Today was the big outing to Burlington, Vermont with Rosalie, the older daughter who is in college and is going to spend a trimester abroad in Morocco. We felt a little strange driving north on I 89, passing vehicles that were clearly headed to towns in need of emergency assistance from the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. We saw a great deal of muddy water and flooded fields.
Burlington was nice and dry, with beautiful clouds wafting over Lake Champlain. We found a mother/daughter symbiosis, whereby we effortlessly were attentive to what the other one wanted to do. So, for example, while Rosalie went into a ski and bike shop, I went into a consignment shop next door to it, where I found a black cashmere cardigan for younger sister Clara -- she's been wearing the same black sweater for a few years now, and might be willing to replace it. Burlington also has a "Second Time Around" where we took a quick peak as well. We had a very nice lunch at Rosalie's favorite crunchy restaurant, Stone Soup, and we followed that with tea in a real Indian tea room where you can sit on pillows and lean against rugs hanging from the walls.
On this shopping trip, I had better luck finding new clothes rather than "gently used" ones, possibly because Burlington's downtown has a nice balanced mix of independent and chain stores. At the Outdoor Gear Exchange, which has moved to the pedestrians only part of Church Street, you can always find a great deal on new athletic clothing, although they also sell consignment. That's where I picked up an Ibex sweater coat on sale. The North Face store, oddly situated just across the street from the Stone Soup restaurant (two very different crowds) was also having a sale. There I picked up some "Darn Tough" made in Vermont socks for hiking. Underwear and colorful tights at American Apparel, a plaid shirt for Rosalie at Urban Outfitters, which also sells its "Urban Renewal" combination of recycled and vintage clothing, and, the Vermont based Salaam brand has its own store on Church Street where I found two dresses on sale.
New clothes are sold in excess, which is why so many used clothing shops have proliferated all over the western world. Every time a new store comes into the town of Hanover, New Hampshire, where I work, it's either a women's clothing store or a restaurant. So how do I explain my recent acquisitions of "new" clothes? I guess I'm not trying to prove anything to myself or to the world. I do want to be conscious of my buying habits or even obsessions, of my need for "retail therapy" and my own excessive consumerism. The TJ Maxx in West Lebanon, New Hampshire has helped me relax after some pretty stressful moments, just by the very fact that I am not looking for anything in particular. I'm just looking. The pleasure of looking. And the pleasure of finding.
Which is precisely what I like to do in Burlington, Vermont where there are plenty of beautiful things to look at.
From much chitchatting with Rosalie, I also came to the conclusion that, at some point, someone has to buy something new in order for it to become old or used. That seems like a tautology, and I'm not looking for an excuse to spend money on new things. But vintage or gently worn or whatever you want to call second hand clothing had to belong to somebody who at some point bought it new. I also want to invoke the "quality" clause, and reassure myself that I also am interested in buying new for the long run. All these used items bought at very low prices become throwaway items very quickly because of their low value. It's so much easier to accumulate clothes and forget about them when they were bought dirt cheap. And it's so much easier to part with them when they already look a bit worn. There are some exceptions of course. But overall, one tends to develop a fondness for one's material belongings because of their quality not their quantity.
