Keep It In The Closet.

crisis

[krahy-sis]

• noun, plural crises

1.a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.

2.a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs, leading to a decisive change.

3.a dramatic emotional or circumstantial upheaval in a person's life.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am having a crisis.  In my closet.

It is no secret that I own a lot of clothes.  In fact, I probably own too many.  I am not going to make excuses about this or pretend like I really mind this conundrum.  At times, I think, when a woman admits she loves clothes or shopping or beauty products or fashion magazines certain members of society can be quick to delegate her to a "box."  Oh.  She only cares about clothes, they'll say.  She can't possibly also care about "real" things like business or world events or charities, or literature, etc., etc., etc.  While I do believe that dated outlook is changing somewhat, it remains a decidedly slow shift.  My mother's generation fought for women's lib and pushed on that glass ceiling like no generation had before.  My generation continues to chip away at that glass ceiling, slowly, ever so slowly but surely --  and we should be allowed to look nice and be wearing a pretty dress while doing so.

I'm here to admit (or restate, as this has never really been a secret) that I love fashion, clothes, style, the whole lot of it.  From the glossy pages of Vogue to a street style blog to noticing a well-dressed woman on the T during my morning commute, I am all in.  As trivial as it may sound, one of my very favorite things in the world is planning my outfit each morning.  I love mixing and matching and reimagining items that line my closet and figuring out a whole new way to wear each of them. One of the nicest things a co-worker has ever said to me is that they had never seen me repeat an outfit in the many years we had worked together.  Accessorizing is never ending entertainment for me; quite often the reason I am running late is because I spent too much time in front of the mirror debating between necklace A or necklace B and/or weighing the merits of a few different earring options.

They say it's the little things in life, right?

But back to my crisis.

There is something lurking in my closet, something that is slowly eating my favorite sweaters.  A couple of years ago, one of my favorite, relatively new, orange J.Crew sweaters went missing.  I'd worn it only once or twice, in early winter.  When I went to look for it, with plans to wear it again, it was absolutely no where to be found.  It's been at least a year now that I have been looking for that boat neck tangerine colored sweater to no avail.

And now.

Now the monster in my closet has really gone and done it.  Somehow, of ALL the sweaters I own, (I live in Boston, you guess how many sweaters I have piled up and around every available shelf.) my absolute favorite sweater on the planet, has disappeared.  I know I wore it last season; I can clearly picture myself sitting with a friend over dinner at a pub talking about the book event we'd both just attended and her commenting on the sweater.  I strongly doubt, as it's a pull over and not a cardigan, and really a statement sort of piece, that I did not leave it behind somewhere, removed if I got too warm.  I always double check my gym locker when I leave to make sure I've not left anything behind.  I have even had both of my parents check, at their respective homes, on the off chance I somehow misplaced it when visiting one of them.  Dear readers, I live in a one bedroom apartment in the city.  It's not like I have tons of space or room after empty room where this sweater might have wandered off to.  And yet, I cannot find it ANYWHERE!  I have looked in every possible spot I can think of, emptying baskets and bins of sweaters twice just to be sure I didn't miss it the first time.  It's a grey woman's sweater, size small, from Macy's!  Where could it be hiding?  Last night I even got down on my hands and knees to look under my bed and through the storage bins I keep there even though none of those bins contain or have ever contained anything clothing related. Truth be told, I'm rather desperate for another bin to appear as it would renew my hope that maybe *that's* the spot this dear sweater of mine has been hiding.

The kicker, of course, is that I've only actually noticed two sweaters that have gone missing because they both rank quite high on my "like" list.  I imagine there are others that have disappeared as well, but I've never noticed because I simply forgot about them.  But seriously.  Where are my sweaters?!  I feel like a little kid, especially when I think about the above mentioned favorite one, who just wants to stomp their feet in anger.  I am utterly mystified as to how they - poof - vanished into thin air.  Can beloved sweaters experience The Rapture?

If you need me, you know where I'll be.  Staring at the shelves and drawers in my closet, wondering where else I can triple check.  Send sandwiches, please.