The Great American Apparel Diet

no buying for one year

It’s been almost eight months since I decided to stop mindlessly buying clothes. But for Sally and many others of you, it’s been almost TWO YEARS.

I stumbled upon this site a few days after I decided to start my Year (Almost) Without Shopping, and found out that I was not the first one to come up with this idea, and I was not alone.

The rules of The Great American Apparel Diet are a lot tougher than my rules, but we have a lot in common: try before you buy, quality not quantity, don’t buy anything on sale that you wouldn’t buy at full price — all this after, the non-shopping year is over, of course. I allowed myself that 40th birthday allowance, but Sally says shoes are allowed. No way I’d put in that clause, or I’d have myself a huuuge collection of shoes by now. (That pair of sandals I bought before BlogHer will have to come out my end-of-year savings.)

In the early weeks of my Year (Almost) Without Shopping, TGAAD was a big part of keeping me on track. On more than one occasion, I followed my old habit of wandering over to the mall when I had an extra hour between appointments or before picking the kids up from school. Those after-Christmas sales were mighty tempting. It sounds cheesy, but I really did think about those 300 other non-shoppers at TGAAD, many of whom have blogged their accomplishments — and slip-ups — and that was enough to keep me from buying something I didn’t need. Either that or I’m just really competitive, and the idea that if all these other shopaholics could kick their habit, then so could I.

On the rare occasion that I go “window shopping”, I still get that OMG, I NEED THAT, MY LIFE WILL BE SO MUCH BETTER IF I HAVE THAT urge. But I am able to recognize it for what it is, and — for the most part — resist it.

So thank you, Sally, for creating The Great American Apparel Diet and inspiring (soon to be former) shopaholics like me.

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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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84
days since I began this diet.
49
days until I broke down and bought “something”
875
what that ‘something’ cost. “shh..”
35
days since then
8
items I tried selling on eBay in hopes of M.M.M [making more money]
1
item that actually sold [jeans]
69.99
was the price I sold them for [yay!]
200
was what I paid for them [boo]
281
days left in this challenge!

HAPPY FRIDAY LOVIES :)

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Hi guys…anyone out there?  Things are sort of quiet on the blog these days which makes me wonder….are you all still dieting?  Remember only a few more months.

Some good news.  My husband and I just got a tandem bike.  The bad news…cycling apparel.  For those of you unfamiliar with cycling shorts they are every girl’s fashion nemesis.  The good news, I don’t have to spend anytime in a dressing room trying on cycling shorts like I did last year thanks to TGAAD.   I will  blaze forward in the same bad, unattractive shorts I wore last year.  Which brings up a scary topic.  Trying on bike shorts.  If you haven’t done it don’t.  It’s enough to make a girl give up on the sport.  See my post from last Spring when I found myself in the same situation.  Unfortuantely I was still shopping…

June 2009 (pre TGAAD)

I have recently and reluctantly re-taken up cycling, I guess you could call it recycling.   I say reluctantly not because I don’t enjoy cycling or its benefits—forty miles equals a monster sized burrito and a frothy Hefferweizen.  I say reluctantly because the clothes SUCK.  I am being kind when I say that no one, not even Mark, my handsome, 2% body fat husband looks good in the stuff.

My re-entry into the sport began last spring when Mark talked me into upgrading my old, Raleigh ten speed to a fancy, schmancy, carbon fiber, eighteen speed something or other, with clip-in pedals.  He said the upgrade was for me but I really think the old red Raleigh along side his pimped-out racing bike embarrassed him.  My new bike, donned with all the components and the aero dynamic seat that is sure to give me hemorrhoids, is something he can stand by with pride.  My outfit?  Not so much.   Upon completing the expensive bike transaction with the tattooed sales specialist, Mark insisted we stop by the apparel section of the store to check out some cycling pants.  He obviously had a vision.

“Wait a minute,” I said, pausing in my tracks for effect.   “Cycling pants?  Are you !@#$%^ nuts?  I told you I’d ride but I didn’t say I’d wear the pants. I would rather wear a pair of high waist, acid washed jeans than a pair of ugly, spandex, sausage legged shorts with a crotch chaffing, Kotex Maxi Pad chamois.  It’s not my look.”

“Well then what are you going to wear?” he asked.

“My yoga pants.”

“Your yoga pants, for cycling?”

“Yeah, why not?  They look so much better.  You know the ones, the bell bottom lulu lemon pants with the hipster contrast border at the waist.”

“You’re not serious.”

“Yes.  I am not wearing those weird pants.  No way.”

I saw in his eyes his vision for our future of biking together slip away.  “You can’t wear yoga pants babe.  Not with your fancy new bike.  It’s just not done.”

I knew then I was in over my head.  This cycling business was so much more than the bike.  It was a culture that demanded an aesthetic reset.  I was now the proud owner of a fancy bike that required me to scrap my instinctive fashion sensibility and embrace the ugliest, most unattractive trend invented by man (a woman would know better).

And so right there in the bike store I acquiesced.   I gathered six to ten pair of black cycling shorts and began the demoralizing task of squeezing my soft body into a variety of girdle like contraptions, one after the other in search of the “most flattering pair.”  News flash, for those of you who have an issue with cellulite the issue becomes an all out crisis in bike shorts. I stood face to face with myself in the small, dingy fitting room and mouthed the words “you know better.”

Mark called from outside the dressing room, “hon, come out and show us.”  The us included the youngish, sinewy sales woman.   “Not yet,” I said, nearly out of breath and laboriously peeling off another pair of tourniquet shorts.   The sales girl chimed in, “do you have a jersey?”  And with that she hung three loudly colored polyester jerseys over the dressing room door.  “Try these on, we just got them in.  They’re awesome.”   Awesome was not the word that came to mind.  Logo-mad print designer on acid was more like it.

I finally settled on a pair of black, below the knee knickers with a stayfree mini-pad sized chamois.  They were $90.  Who knew that being unattractive could cost so much?   My husband and his sales clerk side-kick were disappointed that I passed on the Jerseys.  I was certain that I could get away with cycling pants and a Gap t-shirt for a while.  At least until I found an inconspicuous jersey that didn’t scream “this is ugly.”

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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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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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SoOoOooOoo I’ve done it. I have fallen off the proverbial wagon and bought something.

Was it expensive? Probably…
Unnecessary? Probably..
Worth it? TOTALLY.

To be fair, this isn’t juuusst ‘something’ it’s more than that…I bought a limited edition type coat by Smythe for HBC. It’s ABSOLUTELY 100% GORGEOUS!! And I LOOOVVVEE it and it LOOVEESS MEEEEE back! I want to have its babies! 100,000,000 of them!!

………annnyywaaayyy.

Let’s slow things down with a little history lesson about this jacket: In 2009 HBC [Hudson Bay Company] asked 10 Canadian Designers to re-create one of a kind coats from a HBC Point Blanket. Originally, they weren’t for sale, however, Smythe’s jacket in particular was so popular that they made a special order of 100 coats and sold them during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Anyhow, this is just one little minor blip on the radar. I will continue on with this challenge. After purchasing my jacket, I started thinking; I wonder what the success rate of this challenge is. I know you can measure ‘successes’ in a number of different ways yadayadayada. But if you measure your success rate as 100% = no buying anything and 0% = buying a new pair of Louboutin’s every week, what would it beeeee?!?!

Perhaps we can start a poll: For those on the challenge, how many non-essential items have you purchased? Don’t’ be shy, be honest…but be warned, I WILL JUDGE YOU! [just kidding, I won't - cubs honor]

Zero
1 – 4
5 – 9
10 – 14
15 & Up

I suppose it was rather ambitious of me for thinking I could go an ENTIRE year without shopping. Mehhh…oh well, it was a good run; 7 weeks of zero shopping. That’s pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good…if I say so myself. All in all, No regrets. And whatever your number is; keep on keeping on.

For previous post, and more ridiculousness check out Naked Susie; A year without [new] clothes

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All right ladies, thank you for all of your votes on our last poll! It looks like the majority of dieters buy their bra’s at department stores and specialty retailers. Not surprising, how can we resist when Victoria’s Secret sends out those handy coupons every couple months…lesson learned once they get you in, you’re never getting out without a little pink bag in hand and a lot less in the bank account! So now that we’ve established where some of this purchasing is happening, here at TGAAD we’re curious as to how you are making your purchases these days. The terrible question we hear time and time again: ”Will that be debit or credit miss?…umm could it be free? Nope ok, it was worth a shot!” Part of my financial management plan has always been to only purchase clothing on debit as to avoid those impulsive spending sprees prompted by various circumstances such as: the winter blues, a bad day, oh a sunny day in February I should probably buy some shorts to get prepared for all of the upcoming sunny warm days in Seattle, half birthday gift from myself to myself (I’m really so thoughtful), etc… we’ve all been there before! So we come to our newest poll: What method of payment do you typically use to purchase clothing? Enjoy!

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Opening the mail yesterday I got the usual: bills; banking stuff; pre-approved credit card applications etc… however, I did not expect to be faced with 100% temptation. COACH sent me this [ever-so-slightly-evil] promotional deal. “Our Gift to YOU!! Use this $100 card toward your purchase of $300 or more”

Whaaaaattt?!?! For realsies? Hmm… Well, I do really need a new purse. I mean, not now, but sometime in my life I will probably need another one so why not get a head of the game? OMG, this MUST be a sign! This is the heavenly purse gods telling me themselves that I need to buy a purse! A $600 purse!!!! And I’ll get $100 off! Yesssss! It’s the deal of the century! This is totally a one off; I’ll never see this kind of deal again. Ever. Everrrrr…! Aghhh!! I need purse. Must get purse:

Luckily for me, I have a completely normal and rational boyfriend. He flat out told me “NO don’t do it” and something like “What do you need a $600 purse for and $600 is a lot of money for a purse…blah, blah, blah” To which I quietly replied, “But… but I’d love it forever and it would last a lifetime; so the cost per wear would be incredibly low.” As I said those words, I realized that even I couldn’t convince myself that this was true. I know I don’t need it; I probably wouldn’t even use it that often. More so, I would most likely lose it, or have someone steal it from me.

So if you’re interested, have I got a deal for you! If you want this $100 off $300’s spent, message me and I’ll give it to you for $50 bucks. Don’t worry; you’re still getting a GREAT DEAL!!

What’s the moral of the story? Spending $300 to get $100 off is NOT a deal. You’re NOT saving money and you’re still spending $200 [or more] to get that so-called “deal”. Common sense can be so difficult sometimes…

xoxo $ixHundredDollar purse girl.

For previous post, please check out Naked Susie; a year without [new] clothes.

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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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