The Great American Apparel Diet

no buying for one year

• Made in a family-owned factory in Mexico
• “At Green Bees, for every tire that is rescued from the landfill, four shoes are produced. Keeping in line with their planet-saving credo, Garcia and Clancy use only full-grain leathers that are byproducts of the meat industry and considered waste material. Tanned without formaldehyde or heavy metals, the leather is then crafted into bohemian-inspired footwear in a family-owned factory in Leon, Mexico.”

With soles made out of recycled tires, and the rest of the shoe made out of genuine leather, you cannot help but love this classic footwear. There are a limited number of styles, but most, such as the Molly Shoe, come in a wide range of colors. Old-fashioned loafers and boots that can be seen on the farm as well as the street are among what is offered. The Emma Boot, a short boot with small detailing on the leather was my favorite. And when makers Garcia and Clancy are donating a tree for every pair sold, there is no reason not to buy one of each!

The Erma Boot (left) and The Emma Boot (right).

• Reasonable prices, since leather is never cheap, but some of the newer sandal styles come for less.
• Can purchase online or at a few stores in California and limited other states. See website for details.

http://www.shopgreenbees.com/index.htm

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A pair of these:

They are pair of Calvin Klein’s, on sale for $39.99 at Marshalls. I know they are pretty high. For those who ask “how do you walk in those?” Here’s my answer: You just do. And you make sure you pack a pair of flats with you when the walking is going to be long and arduous. To me, wearing a really sexy pair of high heels is like proclaiming my femininity very loudly. Men get to walk around without shirts on and women get to wear tall high heels. Life is fair.

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You see, the hole in the heel of my Converse started small. It was one of those little, nagging things that doesn’t bother you much in the beginning, like a small thread dangling from your shirt hem. However, after a few months the hole expanded, overtaking the tattered heel of my shoe. The laces loosened and lost their taut strength, and the soles cracked beyond repair. Now I realize I need to buy new shoes, even if I avoid it like the plague.

At first I was completely resistant to the idea of any new clothing. “Absolutely NO handbags, NO accessories, and definitely NO shoes,” I exclaimed in manifesto. But realizing my sole pair of sneakers were on their last leg (pun totally intended), I wrote them into my personal apparel diet rule-book: “One pair of shoes may come in if another goes out”.

Of course, I really didn’t understand the state of affairs in my closet in January the same way I do now. I’ve never been a shoe or bag hoarder. In fact, at this moment I possess three pairs of heels, a pair of flat knee-high boots, and my dying Converse. Upon making this realization, I felt like a bewildered animal who just noticed she hasn’t saved enough food to make it through the winter and realized if I was going to make it through the year, through the rain and snow, I was going to need to buy shoes.

Now I’ve gone and made my purchases, and though it may have taken me more than a month (and a little more money than I would like to spend) to find the perfect pair of walking shoes, I’ve learned a couple new facts in the process. Flat-soled shoes, along with courier bags, are not clothing, they’re school supplies, and taking time to focus on quality is going to carry me a lot further than being a cheapskate in denial. In fact, if I’m going to walk my campus and neighborhood through the seasons without the shoes wearing away from my very feet, I’m going to have to acknowledge my needs when they arise without resorting to self-deprivation.

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Ok girls, and one guy.  We do have one guy now, though we are yet to hear from him on the blog.  Anyway, back to my point.  Last week I posted the poll over there to your right.  It’s sort of a trite, yes/no kind of a poll.  I was in a hurry and was getting tired of the old department store versus boutique poll and thought it was time for some poll freshen-ing up.  And the: Is it easy?or Is it hard? poll was the best I could do that day.   When I published the question I was feeling proud and sassy, as if I could go a lifetime without buying anything new.   Well today is another story.  To say “who’s idea was this anyway,” would be saying it lightly.  It’s more like who’s!@#$%^&*()_ing idea was this anyway?   You see we have had record breaking sunshine in Seattle and temperatures hovering around 58 degrees.  It’s like Mother’s Day in February which is giving me some insight into my very limited warm weather wardrobe.  What pray tell will I wear when the real mother’s day gets here?   At least in the winter you can layer a great coat over a bad outfit. Not so in warm weather.  Can you say painter’s smock?  Perhaps I’ll pick up the paintbrush again. 

So back to the poll.  Last week this diet business was easy….this week?  Un frickin’ bearable.  I want something bright, snappy and new.  The good news is…tomorrow I will likely feel differently.  Hang in there girls, and our one guy! 

Sincerly, your fearless leader

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I love, love, love clothing swap’s! Fortunately for me, my friends who own the bar in my neighborhood biannually agree to open up for the ladies to conduct a “squaw swap” and what a great one we had this past Sunday. While the turnout wasn’t large, the group of ladies (about 10) had enough clothes, shoes, accesories, and housewares to really make it fun. We swapped stories of our favorite items while enjoying a glass of wine or a Guiness and poked through each other’s cast-offs.  We made goofy costumes, we were amused at another ladies delight over our silly hand-me-downs and we had a blast. Guilt-free shopping is always fun. I am in between sizes so I swapped out for a few new items in both smaller and larger sizes so I’ll be sure to have space to move up and down over the next few months. I got clothes that fit perfect, some that I can refashion or alter and some that I plan to simply cut apart for the fabric and figure it out later. My favorite find was a brown cashmere knit poncho, like an all-business snuggie; I love it. I also found a beautiful Banana Republic blazer, sweaters galore and an awesome cowgirl shirt.  It was fun, it was refreshing and I can’t wait to do it again!  If you live in the Baltimore City area and are intersted in future clothing swaps, you can follow my personal blog or twitter feed for updates, or sign up for the Parkside’s newsletter where they’ll send you emails of their upcoming events, including clothing swaps. The more ladies we get, the more choices we’ll have so bring your used clothes and get ready to have have a liberating, guilt-free, swapping party!

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Well, it seems that, despite the recession, shoe sales rose in September and October… hmmm. I’m wondering if my fellow TGAAD dieters are partially responsible for this?
Check out the NY Times article.

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Yesterday in the mail I got a 10$ rewards certificate from DSW. Instead of feeling excited, I was quite devastated. A 10$ rewards certificate to go to waste. Its too bad they don’t sell underwear, maybe I can buy socks with it.

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My sister is getting married this December and I am her maid of honor. I have a fitting for my dress next week so I needed to get a pair of shoes for them to know the dress length. Thankfully my mom is paying for the dress and shoes since I am strapped for cash at this point in my life.  Since I had today off this was my only chance to go shopping before the fitting.

I tried to convince my sister that black shoes would be fine, that way I could wear a pair I already had, a pair that I have only worn once before for my fiance’s mom’s wedding.  But no, she really wanted us to have silver shoes. Which is fine I guess, I shouldn’t turn down a chance to buy shoes especially when I don’t have to pay for them!

So today while walking through the mall, it hit me as to what I have gotten myself into. I walked past window after window of new fall fashion and my heart sank. I don’t think it really occurred to me how much I loved fashion. I think I love it more than design. The worst was the New York and Company window, with its bright oranges, yellows, blues and reds. The mix of sweaters and leggings and scarves. Oh sigh.

Successfully, I made it through the whole mall not buying anything! I ended up finding a pair of strappy silver shoes at DSW and was then able to head home.

I think I may have to avoid the malls though from now on. It is way too tempting.

Have a Wonderful Day Ladies!

Ali

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Truth be told. It really wasn’t very difficult for me to sign up for The Great American Apparel diet. Why, you ask? Well, because I – moi – must wear a uniform to work each and every day. Not the sort of east coast navy-green plaid skirt with leather buckle that I wore my entire year of 6th grade at Greens Farms Academy of the grand Westport Connecticut, but well…. a different sort of uniform category …… SHOES….. or in my case….”anti-shoes”. You see – I work for MBT (also known as Masai Barefoot Technology) – the innovator or the infamous rocker sole – known to change lives one shoe box at a time. (MBT, the anti-shoe – www.mbt.com). And while I love my MBTs – all 20 pairs of them – I am unable to ever put on another pair of “shoes” — it’s a rule in which we MBT worker bees live by. Yes, even on my dates, or well, date that I had 2 months ago – the first one in 5 years – I wore my MBTs. I know – it’s shocking – how do I make these clunkers look cute? But I have figured it out – thus the uniform. Denim. Denim. And more denim. My boot-legged denim works with my Black M Walks. My skinny True Religions work with my Kaya’s, and my favorite Paige jeans works with ummmmm…..my Black M Walks as well. There really is no reason for me to be a girl on the go and shop shop shop. Each morning, I start with my feet and work my way up – and let me tell you – I might not be the most fashionable gal these days – but my tummy is tighter, my glutes are stronger and I am uber-comfortable when I am racing from gate E8 to E55 at DIA! Go MBT – also know as “My Butt is Tighter”!

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