The Great American Apparel Diet

no buying for one year

Hi All!

I joined the great American Apparel Diet last week, but I haven’t bought any new clothing since January 4th, 2010. Like some of you, I had many reasons to join:

1- lots of $$$ spent in clothing

2- lots of clothing pieces I never wore or worn once only

3- lots of clothings pieces that I don’t like really. I guess i bought them because they were a good deal or had an impulsive moment

4- I lost quite some weight last year, and I haven’t gained them back. What’s scary.. is I still have LOTS LOTS of clothes, despite the weight lots!

So, my plan is to wear all my clothes, one piece at the time. Wear ALL of them and if I don’t like them,  give it away to a charitable cause.

Let’s start!

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Greetings All:

I have finally finished processing all the returns on my clothes I bought in my shopping binge just before I joined the Apparel diet. However, while I was checking my online account, I saw that one of the items I had returned was now 70% off, so I re-bought it. Which means I cheated on my pledge almost immediately after signing up. Sigh.

However, I am doing better. I’m not checking the online sale sites EVERY day, and so am getting less exposure to their clever marketing techniques, which I am very susceptible to, even though I understand exactly what these folks are doing.

It’s also very interesting to read about everybody’s shopping/fashion struggles. Shopping in stores isn’t much of a temptation for me, because I’m so hard to fit. I’m muscular/stocky, with slim hips and bulky thighs so, given current styles, if pants fit me in the leg they’re almost always at least a size too big in the butt. I’m also short, and very short-waisted and small-busted, so getting anything with a dart to fit is problematic, too. And because I don’t wear make-up (mostly laziness and lack of skill on my part) I have to be very careful about the colors I wear because I can completely disappear if a color/pattern is too strong.

Also, re: a cut-off date for letting people sign on, I think that signing on is a big step. If people are used to shopping every week, signing up for even 3 months is still 12-trips they’re foregoing. And doing (or not doing) something 12 times is a great start toward making a new, positive habit–thinking before we shop.

So take care, all of you.

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Hi. OK, the coat came from Bluefly.com and it is so fantastic. It is faux shearling from Via Spiga. I saved 39% by shopping at Bluefly.com. That is what is so hard to resist. I will try to make this my last cheating expedition. I am sorry. It won’t happen again. I don’t know what came over me. Now, off to blog about my new mascaras at www.beautyalert.biz/blog

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Psychologically I feel inclined to jump to brash conclusions as soon as a strong breeze whisks fine, cold dew across my skin. The temperature drops and suddenly my closet devours all the perfectly warm, yet lightweight hooded jackets I thought I had stashed away for safe keeping. Of course my instinct takes me aback as I feel the gravitational pull of my wallet in the same way a single acorn sings like a siren to a squirrel from the other side of a treacherous intersection. “Go on, you can buy just one more and you’ll be so toasty warm, so fulfilled,” they tend to say, cajolingly.  In this instance I am tempted, but only one month into this Great American Apparel Diet I refuse ruefully. Instead I move on seamlessly, spelunking through the depths of my closet once again, this time pulling a hearty ivory cardigan deep from within the shadows. “This will do,” I rationalize and continue to flatter my indulgent notions of self-control, mindfulness, and sustainability. After all, there is no value in deprivation, so I fill the space that once held a passion for fashion alternatively, with integrity and a sense of accomplishment, sliding the door closed behind me and feeling complete.

We have all been there, learning to reorganize and balance our desires and impulsive reactions, I rest assured.

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Been wanting to do this post for a while now, but can’t seem to get myself to write somehow…but here’s attempt to change that…

I learned about the apparel diet (or the ’shopping diet’, as I prefer to call it, trying to spread its meaning from simply clothes to other things I want to leave aside for a while, a part which I shall get to later) from a dear friend, who mentioned it in one of our online conversations of some kind; I instinctively felt like I should join, tho at that time I was not quite sure what my reasons were. I just said I wanted to, and I did – as easy as saying ‘no thank you’ to one extra cookie after you’ve had five already, I said ‘no’ to a whole seven months of going through stores, admiring patterns, materials and shapes, enjoying the feel, the look and the touch, and finally adding some happiness to my closet by making it one tiny little piece more full, more ‘complete’. And not only that – I regretted not doing it earlier, not having banned myself from shopping back then in September when I should have done it, but waiting until now. Why?

I guess reading what I just said, one would think I have a serious shopping addiction that I have become aware of, and have found in myself (probably after years of struggle) the desire to put an end to it, and save myself from debt and an empty wallet. And yet, I don’t think it could be any further from the truth I am most certainly not an obsessive shopper – I don’t buy very often, and I only buy things that I am sure I am going to wear; Unless there is a “change in my proportions” (which happens, because my weight oscillates wildly on occasions) and things become too small for me, I am most certainly to wear everything I get multiple times, and enjoy it. I am also not one of those people who buy things only because they are cheap, or because they ‘think’ they need two more pairs of ‘that fav shirt they have now, just in case’ – I prefer spending my money on less, but quality pieces, and I enjoy good design; I enjoy non-conventional pieces, love to explore the works of young, not-yet-famous designers, and am able to save for months to get myself one of those desired, special pieces. This does not mean that I don’t get an occasional ‘shopping rush’ and go crazy at H&M – au contraire, I love shopping everywhere, from second-hands to designer stores, and I cherish my nice H&M finds (or things I find in my grandma’s closet) as much as I do my one piece of contemporary Scandinavian design, which took me months of saving to acquire. But I am, all taken into account, really not one of those ladies who shop (too) much, and in a way I am happy with that

But, if I don’t have a shopping problem, and I’ve already learned to use and re-use every of the pieces in my wardrobe, why am I doing this? In all honesty, because of things which have nothing to do with clothes as such, but with self-understanding.

I’ve always found clothes to be much more than simple ‘cover-ups’, something we wear because we need to, because we want to make ourselves warm and cozy. For me they’re a form of beauty we bring into our lives every day; but not only that – they’re our means to express ourselves, our stances, moods, ideas, even power positions and dominance. Clothes are much like cinema, or paintings, or music – the final product, the final piece is an expression of an idea, of a concept. And, on the person who wears and combines it, each piece can become a whole new concept, or a prolongation of the previous idea. But, clothes are also a business, a major industry, an addiction of a kind. And we take the meanings and concepts, the narratives attached to individual pieces or brands too seriously sometimes. We take almost for granted that we can – if we really try, invest enough, combine colours enough, and – yes! – shop enough – re-invent ourselves from scratch, add something to our own identity in layers, changing our moods and characters with our appearance, re-defining our ‘place of belonging’ through our visual identity. And to an extent, we can. But to know where the limit is between expressing yourself and finding yourself anew all over again through everything you take in and let out from yourself, on the one hand, and simply taking the pre-created little niches, fitting into the pre-defined models that are being sold to us as desirable (not only in fashion, but also in art, literature, cinema – there is always something that’s ‘desirable’ at the moment, even if it is not ‘mainstream’), on the other, is hard. And it is even harder if you are young (at heart), and uncertain of where you belong. So my challenge, and the reason why I have taken upon the diet, would be to give myself time to think about two things. One is, how do I want to express myself? What do I really need for that, what should I look like, how do I find my own ways to re-invent myself and ‘show’ myself without the constant craving for ‘the new’ – what is constant to me, and what changes, and how do I channel these things about myself successfully? The other: once fashion becomes a bit more distanced from me, once I’ve tied my hands, I want to pay more attention to other things that define me: the books, the travels, the arts, the visuals…I want to buy a camera, and try capturing other people’s expressions through clothing, instead of focusing so much on mine, constantly thinking how to ‘upgrade’ them. I want to re-think my criteria on beauty, values and things that are relevant to me, and freeing myself from the unnecessary ‘weights’ is, it seems, a good place to start And not just with the clothes – I want to start being more aware of what I buy of cosmetics, what scents I want to keep around me, what ethical criteria is relevant to me, and how I can incorporate all those things in my everyday life.

So, going on a ‘diet’ is basically the same as taking some time off to think. Think about things important to me, and those I can live without. And so far it isn’t hard at all – I am enjoying it tremendously, and feeling good

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Thanks to all of you who participated in the interview with the Time Magazine blog reporter.  I think he did a good job telling our story.  Once again a great example of how all of our motivations are different and yet the same.  I encourage you to read it when you get the chance!

Q&A: The Year of No Clothing Purchases

Posted by Brad Tuttle Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 8:12 am

 

 

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yhq6sv4

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Last night I was out with a good friend I haven’t seen in a while—it’s a schedule issue really.  My friend, she’s fabulous.  She’s married, no kids, big corporate VP job with all the accolades, notoriety and wardrobe that go along with the job.  She picked me up wearing a chic skirt, which later I learned she bought in London while on a four city whirl wind business trip.  She had on the latest laced knee high boots and a super snappy pancho that she could pull over her head when she felt a drip of rain. 

Flash to me, older mom barely holding it together and deprived of a “new wardrobe.”  For a living?  Well, I manage to piece together a paycheck as I toggle from home to the office to school.  I am not above taking conference calls from the bedroom closet, (lest my clients detect that I am home with kids and two rambunctious cats), or writing marketing plans in the doctors office or from the bleachers of a baseball game.

I greet my friend at the door wearing the same jeans I have been wearing for the last 5 days (and by the way they have gotten a little baggy from the wear which somehow makes me feel thin).   Under last year’s black wrap-around sweater coat I wear a stained oatmeal colored crewneck sweater that has seen better days.   On my feet I wear my favorite pair of black Dansko clogs because everything else just hurts.  The good news is I have a fresh application of lipstick on but the bad news is it’s all the makeup I have on.  Upstairs, before the doorbell rang, I gave myself a cursory glance in the floor length mirror that hangs behind the closet.  I could have sworn I looked good, but once I see my friend on the doorstep it becomes painfully clear that I do not.

My friend smells good.  She has her fancy rings on her fingers and the latest watch on her wrist.  I notice her bling as I reach up to my ear and realize I forgot to put my earrings on. My friend says she had to “Escape from work.” In her words, “They will just have to move forward without me.”  I long to be in such hot demand from someone taller than my shoulder.  My friend told her people that she had a prior commitment and had to leave the office early.  No corporate mukety muck would understand the point of going out with a girlfriend at 5:30pm on a Monday night.  But my babysitter has a curfew and I have to be home by 10pm at the very latest.  This is standard operating procedure for me and my mommy friends who are often buzzed by 7pm and in bed by 10pm. 

When I am with my friend sans children and the big career I feel like The Great American Apparel Diet is stupid.  Like I have set myself up for frumpsville.  I feel like my career of juggling kids, a business and the occasional trip to the gym is just an excuse for a distracted and sometimes unattractive scattered existence.   What I wear is a long way down the  list of things I worry about these days, partially because I have taken up the new and brave effort to consciously consume or simply to not consume.  Seeing my friend makes me want to go to Barneys and spend like Katie Holmes.  I am moved to buy things that I know I will hate in a year, clothes that are conspicuously fashionable and expensive and well beyond my credit line.  I want clothing that says “she’s a risk taker!”   Clothes can do that you know. 

My fashionable and important, high profile friend and I  had a good time noshing on sushi and sipping saki. We skipped the movie in lieu ofconversation and caramelized bananas.   I eventually forgot what I was wearing and I stopped coveting my friends outfit.  We discussed cancer, death and dying.  We talked about she and her husband’s effort to adopt a child, about my ever changing career and the shifting sands of the advertising business. 

After dinner my friend drove me home  just in time to relieve Rachel the babysitter (before she morphed into a winter squash). We hugged in the car and promised to get together “sooner than later.”  

Inside I chatted with Rachel and paid her in cash for watching my proidgy.  As she loaded her backpack and put on her shoes she said, “Hey, I like your sweater, where’d you get it?”   It made me laugh.  “It’s from last year…Nordstrom,” I offered, knowing that she’d never find it this year and glad that someone was coveting my wardrobe.

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I live in the heart of a large and busy city. Since I’ve moved here, I’ve run into all kinds of problems with my car: it’s hard to find parking near my home, in summer I have to remember to move it from one side of the street to the other on specific days for street cleaning, and in winter, I have to watch for the signs that let me know it’s time to move it for snowplowing. Failure to move it for either of those reasons results in fines. I forget to move it or to check for the signs more often than I’d like. Sometimes I even forget where I’ve parked it and have to wander around my neighbourhood to find it again, only to discover I was supposed to have moved it a day or two ago and so a new ticket has been stuck under the wiper blade.

And it’s not all that convenient. Most places I go to don’t have much in the way of parking spaces. I find I walk most places, taxi some, and on very rare occasions, use the crowded public transit system.

Today, a new car issue surfaced. Last week, when moving my car from one side of the street to the other for snow removal, I noticed that my car was making a rasping grinding sound I recognized. Last time I heard that noise was in October when I had to replace the rear brake pads and discs. How could I be having the same problem so quickly?

I took it in to the auto centre this morning, and after checking the brakes, the mechanic looked at the mileage on the vehicle and said, “lady, what’re you doing with this car? You need to either drive it, or sell it to someone who will! You can’t leave a car parked on the street all the time, use it only once in a blue moon, and then expect it to run okay!”

Well. That makes a certain sense, doesn’t it? Cars are made to be used, not to sit idle, and so they aren’t built to handle long periods of sitting unused in dirty wet salted snowy streets. All that gucky stuff builds up, stuff rusts, car doesn’t work as it should, and you either fix it over and over again, or … or a worthy mechanic throws his hands up and says “Lady, what are you doing!!! ”

so, I think I just sold my car. to someone who will use it everyday. A few more details to be ironed out, and then the car will likely change hands very soon.

Which means that now I’m not just on a clothes diet. I’m also on a car diet. Looks like 2010 is going to be the year when I think about what things I really need and what things I only think I need.

I’ll have to find new ways of getting around. Some errands, some social events, my outdoor adventures, are all going to become something I have to plan out a little more than I’ve had to in the past. Just as I’ll have to get more creative about how I get to point A and Point B on some days, I’ll also have to start thinking about how to make my existing wardrobe work, make it fun. It is so much easier to feel good about myself by buying something that looks good, feels good… so much easier to decide to join friends when I don’t need to think about how I’m going to get there. Will I regret the diet? Regret having sold the car (even though I have complained about parking rather steadily the couple of years!) What other things might this diet and carless lifestyle prompt me to think about next? An issue that’s been hovering in the back of my mind is water — how much I use, what I use it for, how much others in less fortunate countries get, how much I take it for granted, how my usage might be affecting the larger picture…

Yikes. Kinda exciting. Kinda scary too …

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My 26th birthday is coming up, and I thought it would be a great reason to treat myself with 1 piece of clothing. After all, I felt like I deserve it for being alive this long. I was perusing through website after website, hungry for a new addition in my wardrobe. And alas, I found an adorable jacket on sale. But just when I was about to check out, I changed my mind.

I’ve decided to donate my birthday to a worthy cause. This year, I’m donating it to the Children’s Center of Cebu. It works like this: instead of sending out my Wish List to everyone I know, I send this link. I think this is a great way of starting a new year, by celebrating my birthday for a good cause. Besides, it’s nice to know that the money I would’ve used for a jacket- a jacket that would’ve spent most of the year in the closet anyway, is helping a child have chance for a better future.

On 2/6, I’m asking friends to donate 26 for my 26th…=)

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I haven’t found myself inspired to write an update in awhile. I’ve found that for the most part it is because I do not have anything to say about clothes or my lack of shopping for them. At 4 months into this ‘diet,’ I am not chomping at the bit to head to the mall or finding myself in any way at a loss for something to wear. There is plenty in my closet and I’m not even wearing the same things over and over. I don’t know if that means this is a successful diet for me or not. Or, how I define what success looks like for me. I did receive some clothes for both Christmas and birthday gifts last month. And, I loved receiving them. I enjoyed having something new to wear, the novelty of it all, and trying on the new items to see how I looked as well as what they will go with what is already in my closet. But, it did not instigate any desire to go out and get more. And, I’m thinking that is a good thing. At the moment, I am satisfied with what I have.
I have started to ponder off and on about where else this sense of being satisfied with what I have in my closet could be reflected in other areas of my life. Is there something to learn that I could leverage in my ongoing battle of dieting for weight loss? The challenge is, I think, that I enjoy experiencing new flavors in food and wine way more than I do clothes shopping. But perhaps, there is something to learn from my clothes diet if I think about it long enough.
Friends and family ask, are you really still doing that? And when I reply in the affirmative, they ask why. Honestly, I just don’t find myself thinking about it that much so on the rare occasion that I’m in or near a clothing shop it is very easy to walk away and do something else. Now, I am considering a trip to Mexico this spring. I think that will then become a challenge but a challenge based on potential need. Do swimsuits count as clothes? I think I’m going with they do not.

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