I know this comes as a surprise, but I actually have a lot of clothes. A lot of clothes. I never buy them (except at garage sales v. occasionally). Everyone just gives them to me. And plenty of them are really nice, particularly the stuff J.'s Aunt K. passes on. She has good taste in clothing and only buys very tasteful name brand stuff.
And, yet, I still wear the same 5 outfits all the time. Or a variation thereof. In the winter I've got maybe three pair of really comfy black fleece pants I wear with varying degrees of underclothing. These I match with a red/burgundy top, preferably turtlenecked to make a sort of wintry uniform. Now that it's spring, I've gotten out a couple of pair of jeans, and I work them in if the weather is warm enough. Summertime is for V-necked shortsleeves and shorts (with sandals). The quality of all of the above is negotiable. I've acquired nearly everything I wear used since I quit my job - it's a momdrobe of stuff I can get dirty in and not feel guilty about.
Frankly, I like old stuff. If it's already distressed, I don't feel bad when I spill food on it or if Max spits koolaid on it or if the dogs jump up on me with their muddy paws. Plus, it's already broken in in all the right places.
Actually, here's the thing: I just don't care what I look like as long as I'm basically clean and presentable. I only wear makeup if I'm going out, and only the bare minimum then. I've given up entirely on mascara and wear my glasses instead of my contacts all the time now. I try to curl my hair when I take Max to school, but I don't always work it in. Half of my shoes are frankly a disgrace. I just don't feel it's my goal in life to be decorative. I want to be healthy. I want to be decently attired. It would be nice if I were model skinny or had great coloring and hair with tons of volume and natural highlights. But since I don't and, since I'm meeting my real goal of being useful, it's all the same to me if I not winning any Best Dressed Mom contests. I'd rather be comfortable. My sell-by date has long since passed, and I've bagged my limit. My energy is better spent elsewhere on something I actually care about.
Thank you for teaching your children the values of money. My father never
did that, my mother tried. Please also teach them the values of investing
wisely (for the long-term). My mother didn't know and learnt much later. I
didn't learn until recently!