Do you feel that the quality of your life is less if you don’t own a Prada bag or a Ralph Lauren suit, or sports clothes from Nautica or a $400 pair of Italian shoes? Is it important to you to wear clothing that advertises that you are at the top of the game in fashion? Do you feel that you are a second class citizen if you don’t dress in upscale name brand clothing, or wear logos on your chest? Do you need to wear items made by the current star in the firmament of fashion?

There is a scene in “Legally Blonde” where the witness makes a catty comment about the lawyer wearing shoes that were last year’s model. I’d have never known what year the shoes were made, let alone who made them. I find a pair of shoes I love and I wear them until they fall apart. Who cares what year they were made?
Fashion is important to me in that I like to look nice and be comfortable, but I don’t need to shop to show everyone how savvy I am. I happen to have a Paloma Picasso purse. It was a gift, and I never use it. It doesn’t go with my comfy Lee Jeans, and I generally don’t need a purse when I’m weeding.
Don’t get me wrong. I love beautiful clothes. I swoon over a Dolce and Gabbana dress, but I don’t NEED one to establish my place in society. Of course, I don’t travel in high society. I’m more like a middle class version of the Unsinkable Molly Brown (think Kathy Bates in Titanic).
I’ll leave fashion to the rest of you, but please, God, let me dress with quiet class. Let me choose the right things for me, and not what happens to be the fashion of the day.