Useless Poll

[lunabee34]

Okay, here's the thing.

I'm a thrifty gal. I grew up in the one of the cheapest families known to man and while I don't think I've carried that tendency as far as some of my relatives, I know how to pinch a penny. I cut my dryer sheets in half because those fragrance free ones that Josh and Emma have to use are expensive and half works just as well as a full sheet. I don't waste and I look for sales and I almost never shop for myself. I usually wait until it's a necessity, like I've grown so fat I have no pants that will fit me or all my underwear is full of holes. We will not speculate on the reasons for that. *g*

However, I'm not stingy. I like to spend money on experiences--travel, food, drink, comfort (I run the AC higher than I should in the summer because I'm not sweating in my own house). I know that sometimes you just can't be cheap because whatever you're buying is worth the money.

But this? This crosses the line. I love my fashion mags, but I am continually flabbergasted at what many of the items featured cost. I get expensives dresses and coats and jewelry, but the 200$ T-shirt is a thing I will never understand. So, poll!

[Poll #1314337]

Comments

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I'm with you, right down to the holey underwear. :) In fact, we just finally hauled ourselves over to Target today so I could get a new comfy shirt for around the house because my old one has huge holes in the elbows. I was down to one because the other was literally coming apart at the seams and I could no longer wear it and had to throw it away. So I got two new shirts today, $7.99 each. They will probably last me several years. Sounds good to me.

I clicked $100 on the poll. We don't have hugely cold winter weather here, but it does merit a warm coat once in a while, and so I have one of those big Adidas coats, windbreaker material on the outside, padded sweatshirt material on the inside. I bought it oh jeez, probably before Bruce moved out here, so maybe 12 years ago? 13? And it's still in excellent shape. It was probably right around $100, maybe slightly more.

(And my wedding dress was about $20 at Mervyn's. My grandmother paid for it.)

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. I paid 350 for my wedding dress and while much more than yours (OMG awesome thriftiness on your part!!!), still well below the national average by thousands, THOUSANDS!

I have just always been Meh about buying stuff for myself. I only do it when I have to. I just bought a new pair of tennis shoes. The old pair I bought in circa 2000. That kinda thing.

And coats are just expensive. No two ways around that. Thank gods I have an executrix who sends me Burberry trenches in the mail. *loves*

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I totally forgot I actually paid like $140 or so for my bridesmaid dress for my friend's wedding. So that was probably the most expensive thing I've ever bought. Me and the other bridesmaid went to a tailor to look at dresses and picked the absolute cheapest one, which was under $100, and they said oh, if it's more than a size...I don't remember, 20 or so, it will cost extra. Well, at the time, both of us were maybe size 14-16, so we thought no worries. But it turned out they use some special wedding sizing, so we both ended up being like 22 or 24. D:

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

DUDE YES!!!!!!!!!!!

I know of which you speak.

Sample size for wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses is like something that would fit a 13 year old.

May I say? Demoralizing.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I'm still angry over that dress. The worst is that it's not even something you can continue to wear and get use out of. :( I wore it once, for a couple hours, and then it sat in the closet for years, after which I eventually gave it to a thrift shop. At least I can hope that someone else got some use out of it after me, but argh.

(The whole experience really soured me on the bridesmaid thing, which I'd never given much thought to before.)

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

I have been a bridesmaid and bridesmatron (and, boy, is that a life-affirming title) about four million times and they've run the gamut from "Shot gun wedding and we're gonna rent your dresses from the prom rental place and they're maroon" to "I inexplicably believe the female ass is excentuated with rhinestones and a bow the size of a fat child; me a Sir Mix-a-Lot are totally BFF."