Nothing To Wear

A closet full of clothes and not a thing to wear. That’s how I feel sometimes when getting ready to start the day. I can’t say I dress well, or that I have any semblance of fashion, but I know what I like and it works for me. I have my “work” clothes and my “street” clothes, My “gym” clothes and my “bedtime” clothes, my “lounge around the house and do nothing” clothes and my “I really need to do laundry” clothes. Sometimes I make three or four costumes changes a day.

And still I have “nothing to wear”.

Then I think of how many of my friends and acquaintances in The Tenderloin only have one change of clothes. Doing laundry is often not an option and neither is carrying around bags of dirty clothes. Many homeless San Franciscans simply wear clothing until it wears off their bodies.

So I take those clothes that no longer suit me and give them St. Anthony Foundation’s Clothing Program or St. Vincent De Paul’s Vincentian Help Desk. I feel environmentally responsible in that my clothes will be worn by someone who needs them, and won’t be taking up space in a landfill somewhere. No longer a fashion victim, my poor sense of style, weight gain and sweaters I received as Christmas presents now place me in league with philanthropists and environmentalists alike! All by giving these gently used garments that I dismissed as “nothing” a second chance.