The opposite of buyer's remorse

"Do they really throw your clothes away?" – probably the most frequent question I've heard about this whole TV ordeal – has an easy and logical answer. No, the What Not to Wear folks don't throw your clothes away. They recycle them by giving the still usable stuff to the Goodwill or Salvation Army. I say still usable because I'm sure some of the clothes, including some of my own, have seen their last owner. (Do I have to bring up the warn-out crotches again?)

They usually riffle through your wardrobe in their studios in New York, but they are trying some new things this season. I didn't really know what they were going to do at the house on Thursday, so I hadn't officially said goodbye to some of my favorite items I knew they would be pitching. But after Stacy and Clinton purged my closet and tore apart pretty much everything they pulled out, I was surprisingly unattached to it. Maybe it was the adrenaline, though, because I woke up yesterday (Friday) and realized that I had to get dressed and that my go-to pieces were gone. Gone, gone, gone.

Nothing I can do about it now, less scouring every thrift store in town hoping to hit the one where they deposited my stuff. A wardrobe full of items, many of which were probably purchased at said thrift store, that were so familiar to me that someone else will now pick through, take home and make them their own only so that one day a reality television show can come along and tell them they've failed. Wow. I sound bitter already don't I? I'm not. Really. I promise. For years, I have gotten a kick out of second-hand stuff. And by the reaction of people around me, the thrift items were a hit. The multi-colored striped sweater? The green corduroy pants? That green and pink silk wrap-around skirt? I will miss them. But not enough to re-buy them. I'm ready to put those pieces – and their equally blase and worn out friends – behind me. Not to say that I won't ever buy a piece of thrift store clothing again. I'm guessing I just need to rethink how I use those items.

They left me with enough clothes for the next couple of weeks and a few crappy items hidden in the back of the closet and at the bottom of the drawers. One pair of jeans. One pair of shorts. A couple of pairs of pants, some shirts (oh, sorry, "These aren't shirts," Stacy shrieks. "These are T-shirts!"), a few sweaters and long sleeves. So don't pick on me if I look even worse between now and when I go. :)