The Great American Apparel Diet » recession

“Luxury may be back, but bling isnt” -Christina Binkley WSJ

Sarah F — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:32:53 +0000

I’m always keeping my eyes open for articles on our changing spending habits. There’s been a recent poll on TGAAD on whether dieters out there really consider this recession over. Well turns out there have been changes amongst spending habits even for those who many assumed were to be above the financial woes of middle to lower class America. Highlighted is a link to the Wall Street Journal article posted today that gives a little light consumers spending on luxury goods!

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Is The Great American Apparel Diet Part of the Slow Clothing Movement?

Sally Bjornsen — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:00:19 +0000

Last night as I was rummaging around in my closet looking for something to wear it occurred to me that I have given, thrown or recycled a lot of clothes over the past ten years. Darn, I’d love to have some of those items back, and if not the items themselves the time it took for me to shop, clean, futz and manage them into my wardrobe. Especially now since I am no longer able to purchase any new apparel. I remember vividly, an amazing and probably overpriced DKNY sweater coat. A sort of retro 20s style with velvet accents. I wonder who’s wearing that gorgeous garment now. I wish I were.

This morning, right on the heels of my closet rummaging, I read an article in the NYTimes magazine about storage and consumerism. By 2005, according to the Boston College sociologist Juliet B. Schol, the average consumer purchased one new piece of clothing every five and a half days.

This eye-opening statistic got me thinking about a “slow clothing” movement. There are official slow food, slow money, slow travel and slow sex movements these days. Why not a slow clothing movement? I wondered. And is The Great Amearican Apparel Diet the beginning of it?

I googled “slow clothing” and “slow fashion,” and guess what…we’re slow to the movement. People have been blogging about this for a long time. “Wear local,” they say—is that like a sweater made with Fido the family dog’s hair? Or does it mean belting your neighbor’s old drapes and wearing them as a topper, a la Maria Van Trapp? Maybe we could learn from the Hispanics who wear huarache sandals made from repurposed flat tires? Buy from a thrift store and then remake your own, the experts suggest. Sew the arms of one sweater to the bodice of another, cut off pants and make them into a patchwork skirt, turn a tube top into a Rasta hair band. I am envisioning a renaissance fair.

In one article I read in the Christian Science Monitor, the author challenged US households “to create a single outfit for every man, woman, and child that is homemade.” Going back to a bygone era, she also suggested that people mend and darn their clothes.

Good idea for those people who:

a.) Know the meaning of darn in this context.

b). Know how to darn or sew http://www.ehow.com/how_648_darn-sock.html

c). Have a sewing machine. ( Investment Tip: Buy Singer, Ticker Symbol: SEW, you heard it here).

Darn (as in Darn-it), I wish I had that DKNY sweater coat and that brown Liz Claiborne maxi, corduroy coat from 1987, and let’s not forget the blinding Neon Obermeyer ski jacket I bought in 1992 to match the bottom of my K2s. Looking back, I admit, it was a wasteful, hedonistic and consumer-centric few decades—but we looked good.

Now, with my apparel budget cut to the quick and my participation in The Great American Apparel Diet, I am left fantasizing about my old wardrobe. I imagine a lovely waif of a “slow clothing movement” girl prancing down the runway of life in my old clothes and my Guess booties. I trust that she appreciates where her wardrobe began. I really hope, upon further reflection, that the “slow girl” hasn’t sewn the arms of my Obermeyer ski jacket onto the bodice of my brown Liz Claiborne Courdory Maxi coat. But if she has, all I can say is “you go–slow girl!”

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Clothing Swaps! my new best friend

Jen Mason — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:22:20 +0000

Hi everyone,

I just joined and I’m so excited about this challenge
because it takes my current self imposed challenge to another level.
At the beginning of the year I made the personal decision to abstain
from shopping at any department/retail stores for one year and this
includes shoes. Yes, shoes! (will tell you later how I have overcome
that pain) As a result of my personal challenge my sewing skills have
been reignited, my Goodwill and thrift store shopping skills have been
enhanced and I have discovered the latest craze, Clothing Swaps!

In case you don’t know, the way a clothing swaps works is you bring a
few folks together who have clothes they decide they don’t want
anymore and trade with others. There is no limit to how much you can
take away or how much you can bring to the swap. Afterwards if any
clothes are left over you can donate to Goodwill or use for crafting
projects. Just this past weekend at The Green Living Expo I attended
a seminar given by Goodwill, I was introduced to the TGAAD and have
decided to participate. Since I cannot use thrift stores or Goodwill I
will be swapping at least once a month. Swaps more than anything have
allowed me to expand my wardrobe beyond belief. Ive attended 5 this
year. It’s amazing how much excess we have in our closets that we
don’t wear, that still have tags on them or that just don’t fit. I’ve
found suits, sweaters, shoes, boots and dresses. You name it you can
find it. And the larger the swap the better the selection.

To bring a little relief to this challenge we have embarked upon I
would recommend getting a group of your friends together and having a
small swap in your home. 5-10 people who wear nearly the same size
clothing swapping their wears can yield some great finds. In fact I’m
organizing a swap on May 1st in Bowie, MD. For those who are
interested and live in the DC, MD or VA area let me know and I will
send you the info or check out
http://www.meetup.com/PrettyGirlz-Clothing-Swap/ for more information.
If you need ideas or help getting organized in you city let me know
and I’m happy to help.

Oh and the self imposed shoe diet………Well I’m attending a shoe
swap in May. That should take care of my shoe needs through the end of
the year problem solved.

Happy Swapping!

Jenn

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

Sally Bjornsen — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:00:20 +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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What were you wearing when…?

Sally Bjornsen — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:23:10 +0000

I have a friend who judges women on whether or not they remember where they were when Lady Di died. She uses this as a barometer for what kind of woman you are. If you can’t remember or don’t care my friend would instantly dismiss you as “not her kind of girl.”

Well I can take that concept a step further…I know what I was wearing when Lady Di died—a pair of burnt orange Gap jeans, a gray short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of ratty Nike Pegasus shoes, sans socks. I was probably wearing a bad bra too; I don’t remember the brand. Underwear? Who knows? I had been painting my office and made a quick trip to the paint store when I heard the news. I wish I had been more appropriately dressed for the occasion. It was Lady Di after all.

I know it’s silly and probably a giant brain drain but like songs from the 70s I remember almost every important event in my life by the outfit I wore. I am not just talking about clothes I wore in pictures; I am talking about clothes that I wore to my first gyno appt., my first kiss, and my first day of third grade. The list goes on and on, it’s kind of embarrassing.

I also have a list in my brain of my top ten outfits of a lifetime. It starts with an ensemble from third grade. A knit pant suit with yellow and white horizontal striped bell bottoms (who knew that was ever a good look) and a solid yellow knit tunic. And then there was the pair of footless black leggings paired with a fuchsia shaker sweater that went down to my knees—In retrospect I looked like The Big Fig Newton with a ratty perm. Then there was the Rayon black blazer from The Limited that I wore with pleated Seattle Blues acid washed jeans, The Nicole Miller aqua and black print flapper dress with the long waist (it looked hideous on me but I loved the print).

I won’t bore you with the rest of my top ten, but here’s my point. Apparel makes my world-go-round. It’s part of who I am, how I approach the world and how I organize my mind. Weird, and quite possibly shallow, I know. Just think of all the world’s problems that have been left unsolved simply because my brain is filled with memories of polyester and wool. But, oh well, that’s me.

For the record, as I write this I am wearing a J. Crew heather gray long sleeved cotton t-shirt, a pair of strategically ripped jeans by Big Star, my Frye engineer boots with Hue stripped socks, a pair of Calvin Klein undies and a flesh colored Natori bra.

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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

Admin — 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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