Things I Can't Part With

Earrings: Wal-Mart, $3

Cut-off sweatshirt: hand-me-down from mom

Hoodie: Ezekiel brand via Ross, $25 (2005)

Green camisole: Downeast Outfitters, $10

Pants: Banana Republic Outlet, $17 (2008)

Socks: Puma brand via TJ Maxx, $4 for 3-pack

Shoes: secondhand at Urban Renewal, $12

Pants again! YAAAAY! I was plenty anxious to wear something today that wasn't a skirt or a dress, but when I got up this morning, my thoughts weren't really on pants. Inexplicably, this old cutoff sweatshirt from my mom really stood out, and my whole outfit evolved from it. She originally had this sweatshirt as a teenager, and when it got stained somehow, she cut off the sleeves, stitched on this adorable cartoon couple, and called it good. Many years later, she offered it to me. Regardless of how my body changes and how poorly it fits in the future, I'll never, ever get rid of it.

These pants are an oddity in my closet. They don't really fit me all that well, and the way they sit on my waist/hips is really unflattering (thus the long camisole covering the waistband), but I guess I bought them because gray pants seemed practical and they were a good price. What do you do with items like that, that seem so functional but just don't work? I'm tempted to donate these pants to a thrift store, but I also worry that I'll have some random day when I really need gray pants. (Because those days are so common, right?)

How would you style these pants? Give me some good pointers, and you might just save these babies from the charitable-donation-bag-of-doom.