Fall Clothing

Our weather has not gotten especially cold, but other than for an eagerly anticipated week in Florida, I will not need short pants or t-shirts for a while.  Time to create some room for long-sleeve pull-on shirts and for sweaters.  I've been apportioning the seasonal clothing between a duffle that was once a travel staple in the pre-wheeled luggage days, but has really become too heavy to use for either auto or airline trips.  It holds a lot of stuff, but I still have overflow to vacuum bags.  I probably should clean what I've already worn, though dry cleaning and professional shirt cleaning, my luxuries in my working years, now have fees that give me pause.

I don't really need any new clothing, though enough socks have needed to be discarded.  My supply is so large that they don't really need replacement, though an attractive sale price at Boscov's could get me to purchase a few pairs.  And I'm down to my last black belt.  I only wear dress clothing to synagogue.  I do have casual long-sleeve button down shirts that still do better with professional cleaning, while the pullovers I wash myself, so maybe inventory those, but I probably have enough.  Or maybe re-learn how to iron my own buttoned shirts, maybe the best option for the casual ones.

Outerwear I have more than enough for every contingency.  My beloved red nylon parka with its provocative Houston Rockets logo patch has a temperamental zipper.  Probably more cost-effective to replace the coat than the zipper, but it's one of the few clothing items that I both really like and has served me faithfully for longer than expected.  I can fiddle with the zipper, eventually getting it to close each time.  And when I get my eye appointment with anticipated new eyeglass prescription, I also renew my Costco membership.  Their tables always have some items of men's clothing that I more want than need, but I always rationalize what I get.

I tend to think of Labor Day as a demarcation date, return to school, Holy Days, and football.  But change in weather, with change in personal appearance invariably follows.