156/365 - Mission Accomplished

The night of the clothing purge, I thought my simple request for advice about a new bathing suit simply got out of hand.  Looking back now, though, I realize that particular opportunity was more likely the "Mission Go!" sign in a long-held sinister plot to infiltrate my closet, clearly a black bag job.

Several months ago, my very dear friend, aka secret agent Sha'niqua, took it upon herself to hijack my wardrobe.  Sha'niqua is admittedly much younger and has a much more "current" fashion profile.  I've been asking her advice about clothes for a long time.  Apparently I didn't listen...

For years, the usual suspects in my closet consisted of the following:

1. extremely high-end designer hand-me downs from my beloved and generous and highly fashionable Aunt Carol (Enemy No. 1) 
2. quality pieces from martini-induced direct sales clothing parties (Allied Forces)
3. acquisitions from clothing exchanges with girlfriends, aka Naked Lady Parties (Double Agents to be sure, but I can assure you there were no naked women involved)
4. occasional bargains from Target picked up while on a toilet paper run (moles, window dressing, black ops, etc.)

OK, enough with the spy references and back to the mission...

The first to go that fateful night of the clothing purge were 99% of the outfits from my aunt.  No matter how much I protested about the cost and quality of whichever piece of clothing Sha'niqua targeted for the giveaway pile, she insisted that age and age-appropriate styles absolutely have to line up.  I love my Aunt Carol and her fashion sense, but I finally succumbed, and into the bag they went.  I still miss the 80's-inspired powder blue suit with zippers that I gave up that night.

Other losses during the purge were things that were "too big" or "weren't fit for even wearing around the house."  After Sha'niqua finished raiding my closet, she even went through my socks and underwear drawer.  One after another, Sha'niqua would hold up pairs of granny panties with the sincerest look of pity on her face.  I now own only one lonely pair of granny panties, simply because they happened be in the dirty laundry that night.

When it was over, we stuffed six large trash bags full of clothing earmarked for Goodwill.  Sha'niqua gave me clear instructions for future shopping, which included specific panty styles recommended from Victoria's Secret and adding more vibrant colors to my wardrobe.  Partly because black is a staple of the musician's wardrobe and partly because it's flattering and goes with anything, I have a lot of black clothes.  I wouldn't let Sha'niqua give away any of these, but I promised I would add more color to my wardrobe's palette.

So, when I went shopping with my sister on a whim recently, I had the option to buy some wonderful linen pants, either in a khaki color or a bright coral.  I confess I had the briefest but incredibly vibrant flashback to the time in elementary school when I wore these new bright yellow pants my mom had bought me to go with a cute rainbow patterned shirt.  I'll give you a hint on the decade: all day, the kids in my class kept signing, "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles.

It took a true leap of faith to go for the coral option, but I absolutely love them now!  I'm of course wearing them with black and NO granny panties.