This is me preaching to the choir.....

I have more clothes than I know what to do with them.

 

I have more clothes than I have time to wash; more clothes than I have space to put them; more clothes than I have days to wear them.

I have more clothes than I know what to do with them, but I know…I can’t get rid of them. Some of them are chained to me through hope; hope that my waist will once again be the x inches required to button that shirt or my backside will magically fit back into those jeans. (You know…those jeans.)

Some of them are permanent fixtures of my wardrobe because no matter how ratty they get, or perhaps because of how ratty they get, they are the most comfortable things to wear. Clothes I’ve had so long and wore so often, they are an extension of my personality and myself.

Some are reminders of other times. The shirt I swiped from an old boyfriend, the skirt I got on that trip, the sweatpants from my high school track team. Some of these are even wearable; but the ones that aren’t can rest peacefully in the Tupperware totes under my bed, secure in the knowledge that they are safe from any theoretical closet purges because of my debilitating sentimentality.

I can’t imagine getting rid of them. I know for many of you, I’m preaching to the choir.

I also can’t imagine having to leave them all behind in the middle of the night to escape a dangerous situation. But there are women in this world who have to do exactly that in order to choose safety for themselves and their children. Usually they don’t get to pack a bag before they go, or if they do, I imagine it is a rushed process, to put it lightly.

It’s hard for me not to think about this as we head into a show that examines the ties that clothing has into our lives. And the courage it takes to cut those ties; all ties. And how little it takes for me to help ease that transition and make sure that the woman who is starting over has a nice outfit for work.

So heads up, Closet. We need to have a little talk…

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During LOVE, LOSS AND WHAT I WORE running February 15, 16 and 17th, LAMB Arts LTD will have a donation box for gently used clothing donations to benefit the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. All donations benefit our community locally. For more details, click here.

Jessica Wheeler
LAMB Arts Regional Theatre
Marketing-Promotions Specialist
712-255-9536
jessatlamb@gmail.com

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