Clothes that make the Savage

That’s the great thing about quality footwear. Unlike many other things that have graced my closet, as an adult, you don’t grow out of your shoes. Apparently, if they last you long enough, they just come back in vogue, with the only caveat being the word vintage in front of them.

The same was true for my oversized wool sweaters. I had several in my closet dating back to my college days. Our oldest daughter laid claim to those last year during her first year on a mountainside college campus. She gets many compliments on her vintage winter sweater collection from her peers. 

Luckily, I wear a larger shoe size than her, or my classic shoes would also one day mysteriously disappear.

The author of a recent book I read described her 20-something daughters as living in the “rag-tag flea market stage of life.” 

I felt that. 

Currently, our girl is a thrift store and second-hand shopping guru. Although I’ve been learning, as I hold up finds to show her off the consignment store rack, that there is still a line between a cool vintage, indie look and a “that’s cute—for you” look. 

As my older kids like to say, sometimes the clothes I think will drip definitely drown. 

Then, again, I am at a different stage of life than our Savages. My fit can’t slay every day. Although, my new Valentine-themed XOXO sweatshirt did receive a lot of compliments from the other adults working in my school buildings.

I do appreciate our oldest daughter’s newfound love of all things used. It is much friendlier to our budget than the middle-school everything-must-come-from-the-name-brand-stores-at-the-mall phase. 

Luckily, our current middle schooler has always been confident in her clothing choices. She’s not one to worry about trends and name brands. She knows the look she likes and doesn’t care if it’s trendy with the other kids. 

Her kindergarten teacher used to tell us one of the things she loved most about our little mismatched, always dressed herself little girl was how she embraced the saying, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” 

These days, our introvert isn’t too keen on standing out in a big way, but she also remains steadfast in her desire to make her own unique fashion choices.

It’s been long said that clothes don’t make a man. They also don’t technically make the Savage. Although, some of my clothing items have not only been making me for decades but are now considered vintage cool enough to help make the next Savage generation.