Reflection on 2012 Resolutions (I can buy clothes again!!!)

I cannot get over how quickly the year went by.  Here are a few final reflections...

Resolution #1: Live and Let Live  

This is a great motto to keep in your back pocket.  It says to an in-control perfectionist Virgo like me: “Hey, not everything or everyone is in your power.  Live your life.  Let others live theirs.  Be happy.”  This works for me.  Focusing on this all year has been freeing because it has allowed me to be more laidback during a season of life where being laidback is a definite asset.

Resolution #2: The Great American Apparel Fast

The home: (If you recall, I extended this fast to home goods as well.) I did buy two pieces of art at the Wine to Water auction. The money I spent went directly to The Adventure Project, so I am cutting myself some slack here.  Jake gave me an amazing portrait of Sintayehu for my birthday.  He commissioned our beautiful artist friend to paint it and I love it. I didn’t buy an espresso machine or a bathroom rug, even though I really wanted to.  We have been broiling toast in the oven because I didn't want to buy a toaster.  (This works surprising well; I probably won't be buying a toaster.)  I have been wanting to decorate the wall going up the stairwell with photos, but kept myself from purchasing new frames.  We had a garage sale in June and got rid of lots of stuff.  The "home" part of the fast surprised me.  I love the idea of living into your space and I am addicted to design blogs, and yet this wasn't as challenging as the clothing fast.  I would consider it an overall success.  Why?  Because it's amazing to give yourself the time to realize what you really need and surprise yourself at what you can live without.  (Note: On January 2nd I went out and bought brand new dish towels.  I have yet to purchase a bathmat.)

Clothing:  Oh goodness.  I have a lot to say about this, but will try to hit the highlights.  I did not do this perfectly.  I added seven new items of clothing to my closet in 2012.  (A pair of shoes in March from Salvation Army, three moment-of-weakness items in April at Marshalls, two items from Target in June and a pair of shoes in July.) I was given things left and right by friends and family members who either a) felt sorry for me or b) were trying to purge their own cluttered closet.  I kept some of those things and others I took to Goodwill.  I re-purposed a few items hanging in the back of my closet (a long, printed skirt became a cute summer dress; a maternity dress became a fun, flirty cocktail dress; I sewed a bird on a dress my sister-in-law Emily handed down) and I got rid of LOADS of clothes at our garage sale.  The average American purchases 64 items of clothing each year, so relatively speaking, I did okay.

I read Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion (I highly recommend) and got to interview the author for an article I wrote on the subject.  Speaking with author Elizabeth Cline and learning about the under-belly of "fast fashion" was truly fascinating.  I really think that just as we've embraced the Slow Food Movement, our society might start looking at other ways to be more conscientious consumers.  Perhaps this will be reflected in not just the food we buy, but the clothing we buy, the buildings we design, and so on.  One can hope.  I think we'll be hearing more about fast fashion and I believe that steps will be made to become more responsible consumers of textile.  In fact, H&M is launching a clothing recycling program in February that you can read about here.

I fell in love with this blog and caught the refashioning bug.  I improved my sewing skills and will continue to look for ways to refresh old clothes to fit my style.  I recently registered for an online class on sewing and refashioning.

I will re-enter the marketplace changed.  Though I am still considering ways in which to dress my family of five responsibly, when dressing myself, I will stick to the following:

1.  Shop thrift stores.  Not only will you find more unique items in thrift stores, but by purchasing used clothing, you are not contributing to the demand for fast fashion.  For instance, if fewer people are buying brand new $20 skinny jeans, then less cheaply made skinny jeans will be produced and less resources will be used.  I love "the find" experience of shopping thrift and, of course, the savings in cash.

2.  When purchasing something new, make sure the quality is high.  For instance, in the future I want to spend a bit more money in order to find items made out of high-quality, natural fibers like leather, cotton, and wool.  I will buy fewer items and instead purchase higher quality.  In doing so, I think my clothing budget will stay about the same.  This also helps determine needs versus wants.  If I'm going to spend a couple of hundred of dollars, say, on a pair of winter boots, I am going to be very sure that I actually need them and love them.  Rather than mindlessly and perhaps impulsively spending $12 on a pair of flats at Target, I want to really consider what I want to have to choose from each day as I open the closet.

3.  Tailor clothes to fit correctly.  I love books about Paris and the French in general and something that I've read over and over again is how the French purchase clothing and have it fitted to their body.  Because the fit is perfect, the look is polished.  I would like to be able to tailor my own clothing, but will also be more willing to pay for this to be done.  This is part of taking care of the clothes in your closet and making them last.

I don't expect to do this perfectly, but I do have a better sense of what my style is and the kind of clothes I want to see when I wake up and open my closet door each morning.  There is no doubt that this has been a fascinating year-long experiment.

In case you are wondering, it's January 8th and I have not actually purchased anything new.  Are you disappointed?  Jake bought me a really cute new sweater for Christmas (purchased at a local boutique called Mint Green) and my sister-in-law Tesi showed up a few days before Christmas with a pair of new brown boots, so I have been wearing a few new items.  However, after a year of not buying clothes, I can't really think of anything I want or need.  It feels a little anti-climatic, actually.  Though I have never considered myself a "shopaholic" or a "fashionista," the hunch that I had over a year ago that I was consuming more than my fair share of resources turned out to be true and my hope for a simpler existence and a "less is more" attitude has settled in.  I am more than satisfied.

 (Image found here.)