As I fingered my winter coat, I noticed the excellent quality of the fabric and stitching. The bus was bouncing through roundabouts; still, it was worth risking motion sickness to do a quick google search of the brand.

I wasn’t wrong. My coat was excellent quality.

But by now you’re probably wondering why I hadn’t figured this out before. After all, hadn’t I been the one to buy the coat in the first place? Well, yes, but I bought it in the same place I buy most of my clothing: a thrift shop. 

It was exactly what I wanted–just a bit long, sturdy, warm but not too warm for Spanish winters, a hood, pockets, and dark. And that hole in the pocket wouldn’t take more than 2 minutes to mend and that dog hair would wash out because, yes, it was even washable too. And who besides me would notice that scuff on the cuff?

Besides, I was past due to replace the $5 coat I had picked up at a second-hand market in North Africa seven years ago. So I bought this new coat for $12 plus tax and brought it back to Spain with me, where I was just discovering that Goodwill had offered quite a steal.

As we bounced along, I felt rather pleased with myself. And as other winter coats brushed past me, I felt even more pleased with myself. Doubtless, I had the nicest coat on board the bus. 

Yes, there was a rush of pride as I forgot how surprised I had just been to find myself the owner of something of quality. I mentally classified myself with the elite. My classy coat may not have been a luxury brand, but was subtly luxurious, nonetheless. I sat up straighter. 

And then I looked down at the skirt I was wearing and it occurred to me that it was pilling from overuse. And the sneakers poking out the bottom were smudged from all of the streets they had walked with me. Hmm. Was I the first to notice the incongruous quality of my clothing?

And then I wanted to laugh. Who cared? Who really cared? Let the world scratch their heads if they wanted to. I planned to enjoy both worlds even if I ended up looking like a walking thrift store.

At my stop, I hopped off the bus feeling like a million dollars.