Some wishes are totally irrational. For me one of those dated back to 2006 when I spent an Erasmus year in Ireland. In contrast to students in Germany, the Irish ones usually went to class wearing hoodies and sweatpants. I didn’t like it at all, and I still don’t because I don’t see why you can’t dress up properly for your (kind of) job. But what I really liked back then were all the Abercrombie & Fitch hoodies many students wore because in my free time and esp. at home I’m a big fan of comfy sweaters. Also in 2006 you couldn’t buy Abercrombie & Fitch in Europe. All the Irish students had got the clothes from the US – it is the luck of the Irish (well, or their not so lucky history) that most of them have relatives and friends in the US. I instead hadn’t even considered ever flying to America because it was far away and flights were expensive. Eventually I figured out that there was one shop in Dublin selling the brand, but it cost even more there. And so I spent a year yearning for an A&F sweater. Of course it was a totally stupid wish because I have always had really nice and many hoodies. But I guess the things you can’t have easily are always the most attractive ones.

When I left Ireland and grew older, my wish stayed somewhere in the back of my mind. But when I flew to New York City for the first time ever in 2013, I went to the Abercrombie & Fitch shop in 5th Avenue and the darker light and loud music totally overwhelmed me. I wasn’t even able to figure out which clothes were for women and which for men. I left immediately. And I never again entered an A&F shop until recently. On Black Friday my friend bought clothes there for her kids and that’s how I discovered that I didn’t feel lost anymore. Maybe it is only the shop in 5th Avenue creating this club atmosphere?! Since they offered %40 on everything on the Black Friday weekend, I finally bought a full-zip hoodie. It is not like I needed it. I have lovely sweaters and warm jackets at home, I don’t even wear them that often anymore. But since the hoodie had been on my wish list for ten years, I finally bought it. The fur lining is cosy and keeps me warm. This alone was worth the $59 I paid (instead of the usual $98). I was glad I wore the hoodie when I went to New York City last week [here] because it took the rain a long time to really soak this jacket. Well, and it’s from Abercrombie & Fitch and after ten years of wishing I can finally call one of their products mine. I can hear my 22-year-old me applauding.

full-zip hoodie: Abercrombie & Fitch
T-shirt: Mango
jeans: Mavi
shoes: Nike

© janavar

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