Things I bought today included shoelaces, a belt, pizza, groceries, a suitcase, and a suit.<\/p>\n
I was thinking a couple of weeks ago about the spate of weddings I'm attending this year, and had to finally admit to myself that my suit pants no longer fit me. I was in denial about this for a long time, because (a) I don't like admitting that my belly is growing larger, and (b) I really like that suit.<\/p>\n
But I had the pants let out a while back, and was told at the time that they couldn't be let out any further. And now they no longer close.<\/p>\n
So I asked my brother for advice, because he used to sell suits when he was in business school. And he gave me a lot of useful info, and I supplemented that with some web research and some suggestions from Mary Anne. And I went to Nordstrom today and bought a suit.<\/p>\n
Not without trepidation. It was much pricier than I'd expected. And I really very rarely wear a suit, even though I like doing so; pretty much only at weddings, and lately most of my friends who've gotten married have recommended festive and\/or casual clothing. And I'm sad that double-breasted suits aren't really in fashion these days; they look elegant to me. I like how I look in mine, and have received a bunch of compliments on it.<\/p>\n
But I decided it was time to join the modern era. So I got a nice single-breasted very-dark-navy-blue suit that I'm told is the sort of timeless design that's unlikely to go out of style.<\/p>\n
And I'm told it's versatile; the jacket can double as a blazer, for example. And I suspect, unfortunately, that as I get older there'll be more funerals to go to; the suit is dark enough to work for that, without being the solid black of my old one, which some have suggested was perhaps little too grim for festive occasions.<\/p>\n
The other semi-big-ticket purchase of the day was a suitcase. I've been using a hand-me-down that Mary Anne gave me almost exactly five years ago<\/a>; it's a nice suitcase, and usually does everything I want, but the handle has gotten increasingly hard to open, which makes it a little frustrating to use at times. I rather like my Tumi backpack\/laptop-bag, so was considering a Tumi suitcase, but they cost a fair bit. Recently, someone (Jessica T, I think?) showed me a Victorinox suitcase, and I was pleased to see that the company had redesigned it since last time I saw it; the weird bulgy front is gone. And although its base price is not that much lower than Tumi's, it's been on sale for a while; I ended up paying $300, which is 40% off, and is half the price of the same-sized Tumi suitcase.<\/p>\n