Love at first site

Last weekend, I went to Goodwill. I didn't have much time, so instead of browsing leisurely, I used my tactic of scanning the racks to see if anything jumped out at me... a color, a pattern, a texture. That's when I saw it, a sweater in the deep earth tones that I love. When I pulled the sweater off the rack and held it up, I was taken by surprise. I never felt a sweater like this. It was made of leather, soft woven strips of suede. And, that's when I fell in love. The sweater was so unique, so cool, so funky; everything I look for in a piece of clothing.

At that moment, I decided the sweater was coming home with me. The fact that it had a green tag (i.e., half-price) sealed the deal...only $2.50. Plus, another 50% off my entire purchase with my frequent-buyer punch card made it a whopping $1.25. That's less than a pack of gum!

That night, I was going out with some friends, so I decided to wear my new sweater. What better way to break it in than to get approval from a small group of close friends. That's when things started to unravel, literally. I suddenly realized why this sweater was dumped. I thought I could salvage our relationship. I tried to patch things up by tying all the loose ends, but the flaws I tried to cover up resurfaced later that night. I wanted this relationship to work, so I tried to fix things again.

Later in the week, I gave it another go and wore it to work. Well, we kept it together for a little while until the sweater began to mock me behind my back (specifically my left shoulder) and in front of my co-workers. That was the last straw. I had to end our brief affair. I made the hard decision to let it go. This is one clothing relationship I can't save.

We're all guilty of this at some point, right? We buy something on impulse, something we think we're going to have for awhile, and it just doesn't work out. I was so lost in my excitement, so drunk in love, when I first saw this sweater, that I overlooked its faults. On the bright side, I only spent $1.25. So what if I ended up with a weekend fling and not a long-term relationship. It was fun while it lasted. Now, I think I'll go buy some gum!

If anyone has any stories about short-term clothing relationships, I'd love to hear them. Or, if you have any ideas about how to upcycle or recycle this sweater, please let me know before I kick it to the curb.