The deathless Red Polo

Here are a few pictures of myself wearing a dark red polo, a beloved, worn-down garment that has been stretched thin from too many wash-wear cycles, a tenacious representative of fast-fashion throwaway clothing that has stayed with me for too many years. I bought the Red Polo in summer of 2006 as part of my back to school outfit and wore it to picture day in seventh grade that same month. The first picture comes from 2010, the second from spring 2015 in lab to mimic the 2010 picture, the third from spring 2013 where the Red Polo (and I) made an appearance on a campus banner, and the fourth from summer 2015 at SF Pride.

The Red Polo was from the now-deceased department store Mervyn's, and cost around $5. The quality is not very good and the fabric has not survived well. The shirt itself is very long, the fabric clingy, which makes for easy tucking into jeans or layering under cardigans or jackets. It's in my favorite color of high school and early college. It was due to be recycled as a cleaning rag years ago, and it's still holding on by literal threads.

The point of this post is sort of to promise myself that I will not allow myself to continue wearing this very dated, very adored shirt from middle school past summer 2016. I have not tossed this shirt because it was the first item of clothing that I felt good about myself in, which is a very important thing for the insecure middle school whelp. I've worn it so many times and have no strong memories tying me to it. I have tried and failed to find a Red Polo to replace it, and thus, I have kept it in my closet. The Red Polo is my prime example of forming strong emotional attachments to material possessions, even after they've served their purpose. In the spirit of creating a more useful, concise wardrobe, I think it is reasonable for me to face that this deathless shirt that I love will need to die soon (and be replaced, of course, by a higher quality version).

Consider this the prologue of a forthcoming S/S 2016 wardrobe planning post. It's becoming clearer to me that if I, at age 21 and at the starting line of my professional career, I will need to buy higher quality if I want to wear clothes with the frequency and longevity that I wish for.