The Difference Between Coats and Cameras

This past Saturday, I worked from 5 til close at Talbots with my store manager, Franklin, and dear coworker, Suze.  We just did a set up last week with all of our new merchandise, but some pieces were shipped late.  One of those pieces happened to be a double-breasted black and white houndstooth peacoat.  

Understand that almost nothing at Talbots fits me.  I did buy a white sundress last summer, but even that had to be altered (at $22!  And even then it doesn't fit nearly as well as a dress would from, say, The Gap).  Needless to say, I take home pretty much all of my paycheck from the store.

This past Saturday, though, I made the mistake of trying on said peacoat.  Slipping into the lined arms of this 100% wool beauty, I thought that the tailors at Talbots Inc. must have been thinking of me when they made it.  With each button pushed into place, I looked at both Franklin and Suze, shock overtaking my face, and thought, "Why the Hell did I try this on?"

The coat was gorgeous.  I didn't want to take it off, and neither one of my coworkers wanted me to walk out of the store without it.  "You have to buy this, Liz," Suze said.  "It will be perfect for London!"  London, houndstooth, patent red shoes--it was as if all the stars were aligning within this one outfit.  

But I have a winter coat already.  In fact, I have three.  Three winter coats, a Columbia fleece, and a long sweater jacket.  I knew that I did not need another anything to ward off the cold.  Even when Franklin and Suze offered to buy it for me (at 50% off due to a special associate deal) and let me pay them back because they assumed I couldn't afford it right now, I turned them down.  Despite my resistance, I could afford it.  In fact, with the price being $134, I could have bought around 8 coats.  Yet I didn't need the coat, and in the end, I never did buy it.

What I bought, instead, was a new digital camera.  I should have done this 2 or 3 years ago.  I have been toting around a clunky hp since my freshman year of college; the experience has been less than fantastic.  My pictures are often faded, blurry, or washed out.  I have few settings and little patience to wait for the flash to finally kick in so I can get a picture.  

At $174, I spent $40 more on a Canon Powershot than I would that coat.  But I didn't have 3 cameras lying around--only one defunct relic.  So I think my resistance was worth it.  And maybe someday I will buy a black and white houndstooth peacoat.  I promise to take a picture with my new camera and post it.

blessings, 

liz