I was DONE and honestly SO FRUSTRATED with myself. I saw that my bank account was overdrafted for the umteenth time after a retail shopping therapy spree. I’d been stress eating the whole pantry AND shopping like a mad woman in the middle of Marie Kondo-ing the hell out of my house… and I decided to go on a slow fashion diet.
The VERY LAST section to be done was my closet. Marie suggests doing your kitchen LAST since you would have built up your confidence after going through the whole house. My closet is my LOVE and NEMESIS so I saved it for last. It is literally filled to the brink, and clothing pieces are smooshed together on the hanging racks because I have SO.MUCH.STUFF! And my closet is NOT SMALL! If a hanger broke, then I wouldn’t even know because that’s how tight the clothing is packed in!
And then, as if Instagram had been spying on my brain, a random post about @slowfashionseason popped up! It’s a 3-month challenge of no NEW clothes, and they invited 10,000 people to join. The impact is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
This is taken directly from their website:
The fashion industry is responsible for enormous amounts of water consumption (32 million Olympic size swimming pools per year) and CO2 emissions (8% of global greenhouse emissions – and growing fast). If 10,000 people participate, we will save the equivalent of up to 300 million liters of water and 1 million kilograms of CO2 emissions.* Also, textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water globally, only after agriculture. Then there is the enormous waste creation (148 million tons by 2030) and land use (115 million hectares by 2030), and we haven’t even started on labour conditions yet…Enough numbers, time for action. Time for Slow Fashion Season!
HOW COOL IS THIS?!!!
The ONLY rule is you’re allowed to trade clothes and buy second-hand, just no new clothes. This means getting creative with your own closet! Also, I made my own rule that undergarments and workout clothes are allowed to be new.
Personally, I had to make some exceptions for this challenge. My blog campaigns required selecting pieces from current collections. So I didn’t purchase items with my own money, but they weren’t second-hand pieces. Is this right or wrong? I don’t know. That’s part of my job so I guess I could have declined some of the campaigns. However, some were agreed upon before the challenge started and some were part of our Chic at Every Age group. My decision affects the three other members. What’s your take on that?
(SUSTAINABLE) STYLE Rx:
Prada makes your heart pitter patter but your wallet have a heart attack? Try looking for them at a consignment shop! I found these Prada wedges at Clothes Circuit in Dallas! You can also search online on my faves like The Real Real.
So, now let’s get to the nitty gritty. Here is what I’ve learned so far from this slow fashion diet:
I HAVE FABULOUS PIECES IN MY CLOSET THAT NEED TO BE WORN
I delete sales emails from my favorite retailers to resist the temptation to buy. However, I do peruse emails that discuss upcoming trends since those always give inspiration on how to revive pieces from my own closet. That’s best part! You get to rediscover all of the pieces that you love and forgot about!
Also, I realize that I have so many duplicates or similar items. How many pair of jeans or black pair of pants does ONE person really need?! That Marie Kondo exercise is really helpful when going through your closet by category. When you put all of your jeans on the bed, or all of your tops on the bed, you realize just HOW MUCH YOU HAVE and some pieces that you haven’t worn but still love!
So, I basically rediscovered pieces in my closet that have been hiding away and need some style love now!
I CAN FIND ALMOST EVERYTHING SECOND-HAND AND SOME NWT (NEW WITH TAGS)
I am not even kidding! It’s crazy what you can find online. For example, I purchase these Alice & Olivia sunglasses from The Real Real for $48 and they are currently on the Alice and Olivia website for $175. Anytime, I am interested in a designer but don’t want to pay retail, then I search for them on The RealReal.
I’ve had a lot of experience purchasing second hand since that was my main mode of acquiring clothing before the Littles were born. Now, I am so happy that there are amazing online places to find pieces. Here are some of my faves which may look familar if you’ve followed me for awhile!
LOCAL FAVORITES
Vintage Martini
Feminine Fashions
Clothes Circuit
Luxury Garage Sale
The Resale Shop
ONLINE FAVORITES
The RealReal
Beacon’s Closet
Bag, Borrow, or Steal
VINTAGE
Open for Vintage
Desert Vintage
I DON’T NEED TO BUY AS OFTEN AS I THINK
Sleep on it. Whenever I have the urge to buy something, I just wait until the next day. If I’m still obsessing, then that’s my cue that I really do like it. Then, I ask if I have something similar to it. If I don’t, then I may buy it!
New seasons are especially difficult to start a shopping diet because you want to get all of the latest and newest beautiful pieces, or at least I do. However, I started to consider WHY do I really shop?! I reviewed this a couple of years ago, but our lives evolve and so do we!
After rereading the article, I am a stylist/fashion lover/true creative, and I need to channel my creativity with a 30×30 closet remix or shift my focus to something else like interior design, fashion illustration, etc. I’m still in the process of figuring out what I want to do but I’m inspired by my friend, Maria, who shopped her closet for 365 days!
There was only ONE instance of No-buyers regret when I missed out on a pair of Balmain cateye sunglasses at Beacon’s Closet because I waited 3 days to buy… which brings points back to my last point.
I recently saw another challenge pop up on Instagram for #secondhandseptember which sounds SO FABULOUS!!
The Slow Fashion challenge officially ends on September 2oth, but I love this new found thought process that I have. It’s been so freeing to STOP shopping and use the effort elsewhere. I’ve been working on home projects to get this place organized!
P.S. My dress above was gifted from Christy Lynn, a luxury sustainable brand, based out of Houston, Texas. She has previous experience with brands like Nanette Lepore, Catherine Malandrino, and Elie Tahari. I love discovering new brands.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON SHOPPING DIETS AND CHALLENGES? Also, If I started a Facebook group about shopping your closet (outfit ideas), would y’all be interested??
You may also love reading:
Why I Shop Vintage & Pre-Owned Luxury
Intentional Shopping for 2018
SHOP Conscious Clothing PAGE
dress CHRISTY LYNN COLLECTION c/o | earrings J.ING
necklaces BY CHARI, MARLA AARONS (chain + silver lock), VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, MARLA AARON (loop chain, star lock, heart lock), VINTAGE MARY MEDALLION
sandals PRADA (look for less) | bag VINTAGE CHANEL
lashes LASHES IN A BOX No 24 + ADHESIVE
Happy Wednesday Y’all! Hope everything is going well and that you enjoyed the long weekend! Mr. S was out of town so I took advantage and went to ALL the local breakfast places with the Littles. I don’t know if that was good or bad that they got chocolate chip pancakes TWO DAYS IN A ROW at two different places! LOL! It was fun to go out to eat, but I’ve got to get back on the train for eating better. (I had to “try” some of the pancakes!)
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Yea, I’ve been trying to be good about purchases the past few years, I’m getting better at it but I do still buy new and second hand. I am always searching the realreal for fun things! Don’t usually buy them but I look and drool, haha
Meg @ Closet Fashionista recently posted…{outfit} A Pop of Pink
For sure Meg! You and Mica are THE BEST at slow shopping and I need to take after y’all MORE! LOVE LOVE LOVE The RealReal and started a Lust List on my iphone notes (like you have on your blog)!!
I think it’s a great challenge to have, and I’m impressed your friend did no fashion purchases for a whole year !I made it 7 months when I tried my 6 month no buy and it definitely changed my shopping habits! I love doing the 30 wears posts each month as well, keeps me in line as I’m looking at and evaluating each piece in my wardrobe, plus I have to rewear more to hit the 30 wears goal, so I’m buying less! (of course I did have a massive shop at the opshop recently, but a bag of clothes for $5, who wouldn’t nap it all up? haha!)
Mica recently posted…Striped Tops, Skinny Jeans, Scarves and Rebecca Minkoff MAB
LOL Mica!! A bag full of clothes for $5 – IMPOSSIBLE to pass up! You are also an inspiration for the fashion diets!! I love your 30 wears posts and need to give it a go!
I really hear you. I would not have bought much this year but I did gain 5 or 7 lbs. and all my pants were too tight! Yuck! I do buy a lot of “mistakes” which I then get sick of and then donate. I just have to think twice before I buy something! I think I am driven by trying or buying one more thing that may make me feel beautiful. cause I don’t feel beautiful. oh dear.
Oh Linda, you ARE beautiful! And I know what you mean about pants too tight- not a great feeling! This has definitely helped me think twice before purchasing something new!