women don't need more clothes

I don't know the state of other women's closets, but from watching several episodes of Home and Garden shows where they TV staff purges mountains of stuff from people's homes, I think we might have finally realized that we have enough stuff in our dresser drawers.

I have never understood the fascination with being "in fashion" after spending my hard-earned money in high school for a yellow neon sweatshirt so I could be like everyone else, only to find 2 months later that the exact same item was passe and had to be thrown away. I learned my lesson and have since stuck with classic dress clothes such as wool skirts and sweaters, cotton Liberty of London type summer skirts, and jeans and t shirts for casual wear. I buy almost all my clothes at thrift stores and can't recall the last time I went to the mall.

From high-end dresses to bargain coats, spending on women’s apparel dropped nearly 6 percent during the first half of the Christmas season, compared with the same period last year...
Analysts blamed a rough economy, which has discouraged women — and mothers, in particular — from splurging on clothing for themselves and a lack of compelling fashions this winter.

Even high-end women’s apparel companies like Coach have warned of a slowdown because of higher energy costs, a tight credit market and slipping home prices.
John D. Morris, senior retail analyst at Wachovia Securities, said that with less money to spend on gifts for their families, mothers “pull back on spending for themselves first.” New York Times.

It is refreshing to see an article mention sacrifice, especially for one's own children. After all, gifts for others is much more important than splurging on yourself, unless you are giving up buying yourself new undies so you can by Junior the latest Wii component.