A Shirt Story About Shopping

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For the most part, we don’t spend much on this thing called life, except when it comes to groceries and travel. So, when Mr. F2P mentions that he’s in need of jeans or sports attire, he means he needs jeans and sports attire. He mentioned a need for sports attire a number of weeks ago and since then I’ve been on the look out for some replacements. 

My usual spot is a local running apparel store, especially at this time of year, given The Manitoba Marathon just happened on Father’s Day and they typically have a clearance sale right around/after the event. I usually manage to find 2-5 items at a reasonable price that I'm confident Mr. F2P will like. 

As luck would have it, this year I forgot about going to our usual place and this week I ended up getting an email from YMX by Yellowman (note: I suspect this link will eventually no longer work).

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Yellowman is a small business we’ve kept in high esteem for its products and approach to selling since we discovered them during a trip to L.A. many years ago (we each have one of their amazing shirts, pictured right).

Here’s what was so surprising given their amazing products: they’re going out of business!

When I told my husband about this, he was all over it, and I mean all over it—for a guy who doesn't shop! We were at the computer within a minute of me mentioning it. We bought every type of item we could find for him that he liked and that was available in his size. Why? Because he still loves his original shirt, which wears it nearly every time we go out, AND because every single item was marked down to $15, compared to the regular cost of $180 USD. We ended up buying 12 items for the same price as a single long-sleeved shirt!

What did we buy?

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  • 7 shirts for him, half for working out and half for going out (see sample on the right)
  • 3 shirts for me, two for going out and one for working out (see sample below, right)
  • 1 pair of shorts for me
  • 1 fitness accessory for me (arm warmers)

The shirts for me were a bonus (though I'd coveted getting another one for a LONG time), but the running shorts and the arm warmers had been on my list for a few years, so it was a nice surprise to be able to get it all in one fell swoop.

The last time this type of opportunity presented itself was three years ago when I accidentally came across a cycle shop that was closing its doors and I was able to get three high-quality sport shirts and a pair of great sun glasses at 80% off, all of which are still my go-to leisure accessories today.

This shopping “spree” has been a good reminder for me of how differently we live these days compared to how I used to shop for apparel some years ago:

  • We now take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself as opposed to just going out and buying when we have time.
  • We buy good quality clothing that makes us feel great and that last a long time. (Mr. F2P's original shirt is nearly eight years old and still looks great!)
  • We wear our clothes until they’re threadbare, as opposed to buying rags that don’t last.
  • We focus on replacing our wardrobe instead of continuously adding to it based on fleeting fashion trends.

Though I’m sad to see Yellowman go—and as a small business owner I've known what it feels like to close shop—I’m pleased to be able to wear more of their beautiful clothing for years to come. 

How do you shop for your favourite style of clothes? Are you opportunistic? Do you wait until you need to replace your wardrobe? Do you prefer to have a lot of the same styles?