$60 T-shirt? Thanks Lulu

I've officially become one of those people who buy $60 T-shirts. What is wrong with me?

My mother, who raised me on thrift store skirts and yard sale T-shirts, would be horrified. With that money, I could buy a week's worth of groceries, pay a doctor's bill—do lots of necessary and less frivolous things that don't make me a yuppy (one of my dad's derogatory words of choice.)

Yes, the T-shirt is too expensive. But did you try it on? Does it make you look like you just rolled out of fashion magazine?

The T-shirt, of course, is Lululemon, which I'm obsessed with. I love wearing their clothes. I look forward to 5 p.m. rolling around so I can put on my High Times tights with mesh inserts, and go to Pure Barre. I'll get compliments on the tights. And I just feel good wearing their clothes. They make the best workout clothes period. I love wearing my Wunder Under crops because they're super soft, opaque and just awesome to wear. The clothes fit me well, are well made and give me some magic boost of happiness and self confidence. I'm a pretty self loathing girl, so it's worth it to wear something that makes me feel like I can do anything.

The T-shirt is a black crew neck. Dark deans and black T-shirts are my weekend uniform. And at $60, the T-shirt is equivalent to 3 or more of the black cheap T-shirts that I already have. To me it's worth it to have something that well made that will be worn every weekend. It pays for itself. Of my sale T-shirts, there's one that's neck is too small, one that's pilling, several that are covered in permanent dog fur and few that stay perpetually wrinkled. I don't need more shirts like that. That truly would be a waste of money. And I do need to get rid of these T-shirts I won't wear anymore.

I've always spent too much on clothes. I've tried to stop buying clothes I'll never wear. I'll return dresses that aren't flattering. I don't need anymore. I want to focus more on buying quality pieces. I have some dress pants that have been with me since my college days and Calvin Klein dresses that are older than my house, but still look great.

This winter I purchased one Lululemon sweater and two pullovers. It was all I wore on the weekends. It was my weekend uniform. And there's something beautiful in the simplicity. I knew what I was wearing. Off to a gymnastics meet, dinner with the husband, lunch with the inlaw, I'd wear the herringbone or the grey pullover. And it was soft and warm enough and looked great on me. The sweater I could wear to work. Heck the herringbone pullover looks fancy enough for work. It's just made so well made that it looked like a dressy shirt.

Can I afford it? Not really. I set myself a strict $100 a month budget for clothes, and then spend way more than that every month. This month it's been:

$58, Lululemon tracker shorts. Hands down the most comfortable run shorts I have ever tried on. The fabric is silky and light. There's a fun key pocket too.
$39, Lululemon crossback tank. I wear these for handstands and flying trapeze. They're form-fitting, down fly up and have a mesh panel on the back to keep you cool. I have one in purple and I wear it once a week. I needed another one and this one was on sale.
$58, Lululemon T-shirt
$69 Lululemon Easy Breazy pant. I've been wanting a pair of Lulu pants I could wear to the office. These went on markdown for $30 off and I snagged the last pair in my size. Lulu to the office? Yes please.

So that's $224 that I shouldn't have spent. I'd like a fitness tracker, so many other things but I do try to be semi conscious of my spending.

But yes dad,maybe I'm officially a yuppie. I drive a Subaru, have put my dog in doggie daycare where I can watch him on a web cam, I've eaten $14 salads at lunch. I'm not frugal with my money, and sometimes it's really fun.