Jul 08
By Sally Bjornsen
Consumerism, Fashion Trends, Sustainable Fashion, The Great American Apparel Diet, eco fashion, fashion, nordstrom, recession, recycled apparel, shopping, shopping addiction, slow clothing, south coast plaza, workout clothes
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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Tagged with: accessories, Apparel Diet, clothes, fashion, fashionista, It's Complicated, Meryl Streep, Nordstrom, recessionista
Jun 07
All right dieters, for many of you this diet ends in 85 days. I am trying to prepare as best I can for the day when we are “set free.” The last thing I want is a mass binge on crappy, (earth damning) clothes all made in inhumane factories in China.
As you know I have been pondering the question—what does responsible consumerism mean and is eco-fashion code for burlap dress? First let me reflect a bit. At the beginning of this diet I didn’t know I would become interested in “world friendly” fashion. But through TGAAD experiment I have read, met and interviewed several fashionistas who have made a concerted effort to be both fashionable and kind to the globe. I have come to admire that goal and would like to try that myself.
So, with that thought, I am hoping that when I am finally “let loose” at the mall I will be much more aware of where my products come from, who made them and what they are made of. We are talking sophisticated, hot, sexy, sharp, professional, fun clothes, not Burning Man attire. Apparel that looks beautiful, is made well and comes from a place that you can pronounce.
So beginning today I am going to, along with my intern Kim, share the knowledge of what eco brands exist out there. This will be a daily update. We will begin to educate you on who is shaping the designs and direction of eco friendly fashion. We will introduce you to people and companies who can legitimately boast fair treatment of their employees. And finally and I think most exciting we will open your eyes to some stellar American sourced and American made brands that you can get enthusiastic about. So here it goes.
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Tagged with: eco fashion, fair trade fashion, Made in China, made in the u.s.a
Oct 15
My husband is a professor of English and spends very little time thinking about what he is going to wear. Twelve years ago we bought a Hickey Freeman jacket for him, it was specifically for our engagement party. He has worn that thing to every fancy event we have gone to in our entire 12 year marriage. He has also worn, without shame, the same jacket in every Christmas card we have ever sent as a couple. The good news is it still fits him. He has been known to mix it up a bit pulling out his navy sport coat from college. That still fits him too.
I hadn’t really paid much attention to his paltry wardrobe until I stopped buying clothes for myself. Just last week we were invited to a fancy Newport Beach charity event. In my not so distant past life, I would have racked my brain, called my sister and flipped through magazines in an attempt to put together my own fabulous event wardrobe. After serious contemplation and long distance discussions I would have run over to South Coast Plaza, (2 miles from my house) for a spontaneous jolt of fashion. But this time I stopped, took a deep breath and pondered my existing apparel options.
With all the free time I saved ruminating, talking and running to and from SCP I had the brain space to think about my husband’s tiring wardrobe. What followed was a trip, with my husband in tow, to South Coast Plaza. We bought a great Italian hound’s-tooth cashmere jacket and some pants (no pennies were spared). Oh, and of course the overpriced Italian Ferragamo belt was a must-have (as far as my husband is concerned Ferragamo may as well be a brand of pasta). I had such fun lecturing him on the good-quality, clothing investment strategy, “you’ll wear it for a lifetime,” I told him (it’s the age old lecture I give myself when faced with an expensive clothing purchase). I didn’t’ have the heart to tell him that in my fashion world a lifetime is six to eighteen months max.
Well, I definitely got my shopping hit in for the week. But, while the anticipation, the selling, the strategizing, fabric fondling and flirting with the Nordstrom sales guy was exhilarating, it wasn’t the same as buying something for myself. It did feel good, however, to think about someone else’s wardrobe rather than my own for once. Good to know that I can be in Nordstrom for more than an hour without breaking into a sweat. I guess TGAAD is going to be a good thing for my husband!
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Tagged with: Ferragamo, Nordstrom, south coast plaza
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