New to me

The company where I now work has a LOT of products, large and small, in cupboards high and low. The products range from solvents, to dyes, pigments, and polymers of all kinds. In my first week I noticed that before long the gloves I was wearing were covered with the residue from the jars of powder: white, glimmer-y purple, or green.

I quickly realized my not-so-special wardrobe of tops and slacks would likely get ruined before my assignment was up. Most of the workers in those areas wear jeans and khakis; even the PhDs. So while my office work wardrobe might not be so impressive to some people, I’m not prepared to have to replace any of it by ruining them in a lab environment. In addition, I may have outgrown (lol) some of my casual clothes.

In my second week, I took a trip around to a Salvation Army Family Store in my area. I found four pairs of jeans. Unfortunately there was no fitting room and it turned out two pairs don’t quite fit that well. One I can have taken in a bit. The other pair I’d have to lose weight for, so I think I’ll re-donate that pair. Oh yes, no returns are accepted. Just think of it like a yard sale. Cash is king and buyer beware.

I paid $26 total. Two pairs were popular brand names and the other two I’ve never heard of. That is not to say they are not popular. None of them were frayed or torn or even weathered. They were all just slightly used. When I mentally calculate what those jeans might be sold for, I think it might have come up to about $220. Rather than paying $55 average per pair brand new, I paid something more like $6.50. Since one pair doesn’t fit and another pair may have to be altered, I suspect it’ll actually cost $12 per pair. That is factoring in $10 for the alteration and dividing the grand total by the three pairs of jeans I’ll keep.

Overall, I think that’s alright. If I don’t ruin these jeans I’ll be able to wear them long after the assignment is over, denim being such a sturdy material.

What have you bought second hand? What wouldn’t you buy?