Today’s Finds (10/16/2010)

Late, late post! It’s also been a while since I wrote another edition of Today’s Finds.

First things first: my holiday trip to winter wonderland won’t push through, which is a shame because I’ve been collecting outerwear since August. I didn’t want to make a one-time, big-time purchase so I decided to spread my acquisitions over three months. So far I’ve gotten around seven pieces — most of which I won’t be able to put on even in our version of cooler weather. In the meantime (and until this trip does take place), they will find a nice home in my closet.

When it comes to clothing articles, there’s always something I fixate on: polo shirts, sunglasses, shoes (though this looks to be permanent), belts, etc. This time, it’s outerwear, which, like I wrote in a previous entry, is pretty foolish given that I live in the tropics. But then again, isn’t this pretty normal? The way Americans like to get a tan and Filipinos strive for fairer skin? Whatever floats your boat, right?

So yeah, I’ve found that lately I’ve been gravitating toward jackets and sweaters in clothing stores and thrift shops. But I definitely won’t be making any additional purchases anytime soon. Still, trying them on for size (and feel) comes pretty close to buying them, especially if the price tag is well beyond my purchasing power!

Two weeks ago, I found these noteworthy pieces:

Catalog image below from www.marksandspencer.com:

North Coast Pure Cotton Funnel Neck Cardigan (£35.00 ~ P2400)

I didn’t realize the converted price was only P2400 until now. You see, this was well over P3500 at the department store! I thought this was a nice-looking and comfortable cardigan, although even the smallest size was a wee bit long for my frame.

Now THIS, I thought, was a better fit, and just simply better overall. It’s from Calvin Klein Jeans but I couldn’t find the catalog image online. Had I not purchased as many outerwear pieces as I did, I might have — I just might have — gotten this because it really was covetable. It shares some elements with the North Coast cardigan but this one has a little more style to it.

And lastly, this one is a letterman jacket by Heist. I’ve also wanted to own a Letterman jacket for the longest time (ah, the influence of Archie comics). Although I thought this maroon number evoked the classic varsity jacket (sans the letters/patches), I thought the green version, which was also on the rack, was neater. Unfortunately, the store didn’t have it in my size.

I should mention that this particular trip to the mall was quite an ordeal. I spent four hours on the road (from 11am to 3pm). Traffic was INSANE! I also got on the wrong bus so I had to make a transfer. To make matters worse, it rained hard when the bus had reached Makati. But the icing on the cake was when I got off at the wrong stop. I did have an umbrella (thank god) but it POURED this afternoon, so my new shoes got DRENCHED as I walked from the Makati Stock Exchange area to Greenbelt.

I wasn’t going to buy more outerwear for myself but my bad afternoon was a darned good enough reason for me to get new shoes. Two new shoes.

Guess which two pairs I got.

In hindsight, I should have just gotten myself frozen yogurt or something less damaging to my bank account because, the fact of the matter is, I haven’t worn either of the two pairs yet (and it’s been two weeks). Plus, it’s dawned on me that I don’t really need ANOTHER pair, especially when I’ve already collected more than a dozen pairs this year. This isn’t necessity anymore, it’s gluttony. (I can almost hear my friends telling me this.)

But at the time, I was of a different state of mind. My justification was, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Translation: when life rains on your new shoes, you buy two new pairs.