwen : 9:38 PM
Okay, so, the board had a big blazon asking, "WHY DO YOU RUN?"
I wrote (sigh):
"So I can find my limits, and then break through them."
I felt like I had to be all serious, because there were these career Kenyan marathoners right next to me. After I wrote that, of course, I looked and saw that they'd written, "IT IS FUN!" and "TO HELP IN DEVELOPING MY FITNESS!" and felt like a tool.
# posted by
Mike : 10:37 PM
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