Two bras and a pocket dream

I only own two bras.

I’m guessing that any men reading this will probably be thinking, And??? What’s the big deal?

But I’m sure that if you’re a woman, you’ve at least raised an eyebrow, because most women own a lot more than two bras. (In fact, I just asked Google and AI butted in, popping up at the top of the screen to inform me that the average woman in the UK owns 8-10 “over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders”).

The fact is, if I had the choice I’d only own one bra right now but I need a spare to wear on laundry day.

A crucial part of becoming a nomad is becoming a minimalist, for obvious reasons, so when I boiled all of my worldly goods down to the size of a suitcase in 2023, having 8-10 bras suddenly seemed a serious waste of valuable inner-suitcase-real-estate.

I know that being a minimalist isn’t for everyone but I have to tell you that the last year and a half has been one of the happiest times of my life - in large part because I feel so frickin’ LIGHT!

My entire wardrobe currently consists of…

• Four sweatshirts

• One pair of jeans

• One pair of natty pinstriped flairs

• Two pairs of sports leggings

• A pair of fleecy pyjamas

• Seven pairs of underwear

• Seven pairs of socks

• The aforementioned two bras

And to reiterate - I have never felt lighter, happier or freer.

But sometimes, I’ll be honest, I get a little bored from the lack of variety, so I’ve devised a fun, dress-up-style game, that happens to be good for the environment, human rights and charity to boot.

Every time I land in a new place (where I’ll be staying for at least a month) I seek out the local charity shops / thrift stores and I treat myself to one or two things.

Second-hand shopping is like going on a treasure hunt.

American vintage store finds

You often have to do some extensive trawling to find a hidden gem. But when you do, the joy is immense (or it is for me at least))

When I arrived in Margate (a British seaside town) a couple of weeks ago I found these gems in a charity shop that’s raising funds for a local hospice.

Both tops cost me £4 each, £8 in total - another joy of charity shopping is that you can get bargains galore!

Then, the day before I leave a place, I either donate the clothes back to the store I bought them from - allowing the charity to earn double-bubble - or, if I’ve become really fond of them, I’ll donate another piece of clothing instead so there’s room in my suitcase.

I’ve started doing the same thing with books. Although I have a Kindle I miss the feel of an actual book, plus you can often get them a lot cheaper in a second-hand store.

I bought three books when I arrived in Margate, for a total of £4! And I’ll donate them back again when I leave.

So that’s two tops and three books for a grand total of £12 - all of which will go to charity. Twice.

There’s another really important benefit of shopping like this, especially when it comes to clothes - it’s so much better for the environment.

It turns out that new clothes require a LOT of water to make, and the production process creates a lot of harmful emissions.

Plus today’s ‘fast fashion’ is often made in sweatshops using child labour - definitely not a good look.

In other news, I did a writing coaching session with a lovely client last week and we ended up talking about how best to navigate the tricky times in our lives when circumstances outside of our control make it impossible to pursue our big dreams.

This is something I’m experiencing right now, as I’ve had to put my international nomad-ing on hold to be in the UK to help support my dad through his health issues.

My big dream had been to spend half the year in France and I’m really missing being in Paris.

The other day I found myself wistfully thinking, I wish I was writing in a French cafe right now, and almost immediately, another thought came to me - Why don’t you recreate the Paris cafe experience in your Airbnb in Margate?

So I searched up a Paris cafe playlist on Spotify, brewed up some strong black coffee, and juiced an orange (I always get black coffee and fresh orange juice when I’m in Paris so that combo instantly takes me there) and then I opened my laptop and started writing. It was fantastique!

I’m also allowing myself to tentatively dream of taking a short trip to Paris in April, when I have two French editions of my novels being published.

It feels so good to realise that, even in hard times, we can still have pocket-sized dreams. In fact, I would say that in hard times, having pocket-sized dreams to keep us hopeful is essential.

Until next week, keep dreaming - in whatever size you’re able - and if this post inspires you to go on a charity shop / thrift store treasure hunt of your own, I’d love to know what you find so please let me know in a message or comment!

Siobhan