The Biege Linen Suit

One of the nice things about moving house regularly (a positive amongst many negatives) is the chance to clear out the clutter of things you no longer use or need. My basic rule is that if I have not used or worn something for a year, it needs a compelling reason to stay and if I have not used or worn it since the last move, it has to go. This rule has served me well for many years.

But, now I have a problem.

One of the last things I bought before leaving London was a beige linen suit by Hugo Boss. It wasn’t massively expensive, but it did cost enough for the price to be memorable. I had some bizarre vision of myself in a hot country, needing such a suit, for semi-formal functions on summer evenings. The truth is I have never even gone close to wearing it during the last three years here in Delhi. So it should go, except I now have a (potentially misplaced) vision of myself wearing that suit/look in Hong Kong.

It is odd the way we keep things in our life without seriously re-examining our reasons for doing so. It’s all to easy to assume that if we rationally examined ourselves, all our false hopes and visions would be exposed. But, the biege linen suit seems to defy such reasoning. It spins its own myths and justifications, despite all the evidence to the contrary.