On my last day in New York City for the Blogher Conference last month, Nadine Silverthorne gave me this dress. I like it.
But I’m not posting this here so you can run out and buy the same dress. (Although it would be fine if you did. I’m not that kind of girl. We can have the same things!) I don’t even know where it’s from. Somewhere in NYC, I guess. My point is that she bought a dress for herself and then decided it didn’t fit quite right. Returning it was a hassle, so she offered it around. When it fit me, she gave it to me.
How often have you gotten home only to discover that you had actually been temporarily insane when you bought that latest shirt/pair of pants/giant owl-shaped brooch/string bikini. It seemed like a good idea at the time. A giant bird head on your lapel would be jaunty! Isn’t it time you embraced your curves? Alas, you were out of your mother-effing mind.
So you fold it up and put it on a shelf in your closet to return. And there it sits forever more. Let’s stop kidding ourselves. We’re never going to get around to returning that wishful thinking-sized dress. Why not give it to someone who might actually use it?
Inspired by Nadine’s generous grasp on the reality of life (as well as her actual generosity), I went home and scooped up the two XL-sized breastfeeding shirts that had been sitting on top of my dresser in their original packaging for TEN MONTHS. Thus is the peril of online shopping meets guess-tamating your shirt size four weeks postpartum. Who cares if the store might still accept the returns? My chances had expired. I gave them to a very pregnant friend who will likely fit them better and felt immediate relief.
So try it. What’s in your “to be returned” pile? Who might be able to use it? Wouldn’t that be easier than trying to sort out the return postage? And won’t it feel so much better? Let’s keep this going.