Aug 30
While I was already committed to buying used or refashioning to help with the environment before participating in GAAD, I have found that I ofteen used GAAD as a reminder not even think about buying anything new. After all, I’d made a promise. As time passed I realized that I was less and less concerned with purchasing new clothes and really enjoyed reworking what I had. I rarely, if ever, felt like I was constrained or missing something. As I move forward beyond the GAAD I’ll try to remember what I’ve learned. I’ll continue to host clothing swaps and will always shop for second hand or refashioned clothing first. But, I also know that a good cardigan is hard to find and I’ll save the shopping for my most essential items that need to be replaced. I look forward to continuing my commitment to the environment and to my budget and buying only whats essential, but to continue to have fun with what I already own. If there are any ladies in the Baltimore area who are interested in future clothing swaps, please do contact me. Thanks for the great learning opportunity Sally, and for giving me a reason to stay disciplined and to really practice what I preach.
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Tagged with: Apparel Diet, clothes, clothing diet, Clothing Swap, Consumerism, etsy, recycled clothing, Refashion, shopping
Aug 22
In exactly a week, I will be off this “no shopping for clothes diet”.
I have to say, it has become easier as time went by. I thought it would be grueling towards the finish line. So, Sunday, August 29th I will go downtown and see what damage I can do.
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Tagged with: beauty, Beauty Alert!, clothes, clothing diet, expiration dates for cosmetics, fashion, mascara expires, shopping, Stacya Silverman, TGAAD
Aug 12
Part of the reason we live in a disposable apparel culture is that we don’t take the time or make the effort to take care of the clothes we own. I remember as a kid my mother hand washing her favorite items. This was long before people sent everything to the dry cleaner, which by the way can ruin a wardrobe if you are not careful. My mother’s special “delicate” silks and jerseys would hang on the shower rod in our bathroom or on the floor laid flat to dry. I can’t remember the last time I hand washed something. My mother, by the way is a fashion icon at 72 years old. Her wardrobe can go up against anyone’s wardrobe anyday. Most of what’s especially beautiful in her closet are those things she has hung onto for years. So that brings me to this…how do we modern girls learn from the generation before us about taking care of what we already own? Here are some basic principles. Please add on your own and I will post them too.
Tips for taking care of the clothes you already own:
- Avoid dry cleaning as much as possible. The chemical process strips down fibers in clothes over time.
- No wire hangers!
- Wash rougher pieces together like jeans, and softer ones like cotton dress shirts on their own.
- Use the gentle cycle as frequently as possible with a gentle detergent like Woolite.
- Wear your clothes more than once before washing them. If a stain is small, spot clean with seltzer water or a reputable spot remover.
- Remove clothes from the dryer and hang them up immediately.
- Don’t use the dryer if you don’t have to. A clothes line or a shower rod make for good “air drying.”
- Pay attention to what you are ironing and look at the instructions for recommended iron settings.
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Tagged with: clothes, clothing diet, Consumerism, laundry, line dry, shopping, shopping diet, spot remover, taking care of clothes, The Great American Apparel Diet, woolite
Aug 10
I didn’t double check the rules but I assume we can replace items in our closet that are worn out with similar/exact specs? I had a shabby black dress that doesn’t fit anymore and two cardigans that had to be donated. I replaced the black dress and one of the cardigans. I have to purchase back to school shoes and cardigans for my children but we’re pretty set on pants and shirts (they wear uniforms and I am the designated donatee for lots of my friends’ kids’ outgrown stuff). So, if I goofed and shouldn’t have replaced the donated items, let me know in the comments and I’ll return them.
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Tagged with: clothes, clothing diet, shopping diet, The Great American Apparel Diet
Aug 05
Look down at what you’re wearing. Right now, I have on jeans and an old t-shirt. Oddly enough, both were free. Also, I fetched both from my closet this morning thoughtlessly.
However, were I to look closer at my outfit, I would realize how many people’s hands were used in creating it. The Dalai Lama speaks often about how we are interdependent, how even the most simple clothing changes hands between people we don’t know, and will never know. My cotton shirt: first it was grown on a farm, tended not only by a proprietor but also farm hands who picked and deseeded (milled?) the cotton; the cotten was then made to useable thread and knitted in a factory run by strangers; it was dyed by someone running a machine; it was cut and sewn into a t-shirt; the screened print was designed (this time by someone I know) and applied (by someone I don’t). All these hands and thoughts went into something I carelessly threw on hours ago. This always seems to astound me.
The things we use, even the things with no packaging (like veggies or fruits or gasoline) have been made for us. They have been picked, shipped, refined, sold, and packaged for us. Each and every thing I own was touched by someone else, simply in preparation for me to have it.
If I look around my house, I can see how little I actually OWN. That I made myself. Even the stuff I knit (by the way, does knitting stuff for myself count as buying new clothes?) is made of yarn I bought from a store. I don’t have a sheep outside my apartment that I shear and spin.
For some reason, this just overwhelmed me. Whew! But maybe this feeling will give me pause the next time I reach to buy something new. It will at least make me realize that I am not alone, and that my choices affect others. So I should make the right ones.
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Tagged with: clothes, connection
Jul 28
By Sally Bjornsen
Consumerism, Fashion Trends, The Great American Apparel Diet, eco fashion, fashion, nordstrom, recession, recycled apparel, shopping, shopping addiction, slow clothing, women
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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Tagged with: addiction, Closet, clothes, clothing diet, Clothing Swap, Colonic, Consumerism, eco fashion, Nordstrom, NY Times, recessionista, recycled clothing, The Great American Apparel Diet
Jul 26
I’ve been pretty successful on this diet, though I have had a few “cheats”. I will catalogue them now for full disclosure: 1 pair boots this winter (I actually did not have a pair of boots that were waterproof, and now that I am commuting a few blocks in the snow, they were necessary), a new t-shirt from a state park and a new shirt from a local artisan. I think this is pretty darn good! It’s way better than I’ve ever done on a food diet anyway! Besides the practicality of the boots, the two shirts were supporting things that I want to support. I could have just given the park money, but I like advertising for it. And the artisan was at a local craft fair, so it was a one-time chance.
What’s been the most interesting to me throughout this diet though is how I’ve found a new value system.
When I first started, every day that I walked past Anne Taylor was torture. And I walk past this store every week day. I would stare in and LONG for the outfits in the window. A couple of months ago, I went into the store. I was nervous, and I found I wanted things. But then I looked at the price tags. Suddenly dropping $180 on a new dress “just because” seemed appauling! I used to do this weekly without batting an eye, now it just seems frivolous, despicable even. I saw these cute t-shirts with ribbons and pearls on them, and thought about how much I wanted one. It wasn’t very expensive either. But I realized that I could actually take a pink t-shirt I already own and turn it into this cute be-dazzled shirt. This was especially a good idea because the shirt has a small coffee stain on it, and I have therefore not worn it. But I could turn it into something I want to wear again by attaching decorative items to it!
I now find myself exploring store windows, not with lust and envy, but with a curious eye turned towards “how did they make that”? I am re-discovering my once artistic and creative self, and finding fulfillment. I am also discovering that I have managed to save a lot of money for things that matter more to me, and feeling less stressed out. It’s nice to be able to walk to work without feeling completely depressed that you “can’t have” that cute dress in the window. Now I realize that I can have whatever I want, but my “wants” are changing.
Who knew that deprivation would lead to so much gain!?
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Tagged with: addiction, cheating, clothes, Consumerism, creating, recycled clothing, shopping, values
Jul 08
By Sally Bjornsen
Consumerism, Fashion Trends, Sustainable Fashion, The Great American Apparel Diet, eco fashion, fashion, nordstrom, recession, recycled apparel, shopping, shopping addiction, slow clothing, south coast plaza, workout clothes
O.K., I am not proud. I have told nearly every woman I know that I am simply starving on this @#$%^& 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 11
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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Tagged with: clothes, Consumerism, fashion, fashionista, shopping, The Great American Apparel Diet
Jun 07
The past couple weeks my computer’s internet page and I have become best friends as I have scoured the World Wide Web looking for fashionable, eco-friendly clothing and accessory brands that are made in the US or fairly traded. With the help of Eco Stiletto and other sites, I have compiled a list of incredible lines that you are sure to love; and it will only keep growing as the summer goes on! Check back every day for a new one, and let the conscious shopping begin…or begin in 85 days, at least.
- Produced in L.A.
- “Doie was born from the idea that it is possible to be stylish and comfortable while still helping to protect the environment. Each versatile piece is made from earth friendly fabrics such as bamboo jersey, organic cotton, organic wool, or 100% silk.”
Designed by a Parson’s school graduate (yes, the same one from Project Runway), you’d expect Doie to be effortlessly chic, and it does not disappoint. The classy silk shirts of the NYC and Paris Collections will always be in demand and the Los Angeles and California Collections offer summery pieces, perfect for the beach or a Saturday afternoon with the family. This is the ultimate find; run, don’t walk. Earlier collections are not necessarily to my taste, and certainly not for the fashionably-safe, but I encourage you to take a look if only to admire the designs. The website includes write ups on all the fabric used, so you know exactly what you are wearing and where it comes from.
A shirt from the NYC Collection.
- Most items have incredible sale prices, almost reminiscent of Old Navy or H&M. Get it before they are all snatched up!
- Available in 21 states and a variety of online stores, all found on the website.
http://www.doiedesigns.com/index.htm
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Tagged with: clothes, Doie, eco-friendly, fashion, shopping
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