The Great American Apparel Diet

no buying for one year

Hi. I went to a play reading last night at Solo Bar on Roy street. The group New Century Theater Company put on a play reading, and all the cute actresses showed up to watch the event in their outfits. I noticed that the trend was a little dress, above the knee, leggings and boots. Kind of like back in 1989 when I first moved here! Minus the Doc Martins. Anyway….I started hankering for this look. I have the leggings. But, no little dress. I stared to feel so bad that I didn’t have the little dress. There is a store called Queen Anne Dispatch by my shop, and on my break I went in. I tried on 8 little dresses. One of the owners was there, she knew I was on this diet. She said “won’t Sally be mad at you?” Well, I just saw Sally. She laughed and said someone in the group said I was constantly cheating. Hey, this is only four times! Yes, this is the fourth time. I got a little navy tunic by Trinity. It was on sale, too! Only $42.00. Am I the biggest cheater? Or am I the only one who confesses????

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We are well into March and I am still “abstinent”!  About a year ago I carefully packed up my winter sweaters—oh, yes, cashmere and cables; sumptuous silks and feminine flounces.  I have yet to find this box of sweaters.  I survived this season with one sweater that remained behind as a Spring chill “back-up”.  I used some jackets, blazers and I overused the one sweater I could find.

But the outcome of the equation is that one can survive a season with but one sweater.  I will have the entire summer to seek out the missing box.

I’m doing better–it’s been a long time since I cruised E-bay or Zappo’s or various other on-line sources.  I cannot quite give up looking at catalogues but I resist.  I am increasingly stunned by my own virtue and wonder just who was that person who “needed” scarves by Hermes (and then did not want to spoil them so never wore them!)

I hope everyone else is thriving.

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Okay, I thought I was just going to log in and just write about a success and go to bed, however it sounds like I am going to write a little bit more. So, I just read about two dieters that quit and boy can that be discouraging for us newbies. I want to something I just learned tonight in my addictions class for all us that are new to the diet. Relapse is to be expected when you are trying to kick the habit. Understand I am not saying that you should expect to fail but that we are going to it just means that we need to recognize that it can happen and we need to recognize the triggers and come up with ways to deal with the urge to buy that new dres. Believe me I so badly wanted to stop on my way home from class and buy myself something new because I had stayed up most of the night writing a paper and usually when I accomplish a task that gets me one step closer to my goal, I want to myself something new to wear.
I was like Pavlov’s dog salivating because the paper was done and I was thinking I’m one less paper away from my Master’s Degree and I deserve a little sumthin sumthin from one of my favorite clothing stores. Then I reminded myself, I am on a diet!

So, as I was driving home tonight and feeling tempted to stop at the mall, I decided to identify my triggers and one of them is that DSW, the mall and Marshall’s are all on my way home from class. It made me realize that I need a new route and that I definitely needed to come up with a different type of reward system.

I know I’m new to the diet but I also want to encourage other newbies like myself because it helps me to stay on track.

I am not expecting to relapse but I know it’s a possibility. Because I am so committed to this diet I am paying attention to the triggers and I am realizing and learning that there is a whole group of supportive people on this site that will help to get me back on track.

Maybe at some point they (the two who left) will come back. Is that possible Sally? Can they rejoin?

Thank You for the welcome! I am very close to celebrating my 1-week anniversary! As we say in the Army, HOOAH!

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sample screenshot from ThredUp Kids web site

Although I’ve written previously about not having an excess of clothing in MY closet, the same cannot be said for my kids.  Having thoughtful friends and family with kids a bit larger than my own has assured that both of my boys have plenty of great-looking hand-me-downs filling their drawers and closets.  Unfortunately, my boys keep growing (pesky kids!).  But buying lots of new clothes just isn’t in the budget right now.  I’m sure I know plenty of people in the same boat, so I’m thinking some clothing exchanges may be in order… kind of a modified version of TGAAD for kids.

Coordinating exchanges amongst lots of different people with various aged kids can be a challenge, though, so I’m going to try using ThredUp for kids to accomplish this task.  Those of you with growing children may be interested in giving it a shot too.  I know some of us have blogged about the ThredUp adult version not working out for some, but I’ve decided to give the kids’ site a go.

One thing I like about the kids’ version is that they will even coordinate swaps with your LOCAL friends for you at no cost.  You can browse online to see what items & sizes your friends have available and grab them when you want… no need to pay for shipping!  However, if you don’t have any local friends with whom to swap, ThredUp will have a nationwide network of participants sure to have clothing that suits your needs.

If the concept interests you, click here to find out more about their upcoming seed phase.  The seed phase (which will populate ThredUp with clothing to prepare the site for launch) should begin in early March and anyone who signs up for the launch will be the first on board.  Participating in the initial seed phase also has perks and benefits not available to the general population.

Happy swapping, everyone… I’m looking forward to hearing how this works out for people!

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This thing called the recession really helped put some things in perspective for me. Things that are all invariably linked. My husband lost his job last April and we had a 4 mo. old at the time so we have cut back in a lot of ways. Andrew is since working, but at a fraction of his previous salary. So, we’ve had to undergo some belt tightening. But, really and truly, we still have plenty. You could cut what we have in 1/2 and it’s still more than enough.

I am thinking about gluttony. Not just by me (although I do my fair share) but by the culture of America that I grew up with. I am, on a personal level, trying to figure out why I have this slightly on edge, slightly restless feeling when I’m not shopping. All day today, I wanted to surf the web to browse for the latest clothes (even though I can’t buy them) and just now I was about to enter in the url to Eddie Bauer when I entered in GAD’s instead. Whew. Saved for now. But I’ve had an itch to buy… which is maybe why I surfed the web this morning looking for fleece jammies for my son (didn’t buy b/c I didn’t like any), and then later purchased a confirmation gift & a wedding gift, and then paid some bills, and then surfed around aimlessly at amazon.com and paper-source.com (two of my favorite places but still didn’t buy anything)… Where am I going with this? Even though I’m not buying clothing, the urge to shop hasn’t left me. I’ve gone cold turkey by avoiding the malls, unsubscribing from the ads from companies in my email, etc, etc… and yet I’m still dying to go shopping! I think this same urge translates over to food…

I know that mind over matter should rule… but it’s a very well matched battle indeed.

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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 drop 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 doctor’s 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 . The bad news?  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 all together. 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 of conversation and caramelized bananas.   I eventually forgot what I was wearing and I stopped coveting my friend’s outfit.  We discussed cancer, death and dying.  We talked about her 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 love, love, love clothing swap’s! Fortunately for me, my friends who own the bar in my neighborhood biannually agree to open up for the ladies to conduct a “squaw swap” and what a great one we had this past Sunday. While the turnout wasn’t large, the group of ladies (about 10) had enough clothes, shoes, accesories, and housewares to really make it fun. We swapped stories of our favorite items while enjoying a glass of wine or a Guiness and poked through each other’s cast-offs.  We made goofy costumes, we were amused at another ladies delight over our silly hand-me-downs and we had a blast. Guilt-free shopping is always fun. I am in between sizes so I swapped out for a few new items in both smaller and larger sizes so I’ll be sure to have space to move up and down over the next few months. I got clothes that fit perfect, some that I can refashion or alter and some that I plan to simply cut apart for the fabric and figure it out later. My favorite find was a brown cashmere knit poncho, like an all-business snuggie; I love it. I also found a beautiful Banana Republic blazer, sweaters galore and an awesome cowgirl shirt.  It was fun, it was refreshing and I can’t wait to do it again!  If you live in the Baltimore City area and are intersted in future clothing swaps, you can follow my personal blog or twitter feed for updates, or sign up for the Parkside’s newsletter where they’ll send you emails of their upcoming events, including clothing swaps. The more ladies we get, the more choices we’ll have so bring your used clothes and get ready to have have a liberating, guilt-free, swapping party!

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Here I am, joined last week…and I have to admit, I had to make my last goodbye shopping last week. I feel like starting with real diet, and eating a big cake the night before  But that was really final! I will not anymore support financial crisis overcoming (because some smart economists told that if we buy more, we will overcome financial crisis faster). So goodbye shinny windows, nice clothes, and discouuuunts. Will update you how it goes! And if I am surviving

Btw, any proposal what we can do with the money we save from shopping! Maybe we can organize some trip in August

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Today I was amazed when I tallied up our formidable and burgeoning group of dieters (weight watchers look out).  As of today the headcount is 70. O.K., maybe not big enough to be a political party but impressive enough to be a mini-movement.  A little overview of what our group looks like in demographic language.

We are women, though I have had a few inquiries from men none have been brave enough to join.  We range in age from 19 to 60. We are a creative, curious, sometimes hilarious and educated lot.  Many of us are self employed, business owners, creative thinkers, writers, producers, executives, lawyers, PHDs, mothers, wives, stepmothers, recessionistas, fashionistas, snowboarders, yogis, students, grandmothers, knitters, sewers and social mavens.  Some of us have recently lost our jobs while others are looking to change careers. Our shared interest?  We are all collectively reevaluating our habits, shopping habits in particular.

Some of us are motivated to curb our carbon footprint while others are more motivated to curb spending. Some are sick and tired of consumption in general while others are concerned about consumption and the environment.  Many of us want to share our trials and tribulations on the blog while others prefer to hang back and observe.   We hail from seventeen states in the U.S. Canada and the UK.  Specifically we are from: Washington, California, Florida, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, North Carolina, Idaho, Maryland, Indiana, Colorado, Virginia, Canada and England.

Twenty of us started the diet on Sept. 1^st and twenty joined in the last week.  The rest have joined at some point between October 1^st and Dec. 28^th.

Bottom line….this is a remarkable group of people who have come together to make a change.  So girls….keep on keepin’ on!

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O.K. so we obviously know the power of having a group to motivate personal deprivation.  Right?  Anyway, the other day I was chatting with Izzy, my new Texas friend and fellow writer/blogger (see: www.stepmothersmilk.com)  who I met in Chicago at the blogher conference.  If we lived in the same town I know we’d be inseperable.   I digress.  Back to the alcohol thing…

Izzy and I were discussing on the phone (we now have bi-weekly chat sessions) our collective concern about consupmtion…this time the topic was alcohol, not clothes.   We both agreed we’d like to drop a few lbs. and that the 500 to 800 calories a day in wine consuption probably wasn’t helping the case.  Somehow we floated up the idea…how about we do a alcohol fast in January.  She liked the idea, I liked the idea and we decided to float it out here on the blog to see if anyone else is interested in abstaining from apparel and alcohol (in January) together.  My sister is on board….if TGAAD is any indication of her fortitude I’m not sure she’s the best member but she’s joining anyway.  Let me know if you’d like to jump on the wagon with Izzy,  Jacky and me.

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