The Less is More project: Week 6 - The case of clothes

Jason Hargrove, Flickr

In Not Buying It - My Year Without Shopping, one of the first things the author, Judith Levine, falls for (hence breaking her rules) is a pair of high-tech, high-priced socks. Turns out clothes are a common vice, even for those who endeavour to buy less. I am no exception, as you will discover in today's confessions.

In 1993, after my first summer of working regular hours (as opposed to occasional babysitting), I indulged and bought myself a $140 sweater (around $200 in today's dollars). I remember my friend K's stunned reaction : "You really are going to spend that much on one piece of clothing?" My response was somewhere in the vicinity of "I love it, and I have the money, so why not?"

This was only the beginning of my relationship to fashion. 

In fact, it wasn't really the beginning at all. Years before, as I had entered - private - middle school, and influenced by my peers' take on fashion, I started insisting on my parents only buying me brand/designer clothes. Certain stores were to be avoided at all costs - I couldn't fathom being seen in "cheap clothes". The ideal article of clothing, in my young teenager's mind, featured a tiny embroidered horse or crocodile.

I was a total preppy... and proud of it.

I was also becoming dangerously snob. 

In the years that were to follow, I would often be found reading women's magazines, which in no way helped the situation, as you can imagine. I don't even think I had that good of a taste in fashion, to be honest - everything I wore was rather plain - but I definitely was looking for quality, tag, and price (the higher the better!)

Later on, when I had children, they became an extension of my fashion persona. Living in Montreal, I was surrounded by parents who treated their kids as a fashion statement. It just seemed like the thing to do. Drool and overflowing diapers were not to get in the way of looking fabulous. And all the children's clothes boutiques! How could I resist. We went shopping often.

Nowadays, living in the countryside (in the woods would be more accurate), and consuming significantly less media in general, I feel less pressure to look my best. Fashionistas do not abound here, and the ones who do have a sense of style promptly change into more comfortable clothes the moment they get back from work. Whenever I've gone to the playground wearing anything else but jeans and a t-shirt, I was greeted with a "Wow! You're all dressed up! Anything special going on today?"

I am not, however, completely cured of my "fashion addiction". As I discovered long-distance running and also started going to the gym on a regular basis, a new problem emerged: I became obsessed with workout clothes. I currently devote one very big drawer to them, and it is overflowing: I had to find some space in my closet for the thicker, cold weather running pieces. I could literally work out every day for two weeks without having to wash anything. Yet sport clothes still have an irresistible appeal - it is torture for me to not buy any new pieces. Why, oh why?

Perhaps it's because we don't, in affluent societies, relate to clothing as a basic need. Fashion is, by definition, the ultimate example of planned obsolescence. Trends are ephemeral. Following them is a status statement in itself. You are not buying clothes to fulfill a basic need (a couple season-appropriate pieces would suffice for that), but rather, you are buying clothes "because you can". You wear them not to cover your body, but to express your personality, your values,  your belonging to a certain group, your taste, and, in more cases than we think, your wealth - it takes money to replace your clothes before they even start wearing out.

In 1932's Scarface movie, Tony Camonte rejoices about being able to wear "a new shirt every day". Based on how common "wearing a new shirt every day" has become, one has to wonder what constitutes a need when it comes to clothing.

What's the problem with wanting to look good, you might ask. Well, there are a couple. For one thing, the creation of apparel has quite a significant impact on the environment. As Juliet Schor reminds us in True Wealth, "it requires 2000 liters of water to produce one T-shirt and 8000 for a pair of leather shoes". That's just one example. And what about the social side of the question? Heard of the sweatshops lately? The conditions in which the garments we wear are created are often unacceptable from an ethical standpoint (click here for more info). Do we want to support that?

To borrow the words of Mark Boyle in The Moneyless Man: "Most of us don't have the faintest idea that our daily shopping habits are so destructive".

To relieve some of my guilt, I have become an adept of thrift and consignment stores. If you have the time and patience, they truly are fun places to go, with the added bonus of being kind to your wallet. The next step, obviously, is to buy less clothes altogether. No new piece of clothing will enter my - already too full - wardrobe in 2015, but I need a plan for the following years.

Project 333 comes to mind. Have you heard of it? Its goal is to simplify your wardrobe to the point of using only 33 items over the course of 3 months. Interested? Click here.

In the weeks to come, I am also going to keep track of the clothes I do wear, vs the ones I don't wear. 

If you have any other tricks and strategies, please share!

WEEK 6 IN REVIEW

Temptations 

After the fourth big snow storm in 2 weeks, I have to admit I felt tempted to buy a snow blower. Luckily, we live in a close-knit community: 3 lovely neighbors came to our rescue on the worst of above mentioned storms. (Since the garden is buried under feet of snow, preventing me to offer homegrown foods in exchange, I paid them back in doughnuts.)

Donations

Nothing this week, but I have a feeling clothes are going to be tackled soon.


Observations

I realized that owning less is a great way to avoid purchasing things you don't need. This house is full of rolls of tape (scotch tape, masking tape, duct tape), and the reason is that I kept buying more because I had misplaced the ones I already had. Now that I am decluttering I rediscover a whole collection. No need to buy any tape in the years to come!


Cogitations

This post on fashion in general and clothes in particular is throwing me out of my comfort zone. I can resist a lot of stuff, but clothes belong to a different category. Not buying any might be one of my biggest challenges this year. I also feel like I should take inventory of the clothes I own, but I am scared of the results. Not too long ago, I noticed I own 5 pairs of winter boots. I still see a use for each of them. This is going to be hard...

What did you resist this week? Did you donate or get rid of anything? How did that make you feel? Please comment below! And...

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