Day 10: Closet Orphans

I do my best not to hang on to items of clothing that don't get worn. They are to be donated or passed along sooner than later. ( Why keep them if I don't wear them? Plus it makes more room for new items!) But like there are always a few items that get worn fewer than others. When I saw Kayla's challenge for Day 10, wear a closet orphan I knew that I had just the item, my sleeveless white shirt. This is the one item in my closet that get's pulled out every 6 months, laid out on the guest bed and examined. To donate or not to donate? Is it time yet? Every time I convince myself to leave it in my closet rotation, and then the next time it sees the light of day is in 6 months when it comes back out for evaluation.

There isn't anything visibly wrong with this shirt. It fits well, and it's length works just fine. I just can't seem to get past the look of the shirt. The way the sleeves are cut is a bit 'country'. That is precisely the reason I keep this shirt in fact, and also the only other time this shirt comes out (besides for evaluation). This is my country concert shirt. Johnny used to work for our local country radio station, and I happen to love all things country. While the cut of the sleeves feels a bit odd to me, it fits right in with the crowd at concerts, local fairs, and rodeos. Even so, I've only ever actually worn it to a 'country' themed event once. I convince myself to keep it for my next rural event, and then don't even wear it!

I also often think that this shirt would make a great layering piece in the winter. With no sleeves to hold me back, this should be a great item to put under a thin sweater. With the ruffles going horizontal across my front however, and the thicker buttons, all this shirt does under any layer is add bumps. This shirt can not be layered under anything but a jacket, and most jacket's already come with collars. The truth of the matter is I just hate this shirt, but I do love this outfit. Here I am stuck again in the cycle that is this shirt. I don't love most anything about this shirt, but I can't seem to part with it. Is there really something wrong with keeping a few orphans around though? As long as they aren't taking up to much room, and you only have an item or two, maybe they serve as a good reminder to clean out your closet every so often. Am I just finding more justifications to keep this shirt around?