The Changing of the Gar...ment

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: There are many, many fall chores to be done when you live in the northeastern US. You want to check the doors and windows for drafts, get the oil tank filled, start (or finish) stacking the wood, clean up the garden and the lawn, etc. etc.

There's one chore I always dread and put off until I absolutely can't any more, so I'm pleased to be able to say I finally did it Tuesday. Yes, I changed out my summer wardrobe for my winter clothes.

I suppose there are some places this task is unnecessary. Southern Florida, Southern California, Southern Arizona... you get the drift. But most everywhere else, the weather change is enough to require a different collection of garments. At the very least you need a few light sweaters and a jacket and coat.

Up here in Vacationland, we're serious about our winter wear. (I know you readers in Canada and the northern midwest are nodding along.) Summer is sleeveless tops, cropped pants, canvas sneakers.  Winter is long-sleeved T plus a flannel shirt plus a wool sweater. Corduroy pants and insulated, waterproof boots.

Again, some of you lucky readers live in contemporary houses with abundant closet space. Maybe switching up your attire is a matter of moving everything from room A to room B, hangars and all. But I, alas, live in This Old House, where the tiny closets were created years after the place was built, by boxing in part of the walls. So my off-season clothing is stored, you guessed it, up in the attic.

We have a traditional attic - low, sloping ceilings waiting to give you a concussion, a single hanging bulb to illuminate the whole-house-wide space, and 2-3 generations of STUFF crowding what should be a clear center aisle. Oh, and don't forget the rickety pull-down ladder (partial handrail on only one side) that's the only was to get up there. (Don't worry, family and friends, I take my phone with me, so if I fall and break something, I can still dial for help.)

You can understand why I eke out my warm-weather attire well into October. I'll layer two cotton sweaters over a 3/4 sleeve shirt, and pull knee-high socks up to cover the gap created by pedal pushers. This being Maine, I always have a couple light-weight turtlenecks in my drawers even in July, and they see HEAVY rotation between mid-September and mid-October.

But eventually, a combination of increasingly cold temperature, boredom with wearing the same three warm items over and over, and embarrassment over being seen in public with cropped pants and woolly socks forces me into action. It takes about three hours to do the changeover - as long as the cat doesn't make it up the stairs and into mouse hunting heaven. (She's getting on in years and is mercifully less inclined to do this these days.)

By the time I'm done, my knees hurt, my shoulder aches from hauling outfits on hangers up and down the ladder, and it feels like I have permanent dents in my fingers from the aforementioned hooks. 

But it's always a pleasure to be reintroduced to clothing I haven't seen in months (particularly this year, as I've lost some weight and am finding tops and bottoms that are a bit large for me!) Obviously, I've never done the Millennial shopping haul thing, but meeting my wardrobe again feels close. (Also? Much cheaper.) Oo, brushed velveteen! Yummy cashmere! Cozy vests!

I'll do the whole thing over again in May, by which time I'll be sick to death of all these thrillingly newish clothes. I'll go through the same process, and find the same pleasure in the reappearance of the sleeveless shirts and bright colors of the summer. Who knows, maybe I'll drop a little bit more weight, and I'll be able to justify actually buying a few new items...

Dear readers, do you switch up your clothing seasonally?