Is your closet. Unless you're one of those people who never shops and whose wardrobe contains a grand total two button-downs and one pair of jeans. But if you do shop and maybe shouldn't be shopping anymore because you are 1. broke, 2. have too many clothes already and the credit bills to prove it, or 3. a kleptomaniac who has been warned away from every department store in the Bay Area, then your closet is your new best friend.

Why? First off, everything is free. Because you already bought it. There are always new ways to put things together. There are also bound to be cute sweaters that you've utterly forgotten about hiding in the corners. Or skirts that are so old that they have gone out of fashion and come back in again. (Really, who thought the '80s bubble skirts were ever coming back? Yet here they are.)

You do need to be careful of the You-know-what-this-outfit-needs? phenomenon. Lest you find yourself racing to the nearest mall, boutique or computer. Which is totally missing the point of the shopping-in-your-closet plan. If that outfit needs something, be creative. Do not leave the bounds of your previously purchased goods! [Post subtitle: The Closet Nazi.]

My own personal issue with the closet is that while a basic reconnaissance mission will yield heretofore undiscovered outfit combinations, it also lays bear its basic faults. Like the worn-through socks. And the holey underwear. And the cheap belt that someone just made fun of for its cheapness. When, hello!, I bought it when I was eating on $25 a week, had $2,000 worth of car repairs hanging over my head but needed something TO HOLD MY PANTS UP.

Nevertheless, I could use a new belt. No! No! Blast.

Fine. If you think this is all a load of hooey and just want to look at something new, check this baby out:


'Tis the season to be pink. Says Bluefly. Add a pink doctor bag:
And prepare to make more room in your over-stuffed closet.