This Old Thing?

How long does a new outfit have to hang in the closet before you can wear it?

According to my mother, that time was always vague, indeterminate. The only certainty was that you couldn't wear the outfit because it was new.

I mean, at what point, exactly, would this new outfit transform itself into a wearable garment? A week? A month? And would that be a 30-day or a 31-day month? Sixty days? What?

Lookit, you go shopping for new clothes because ... you need new clothes, right? But then you can't wear them because they're ... new.

To this day, I feel guilty about wearing something new the day after I buy it. It's like everyone will know that I'm wearing something new - no, not just new, but too new. Un-aged. Brought forth from the closet before its time. Undecanted.

Was your mom the same way, or was it just mine?