The New Trench

Call it a momentary slip-up, a lapse in judgment. Call it an impulse buy. But when I saw this trench coat, I could not resist. Especially in orange? Dude, where’s my debit card?

I’ve been diligently guarding my money, funneling it into ING’s woeful savings account (woeful because they keep on dropping the interest rate every two weeks) at every possible opportunity. I haven’t been frivolous with my money, I’ve all but stopped buying clothes, and I bought a pair of New Balance 859s only because my feet were absolutely slaughtered by last weekend’s seven-miler (I swear to you that if my 858s still had cushioning I wouldn’t have dropped apricot one for the 859s). I’ve been really, really good because a) I’ve started a new life with someone and 2) the wedding is coming up fast. So any extra money? Into the pot it goes!

But then I pulled out my spring jacket this morning, and was disappointed but not surprised to discover that it pulled tight across my hips. Not badly, but enough that I wouldn’t want to wear it outside. Sure, I am trying to tame my stomach pooch a bit and have been successful in doing so without losing muscle, but it’s a careful balancing act and I’ve not been the best at it lately. I’m far from a tub, but I’m not the person who used to run 30 miles per week and thus kept off the extra cushioning that’s made its way onto my frame in the past three years. I’m mostly okay with that, but I can’t deny the desire to see that cushioning minimized. However, even if I do manage to get rid of a couple of inches, my jacket’s not fitting any better until then—and by then, spring will probably be over and there’ll be no need for the jacket. Which I kind of don’t like anymore, anyway.

So what’s a woman to do? Search for a cheap spring jacket of course. The best place to find a cute but cheap jacket? Old Navy! But Old Navy is a sister store to Banana Republic, and I can never resist the temptation to see what BR has on its site. And upon doing so, I saw the orange jacket and I was lost.

Lost, I tell you.

So even though it was a bit more than I had planned on paying, I admit I could resist. And the fact that it was $70 off didn’t hurt, either. And did I mention it was orange?

But since this is the only article of clothing I really need until I buy undergarments for my wedding dress (exciting, I tell you), no more spending on clothes even if Old Navy has jeans on sale for $19 right now. For now, I’ll have to embrace my orange trench coat and my pink and gray 859s as my apparel splurges for the foreseeable future.