Keeping Up With The Joneses

Most of the time, I would not consider myself a materialistic person. It took a long time for me to start caring about clothes and makeup, and even now, I'm a pretty minimalist person. In the winter, you're most likely to find me wearing either a button-down, sweater, or sweatshirt. But, I feel a lot of social pressure to care more, and I feel self-conscious enough that sometimes I give in to fashion. I'd rather just braid my hair and have it out of the way and mess with a straightener, but I compromise by blow drying my hair from time to time. Aside from the fact that I really do love shoes, most of the time my wardrobe stresses come from what other people will think. I know it's silly, but I can't help it. I love the people that I work with, but there are quite a few who spend a lot of money and time on appearance, and I feel pressure to fit in with those ideals some times, and feel guilty sometimes that I don't spend enough time at the gym.

In my moments of sanity, I realize that's ridiculous. My favorite people at that job don't care what I look like, as long as its professional, and I hate the gym. Granted, I want to go on the elliptical to get in shape for a 5k I'm running with some students, without being too hard on my knees, but I'd rather be gardening, or going for a walk, or a hike, or a bike ride. After all, going to the gym isn't very green or efficient. You aren't actually accomplishing anything other than burning calories by running on a treadmill that's using up lots of electricity. Like I said, you'll probably see me on the elliptical before May, but that might just be to get exercise despite the snow that will probably be on the ground until then.

My plan to feel fashionable without breaking the bank is to head to a nice consignment shop and pick up a few more classic pieces. I also plan to shop there for upcoming weddings and high school reunions. Reuse and don't break the bank. Seems like a good plan to me!