My favorite place to shop is the thrift store.
I’m an absolute sucker for fabric (“yardage”), books, and vintage clothing.
Even when I already own twenty plus yards of double knit, when I see another couple yards sitting in a bin for fifty cents a yard, I just know that I need it for that amazing double knit quilt I’ve got hanging around in my head. And vintage patterns? Who can resist, even if the sizing is wrong? (I have a dressmaker’s curve–unfortunately I haven’t made myself that dress form I keep saying I’m going to make to make fitting easier.)
Books. You know how much I love them. I used to buy them indiscriminately, ending up with multiple copies of the same book because I wasn’t sure whether I already owned them or not. Now I have the titles of maybe 2/3 of my collection (the fiction and the “religious” books) on a file on my Kindle so I can double check whether I already own something or not. Still, I find myself uber-tempted to buy duplicates just for the sheer love of books.
And clothes.
Honestly, I’m not a clothes horse in the traditional sense of the term. I’m not about keeping up on the trends or being fashion-forward or anything. But I do like browsing through the used store racks.
Most often, I’ll stop in my flipping to muse “Hey, that’s cute” over a dress or skirt. Then my fingers will slip inside to bare the tag.
Size 2.
Definitionally cute. As in, small.
Why do the clothes that little petite things wear appeal to me so much?
I’m neither fat nor big-boned, but some of those cute little things couldn’t fit over a single one of my thighs.
But they’re so cute.
Tiny, adorable, I-probably-couldn’t-have-fit-them-when-I-was-eight.
Which is probably why I stick with vintage.
Despite the evidence that today’s people are much fatter than yesteryear’s, I tend to find vintage that fits (or that I can take in just a bit to make it fit).
Why is that?
Maybe they just used more fabric in the olden days.
Yes, I’m going to guess that’s it.
Not like the cute things they sell these days which would never cover my (even my otherwise rather inadequate) bottom.
I find myself drawn to the Petite area of stores because I like the stuff there, then am dismayed to find myself in that section. Even if I had not an extra ounce on me, I would never be petite.
I have the same problem with the cute (pretty)things being too cute (small). And, like Barbara, I too would never be small even without an ounce of fat on me. My bone structure would never allow it. Why can’t they make cute things in a size I can wear?