Clothing, Style, and Shopping Together

by Laura and Allegra

[Someone with a system of about six people made a forum post asking how systems handle shopping together, especially for clothes.]

There are a lot more of us then there are of you, so it would be utter chaos if all of us actively participated in anything on the outside. The best we can do is allow something like the US Congress, except more functional (*eyeroll*).  In other words, a couple of people representing each age group.

Also, for what it's worth, the kids under the age of five almost never come out. We guess that speaks to the ability of The Babysitters, who are the six teens who take care of the kids on the inside.

Each of us has a style, yet only a few of us need to figure into the equation of how we manifest style externally. This would be all five bigs, plus Laura (17.5) and Allegra (17), who are the two who front most frequently.

Laura and Allegra prefer to wear t-shirts and leggings or shorts, with a lightweight turtleneck underneath the t-shirt in the cooler weather. The bigs defer to this except when we have to dress for work. Then we usually wear dark slacks and a lightweight turtleneck (we have three drawers of these turtlenecks), or a plain short-sleeve knit shirt without buttons (sort of a t-shirt but more presentable).

A couple of years ago we decided it was time to get rid of the clothes that no longer fit us. We live in a small apartment and storage space is at a premium. Charity is a saver and it is very difficult for her to part with things, particularly if the items represent something that gives her a sense of who she is. We had a dozen or so flowered summer sundresses that we used to wear to to work 15 or 20 years ago, and those were Charity's. They no longer fit us and were not appropriate for someone whose body age is over 50. It was painful for Charity to let these clothes go, but she agreed because doing so was in everyone's best interest, including hers.