Maybe it's time I got rid of that particular one.
One of the staples of my wardrobe is the black T-shirt. I can wear it as a shirt, I can wear it under a shirt, or, if it's winter, under two or three shirts. For almost anyone, a black T-shirt is a wardrobe must. For me, it's a necessity, which is why I have seven or eight of them that I rotate through.
I went to put one on over the weekend, and noticed something about it. This particular shirt is the oldest one in the collection; I actually picked it up for our European trip in 2011 (don't ask how I remember that) and it has a fit that actually makes me look like I have a physique. And since we all know I don't, it's a T-shirt that I've worn quite a bit over the past 11 years.
Unfortunately, when you wear something over 11 years, even if you take as good care of it as you can, things happen. When I went to put it on Saturday I tore a bit of the bottom hem on it. Inspecting it, I notice there was another hole in the hem, as well as small holes under one of the arms and around the neck in the back. I have no idea when these occurred; for all I know, I could have been wearing it for months with all those little imperfections in it.
But now that I know they're there, I think it's finally time to retire it.
I have no idea how many times I've worn the T-shirt since 2011, although I'm guessing it's a lot. The one thing I do know is that I certainly have gotten my money's worth out of it. Once again, don't ask how I remember this, but I picked up the shirt at Target back in 2011 for $5.99. That's all. So let's say I've worn the shirt just once a month since then (I know it's been more, but for the sake of argument, let's say once a month). That means I've worn the shirt approximately 140 times. Looking at it from a per-cost amortized point of view, that means it has cost me, uhm, 4 and a half cents every time I've worn the shirt.
And considering some people will buy a $200 pair of shoes and wear them once, I'd say that $5.99 T-shirt was a pretty good deal.
So now I'm down to just six or seven black T-shirts. Oh, don't worry. I'm sure I'll survive. But you better believe that the next time I'm Target I'll check their T-shirt collection. After all, if this shirt lasted 11 years, who knows?
If I can find another one as good as the one I'm tossing, I may not have to replace it until 2033.
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