Over the weekend, I went to Massachusetts to visit family. And although I felt like my packing was minimal, I wound up bringing a full suitcase and a weekender bag. (I still don’t understand how this happens.)
Because the weekend was mostly comprised of yoga and relaxing (with a little sprinkling of shopping), I brought my best selection of casual-cute clothes — including my favorite black crew-neck cashmere sweater. (Luxurious but still as easy as a T-shirt!)
It was my first time wearing the sweater since bringing my fall and winter wardrobe out of storage.
And then I realized… while my favorite sweater had been hibernating in storage, it had been eaten by moths. Or some sort of sweater-eating insect. (Upon further googling, it turns out that moths don’t actually eat clothes — the guilty culprits are the larvae, which are even grosser.)
SAD FACE.
The most obvious holes are across the chest, but there are smaller holes EVERYWHERE. I was incredibly upset, especially since I pack all my sweaters with tons of supposedly moth-repelling cedar sachets. My sweater was officially ruined.
And I suppose when your sweater turns into Swiss cheese overnight, you typically throw it away.
But I didn’t pack that much. (Seriously!) So, I had no choice but to smile and wear it. And when I layered the hole-y sweater over a thermal with studded cuffs, it suddenly looked “distressed” instead of “disgusting.” Almost like the holes were by design.
While I won’t be able to wear this sweater to the office, it can still work for weekend, provided the rest of the outfit complements an “undone” aesthetic. (And if the sweater starts unraveling, it’ll be a final sayonara — there’s only so much “distress” I can tolerate.)
I wore the sweater with my must-have elastic-waist pants from Uniqlo (I wear these whenever I travel, as seen here) and Adidas shell toes with a distressed leopard print. All told, this was a pretty great example of turning a disappointment into a wearable, winning outfit.
Side note: When my husband and I wrapped up these photos, I noticed a furious fluttering on the ground. I looked down and saw a moth — the very impetus of the photoshoot itself. If that’s not fate, I don’t know what is.
Have you ever saved an outfit from moth-eaten destruction? Let’s hear it!
