Shopping isn’t really “shopping” if you’re buying material to make clothes, right?

I like to make rules for myself to keep me in line. However, I forget that I also don’t like to be told what to do, so I also find loopholes or exceptions in rules as well. (I may have mild schizophrenia.) Why would not being able to shop be an exception, even though I made up the rule?

We had zero plans on Saturday and we’d made it a point to clean the entire house and do laundry on Friday so that we had no responsibility for the weekend. When our friends JJ and Molly texted us around lunchtime to join them at Dolores Park to hang out we accepted. We took our regular 49 bus to the Mission and were going to grab some sandwiches for lunch and then head to the park. Somewhere between 16^th Street and 18^th Street I saw it: a discount fabric store. For some girls it’s jewelry, for others it’s shoes. For me, it’s inexpensive fabric. I made note of it and made a mental plan to stop there after the park.

We hung out at the park and had a great time. I got the dream of a lifetime and wore a horse head. Weird, I know, but I really wanted to wear it. I found myself getting antsy as it crept closer to 5:00, in fear the fabric store would close. My KISA mentioned that he wanted a burrito and I finally admitted that I wanted to go to the fabric store. We left the park right before 6:00 and stopped to get burritos for dinner and he then agreed to come to the fabric store with me.

It was an underground store, so you immediately went down a staircase as you came in. I could feel myself mesmerized by all the thread, zippers, ribbon, and sewing machine parts a we first stepped in. And, I hadn’t even gotten to the fabric. My KISA waited patiently for about 10 minutes and then asked what I was looking for. I sheepishly looked at him and said, “Everything!” I could tell that he would be the good fiancé and wait for me as I shopped, but I sent him home. He looked relieved and I told him I’d be home soon. I found small black buttons to replace the silver ones on a black silk shirt I love but don’t wear since most my accessories and belts are gold, black lace and white lace to make little wedding sample decor out of, deep purple satin for $2.99/yard to make a maxi skirt out of (as well as a zipper), and jewelry pieces to make some necklaces before a lady kindly told me the store was closing (it was now 7:00) and I needed to bring my purchases to the registers. I obliged and paid for my loot, but there was over half of the store I hadn’t yet explored and they were closed on Sundays. Then, something caught my eye – half yards of upholstered fabric samples for $1.29. I realized there was another person still checking out, so I snuck over to the table to have a look. I’d found two I liked before the same lady came back over to tell me they were closed. I took the fabric to the registers, paid, and was then escorted out of the store (apparently they didn’t trust I’d really leave). I had a wave of euphoria as I hopped on the bus to head home, thinking about all the extraordinary things I could make and this new gold mine I’d found.

Since I’m not shopping or thinking about shopping, I’m obviously not obsessing over it or checking any websites for new brands. Well, except one. I recently learned of a clothing line called Everlane. The thing that caught my attention is that they don’t follow the traditional designer business model. In fact, they despise it and have therefore come up with their own. They don’t believe products should be marked up 8x their cost so they create really high quality of products in factories they handpick and have close relationship with. In addition to that, they only do business online and you buy directly from them. They have limited products and colors, but instead you get very inexpensive, high quality products. I dig it.

In case you’re already getting restless, wondering what to get me for Christmas, I’ve picked out my three favorite items to make your life easier. You’re welcome.

Belt – $40; Tee – $15; Silk Blouse – $80