The Great American Apparel Diet » recession

American Apparel can be part of the diet, too

Patricia — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 01:15:46 +0000

When I said I was doing this, my friend Onna thought it had something to do with American Apparel. She was all for it.

Here, for the uninitiated, is a discussion of the American Apparel president’s less-than-appealing business practices, which are particularly regrettable given that he has taken such positive steps as making most of his products in the U.S. and positive working conditions for those employees who don’t happen to attract his roving eye.

So yeah. I’m not buying his clothes either. (If you feel the same, make sure you check the label next time you go to buy a concert T-shirt — a lot of those are AA.)

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The Diet Must Go On, Closet Colonics and I Know there is a Skinny Closet Begging to Get Out

Sally Bjornsen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:46:46 +0000

Tonight I was with my friend Portia who has been contemplating going on this diet for 11 months now. I told her that I have decided to extend the diet for one more year, in light of the fact that there have been so many people interested in joining the effort in the past few weeks (here we go again). When I told Portia it wasn’t too late to realize the benefits of clothing deprivation she hooped and hollered “That’s what I need, a closet colonic.” The visual made me gag. She went on to claim, “Deep within my big, fat, bloated walk-in closet there is a skinny one begging to be free.” Portia, warming to the idea, is going to “think about it,” before she commits. Let me be clear…I am not doing this for another year myself but I will moderate, facilitate, contemplate and write about life post diet.

Alright already Portia—stop the squawkin’ and start walkin’ give your closet the future it deserves with a purge, a cleanse a regular down home colonic. We’re here my dear and waiting to hear how it all “flushes out.”

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A Summer Shout Out

Sally Bjornsen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:28:36 +0000

O.K., I am not proud. I have told nearly every woman I know that I am simply starving on this @#$%^& diet. The good news, my incessant complaints and whines have been rewarded with hand-me-downs from friends and family (maybe they just want me to shut up). Now, these aren’t Oliver Twist castoffs. Remember, birds of a feather flock together. My friends and family have hand-me-downs with tags still on them or barely worn items that they “bought on a whim,” and shouldn’t have (you know the story). I am sorry for their mistakes, but not really. I’m glad to be the one who can take these items off their hands. Most importantly their gifts are going to good use. Just last week I received a beautiful wrap from my mother, a white knit item, just like Meryl Streep wore in the movie It’s Complicated. I am now wearing a pair of pewter Donald Pliner slides and a great pair of lulu lemon tights my yoga friend gave me (she has three of the same pair). So my point? Tell people you will gladly take their shopping mistakes off their hands. They will fell great about it, especially if you wear them again and again. Now go forth and tell the world, “I am hungry, feed me your scraps!”

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J.S. Jumping on the Bandwagon for 81 Days

Sally Bjornsen — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:04:47 +0000

My name is J.S., and this challenge really struck a chord with me when I first read about it. As a young adult who works in the fashion industry, I witness consumerism and the short lifespan of ever-evolving trends on a daily basis. One day it’s in, the next day it’s out. This is why I believe developing your own style is important. Not only do you become less immune to these trends, but you can stand out from the crowd. Why wear something just because it’s “in right now”? Your style is what makes you, you. This challenge is an opportunity to continue developing my style by looking into my closet and exercising some creativity! The other goal is to free up, time (and space) to invest in what is important to me. This will be an interesting challenge because all day I am surrounded by clothes, and I occasionally wholesale-buy for clothing. I guess the perk of saving aside a pair to stow away in my closet will be gone until September 1st, 2010. I want to see how strong I mentally am. Bring it on!

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Confession

Stephanie Greco — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:53:01 +0000

I cheated. Nine months in and I cheated. I bought two new yoga tops. I could give you some good excuses like – my droopy boobs that seem to have dropped two additional inches this year – needed a bit more support, but that would just be an excuse. A real one none the less, but still I could have held out. The real reason is that I started ‘not to care’…just got tired of all the other pressures of my life and this seemed the easier route to take. Just got back from a very rough trip to NY while my brother received chemo for 4 days in a row, with me by his side. Many, many family dynamics and a long flight delay home, to MORE RAIN and MORE family pressures and I just got plain tired. I’m sorry. But I’m not returning the tops. I will do my best to stay on track for the remaining months. As much as I say I don’t care…it does matter.

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Learning to Accessorize

Elizabeth, Baltimore City — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:52:02 +0000

I’ve always been a bit of a minimalist. I never really took the time to coordinate accessories and I would rarely wear jewelry. The one thing that this diet has really taught me is the power of a good accessory. I have one cream colored cardigan to wear and ordinarily I would have run out and purchased several new cardigans to fill the void so that I wouldn’t be forced to wear the same vanilla sweater over and over again this Spring. That, however, would be a diet no-no. So…I purchased some really adorable accessories. I purchased several cute pins hand-made by Etsy Artisans to freshen up my wardrobe. A few even pull double duty as sweater pin or hair accessory depending on how I choose to wear it. I picked up a fun, casual pin, some bold and bright flowers, and a few more low-key, natural pins to give my sweater a little flair. I’ve also taken to wearing more of my jewelry that had been lazing about in my drawer, unloved and unappreciated. I’ve started wearing my hair in different ways so that I don’t feel as if I look like the same boring old me each day. In short, I haven’t added to my wardrobe by purchasing new clothes, but I have certainly introduced some new, fun and funky looks by working with a variety of accessories in different sizes, colors and textures…and it’s been fun.

Here are links to a few of the cute new pins that I’ve purchased and made myself that I’ve added to my collection of vintage, heirloom and gifted jewelry. I’ve included a few new headbands that I’ve purchsed as well because they really help me feel new and fresh.

Recycled Headband/Necklace

Recycled Necklace/Scarf

Petal Pin for Sweater/Hair

Owl Brooch

Lightweight Natural Pin

Colorful Hairbands

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Take a Week Off!

Elizabeth, Baltimore City — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:51:46 +0000

According to an article posted in The Sun, a UK newspaper you can save yourself over 100 hours (or about 1 week) of your time by not shopping for clothes this year! Apparently the average woman spends nearly three years over their lifetime just shopping. While you obviously can’t give up shopping for food and household necessities, you can choose not to shop for clothing this year and save yourself a full week’s time for vacation and use the money that you didn’t spend to fund your new trip; wow! I suspected this might be the case, but this is the first written evidence (outside of my own entry) that seems to confirm it. So spend a bit of the time that you won’t use to shop this week and start planning for your next winter ski trip or Carribean cruise!

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Clothing Swaps Sweep the Nation

Cathy — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:51:50 +0000

Well, it’s a fact to which our TGAAD’ers will attest: clothing swaps are revolutionizing America’s approach to fashion.

One fabulous organization I ran across online is worth checking out: “Clothing Swap” has been around for 15 years, but the concept has really taken off in this economy. Their founder, Suzanne Agassi, is a self-styled “philanthrapreneur” who’s mantra is “Be good. Be green. Be GLAM!” Her Clothing Swap events have resulted in (literally) tons of clothing and shoes donated to women in need, family and homeless shelters and hurricane relief. Plus, $116,000 has been raised for a wide range of charitable organizations, many benefitting women and children.

Below is a little excerpt from Clothing Swap’s web site, but there’s much more great info online (and on FaceBook) to check out.

Happy swapping, everyone!

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About Clothing Swap®

Clothing Swap® has spearheaded ‘green glamour’ by gathering fashionable swappers together in a fun environment where they relax, mingle, get pampered and then SWAP (exchange) clothing, shoes and accessories and thus, happily augment their wardrobes in a “Girl’s Night Out” atmosphere.

This concept flips fashion upside-down and highlights the exciting Clothing Swap phenomenon that is revolutionizing our approach to fashion.

Our events simultaneously raise awareness of and donate to charitable organizations that benefit women and families in need. We are on the lookout for genuine volunteers who wish to get involved.

Our vision is to spread our message of “Fun, Fashion and Philanthropy” throughout the world. Our site helps Swappers socialize, learn, share and get inspired to participate in the art of swapping.

How a Clothing Swap® works:

1. Declutter: Clean out your closet and find items to swap

2. Find: Clothing Swap® events near youAttend. Bring unwanted but fab items in great condition

3. Get pampered: Relax, mingle, and sip during our signature Spa Treats

4. SWAP: Take home your favorites for FREE

5. Feel great: Relish new-to-you items and help a local charity

6. Share: Tell your story through Google comments, Facebook, Yelp and more

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Because We Can! Panties are not Apparel, So Go Crazy!

Sally Bjornsen — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:46:20 +0000

The proverbial ink had barely dried on our story about Manpacks when one of our spotters alerted us to an equivalent for women: Panty by Post, a Canadian venture that offers—sure enough—women’s underwear by monthly subscription.

Where Manpacks focuses on the practical and functional, however, Panty by Post has quite different aspirations. No basic whites here—rather, the company has an exclusive agreement with Montreal’s Blush Lingerie for its signature and bridal lines. Panties come in hipster, thong and bikini styles and are made with French lace and satin. Customers can order panties individually, or they can sign up for subscriptions lasting two, three, six or 12 months. A different panty is then sent every month, each wrapped in an attractive mailing package. Pricing ranges from CDN 16 for a single pair to CDN 240 for a year’s worth of premium deliveries. Panty by Post is also about to launch a men’s subscription service featuring Montreal-based JM Intimode’s eco-minded “Briefs in a Box.”

Part convenience and part indulgence, Panty by Post reminds us of ShoeDazzle’s monthly subscriptions to a handpicked series of stylish shoes. Where else might fashion-minded consumers be interested in a little curated selection and recurring delivery?

Website: www.pantybypost.com
Contact: info@pantybypost.com

Spotted by: Lori Kalef

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On emptiness (and how to fight it)

xavierkat — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:03:37 +0000

Today was my first ever real temptation – in a way that I was so tremendously close to buying something, that I actually went to try it on, fell head over heels in love with it, and was ready to take it to the cash register…and then, then I changed my mind. But, like every other ‘real’ story, my story of almost buying a piece of clothing (if anyone is curious, it was an astonishingly beautiful lace t-shirt, perfect for layering…and I was wearing my jeans and a black jacket, and after trying out the t-shirt, it all looked so beautiful that for a moment I actually believed I really, really needed it to make my life a bit more cute&pretty) also has a background to it – and the background is, I find, much more important than the actual act.

The past few weeks of my life have been both gorgeous and sad in a way. Gorgeous because I have been able to spend them with almost all the favorite people in my life (some of whom have traveled great lengths to come and surprise me, which is probably the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me), and sad because I have finally realized why the diet frustrates me so much sometimes. OK, ‘finally realized’ is a bit too much to say – I have known it all along, but it is not something that one would say out loud and be proud of it. But the truth is, the source of my frustrations is simple: my inability to afford new and beautiful things, not in bulks but when it comes to selected pieces, makes me feel comparatively ’smaller’ sometimes when confronted with people around me, who are able to, whenever they want to, afford themselves a new little thing or two, be it 250-euro shoes (that I have also craved for, but which I couldn’t afford in a dream at the moment) or simple headpieces that I always have a soft spot for. Yes – what frustrates me is really not the diet itself, but the recession, and the fact that I have to learn to live without as an imposed rule. If I knew I could do as I wished, than I would find it much less problematic – but to know that you simply cannot do something can be frustrating on occasions…but then again, as I’ve said this morning to dear friend who is currently in the same situation as me – who knows, maybe this whole experience will teach us some modesty, which is really not a bad thing. And besides, the new clothes eventually become old clothes, and the hype of possessing something brand new wears off – and with or without it, we’re still the same old, fun, great girls that we are, and we should be happy about that instead of frustrated about our silly cravings!

But if all this is so, how did I come to grab the gorgeous lace top in the first place?

Well, as we all know, sometimes shopping for things has very little to do with the things themselves, and much more with our emotional states…And for the past few days, I’ve been feeling a tiny bit alone – due to a strange set of circumstances, I ended up being in a foreign city, living in a house full of people who speak a different language and we can barely communicate, and without real friends to take for some coffee and conversations, which is something that always adds some happiness to my life. And while yesterday it was wonderful, since I took my time to wonder around the city, this morning I woke up with a fever that made me feel sad and alone – and in need of some comforting. And since none was in sight, I decided that wandering around the heated, safe and colorful paths of the local mall should be my activity of the day – and the wandering led me to the store, the store had the top, and the top seemed like a piece of happiness I desperately needed. Logical, no?

Well, not really. Standing there in the middle of the store with the top in my hand, I realized how stupid the idea of buying warmth and happiness was – and right on time, just before I bought the top. And so I put it back on the hanger, said goodbye to the mall, went for a long walk – and ended up spending money after all! On eggs and jam, which I used to make a million pancakes for my non-English (or Croatian, for that matter) speaking hosts when I came home. And the discovery of the day? People seem to communicate much easier over good food (yeah, as if I didn’t know that one before), pancakes are useful when attempting to get people to smile, and for feeling loved, sometimes it takes so little – like an SMS from a loved one far far away, who you know will be coming back to you soon. Go figure!

And tomorrow? No worries, I am definitely not buying that top either, even if it is darn pretty and really cheap. Tomorrow I am taking myself for coffee and some general discovering of this beautiful city, so that we would be strangers no more – and I am sure that, in a big latte and some fabulous local potato-filled pies, spiced up with some sunshine and a good book, is where my happiness will lie

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