Aug 12
I’m sure I’m not the first person to link to this article in the NYTimes, but I wholeheartedly agree with it! One reason I decided to do the Great American Apparel Diet was so that I could “step off the consumer treadmill” and re-evaluate what I really want to spend my money on. There are certainly possessions, even articles of clothing, that have brought me great joy in the past, but there are many other intangible experiences that have been a delight. I’d like to make more room in my wallet, and my life, for those.
Tagged with: apparel, Consumerism
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I loved that article because it reassured me that I wasn’t crazy. Everyone’s always telling me I’m nuts because I live in a cute 1100 square foot home in the burbs, yet I miss my 300 sf(yes, 300!) room in Korea, and my 400 (I was moving up in the world) studio above an ice cream parlor. I really just hate all this unused, unloved space. A small space feels like home to me. I’m finding this is the case with clothing, in an odd way. Because I’ve ruled out new clothes for the year, I’m looking at the clothes I do own in a whole new way. My orange sweatshirt doesn’t need to be replaced, it’s great! Why would I need a fancier dress when I have my adorable handmade green frock with bees all over it? Those older clothes have been through experiences, just like those quirky older apartments and houses. The way I’m starting to see it, new things don’t really have a soul, so only buy them if you’re willing to spend time giving them one.
I agree – buying less clothing means we can wear what we already have and appreciate how it makes us feel and look. In graduate school I had little money for clothing and so I was very attached to the outfits I had – I wore them all the time! They definitely had souls, in ways that all my newer, less-worn clothing does not.