Fasting from Fashion
#FashionFastPledge
After working in fashion and indulging in some incredible sample sales, let’s just say my taste got a little too champagne for my Miller budget. I wouldn’t call myself a shop-a-holic these days. The price usually has to be right for the quality, it must be something I will wear for a long time, and I typically shop on an as-needed basis (minus swimsuits, I lose all self-control when there is a really great deal at a surf shop).
Even though I don’t think I have a clothing problem (my partner may argue otherwise), I am starting off this new year by pledging to fast from fashion for at least the month of January. Under this oath, created by Future Proof Fashion, I will not purchase any new fashion products, shoes, accessories… etc. Not only will this help me refrain from piling on to my closet which needs organizing, it will also help me appreciate the threads I already have. All of this is a part of my effort to live more mindfully this next year. Instead of spending an hour shopping for a pair of jeans I don’t need, I can spend that time exercising, learning, and most importantly practicing my art.
While fashion is art, excessive consumption is not sustainable. Post-holiday season I have come across dozens of sales while scrolling on instagram or hanging with friends who are excited to tell me they just scored some steals at local stores. I won’t lie, I have been tempted to indulge in the thrill of a new garment as a pick me up in the coldest and darkest months of the year. However, I resist the urge because I know these habits are detrimental to society and the planet.
I have been guilty of indulging in purchases for the sake of a sale and shopping fast fashion retailers here and there. When I clean out my closet I am forced to revisit these shameful purchases. Most recently, I rediscovered a purple, velvet bodysuit with cheap, rhinestone embellished straps…I purchased it one New Year’s Eve when I was feeling low. Though I only wore it once and never washed it (because it probably needed to be washed by hand, in my shared, NYC, apartment sink) , the straps are already falling apart. I put it in my Goodwill donation bin but having worked in the apparel supply chain, I can’t help but wonder what will happen to the hundreds or thousands of this particular bodysuit that were manufactured. Garments like these are not made with durability in mind. They are made for a one-time, Instagram, New Year’s Eve post, at an addicting, low cost to keep the consumer coming back. I take mental note of the shame I feel as I am forced to reconcile the fact that even Goodwill may decide there is nothing left for this garment. I imagine it’s fated to meet the landfill where it will hopefully decompose in approximately 200 years. With this shame in mind, I vow to be a proud outfit repeater.
Now that I am not letting my curious consumer, mind occupy so much time, I have been very productive this first week of the new year, clearing our home of clutter, organizing pantries and finally (for my dad’s sake) going through some boxes I had been storing at my parent’s house. I am reacquainting myself with some old gems I had forgotten like one of a kind, Brooklyn thrift store finds and old sweaters that used to be like second skin. As I am writing this, I am wearing a hand me down sweater from an old roommate. I am falling in love with it all over again. Funny enough, it also happens to be from a fast fashion retailer but it’s a classic and like timeless pieces, durable over the decades!
To learn more about the need for the #FashionFastPledge movement check out the book, Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment by Maxine Bédat.
