Christmas Shopping

You read in Vogue, about nine years ago, that there are style life-cycles.  Some styles come back in fashion once a year, others once every five years, others every ten years, and on and on.   The article was talking about cuts of jeans and skirts, but you saw it as an argument to keep that really hideous, indefensible Gap sweater that you just love.  Huge horizontal stripes in wacky colors, doesn't even go with jeans and isn't even cute in an ironic way.  It was in style once, in the early nineties, and its fashion life cycle will come around, it will be in style again, and then you can wear it out of the house!

But then, it's nearly 2010, and you think, if it was coming back into style, it would have done so by now.  You don't have enough closet space as it is (well, actually, you don't have a closet, just a garment rack, anyway) and you think, you know, that article was really about Dior pieces and not sweaters from the Gap.  So you throw it away.

And then you go Christmas shopping that year, and you see that the Gap has revived your sweater, with the exact same print and pattern!  No changes at all!  And they've made matching mittens, scarves and hats!   . . . and you say aaaaarrrrgh!  But obviously, since this is a story of obstinacy, you cannot buy it again.  So you seethe.