That ultimate outfit — Shopping for Happiness

Pinstripes just speak to me. I like the classic blue style so much that I actually own a pinstripe bathing suit complete with lapels. (It’s essentially a pants-less version of my new jumpsuit and though it is 15 years old and pretty much shot, I can’t bring myself to throw it out). I even had a pinstripe maternity dress.

It’s not that I want to fit in with the bankers or play Nathan Detroit in an all-female revival of Guys and Dolls. I just want to look like my most sophisticated, confident and feminine self– that, is, me in pinstripes.

So when I saw this suit on the “get it before it’s gone” sale rack at Holt Renfrew, well, I had to try it on. I was half-hopeful that it wouldn’t fit because even at about 60% off, it would blow out a whole month’s Shopping for Happiness budget. Not even my wedding dress cost that much.

But when I tried it on I just didn’t want to take it off. I just kept thinking, “this is so me.”

I could imagine wearing it to an important interview, to a party, to work; with a tank top in summer or a classic white shirt in winter. What couldn’t I imagine? How I would be honouring my Shopping for Happiness project if I didn’t buy this outfit. This was surely what my mom meant when she wanted me to improve my wardrobe: to buy clothes that suited me and made me feel fantastic, not just things that fit my concept of “a good deal.”  

Looking at it logically, the price point was high but it wasn’t beyond the budget I’d set for this year. It just meant buying one thing I truly loved instead of buying a lot of less expensive things. So I bought it. I felt a little guilty, a little sick if I’m going to be honest…but I bought it, and I’ve been wearing it all the time.