A poor missionary who doesn't get all her clothes second hand.

The kids weren't all that cheered me at the church we visited yesterday. The other thing is something I've wondered about blogging about, but have held back till now. A missionary friend of mine touched on this issue some time back on her blog. The issue of what missionaries wear.

Now, I'm not too hung up on the "I must look like a poor missionary" idea. I like to look good, but without costing too much. Though I have to admit to being a somewhat of a conservative ignoramus when it comes to fashion - preferring comfort over style any day. But I felt yesterday that I didn't look too bad. I wore this new, current season no less, trench coat.

Japan has stretched us in the clothing department purely due to climate. Sunny Queensland does not prepare you for cold winters. Simply doesn't. We've had to learn about all the accessories associated with keeping warm outdoors - stuff you put on to leave the house. Gloves, scarves, warm hats and jackets. In Hokkaido we had snow gear too - boots and water proof pants. Snow suits for the children instead of jackets, for inevitably they fall down.

I've been wanting an "inbetween" coat for some time - the time in spring and autumn when it is too warm for your mid-winter coat but too cool to be coat-less. It occasionally gets this cool in Brisbane, but not enough (in my miserly opinion) to warrant a special coat for the purpose.

This trench coat I saw at Target (ah, now I've blown my cover) a couple of months ago and it was perfect for what I wanted! It felt like a splurge, but I know I'll get a lot of wear out of it. Bonus is that it looks pretty good too! I like the idea of wearing such a vibrant colour. Cooler weather can get pretty depressing with all the dark coloured clothing.

So, I yesterday I didn't look like a "poor missionary who gets all her clothes second-hand". And it felt good.