Had a comment from one of my fellow bloggers and thought I would address it "in public", so to speak, since maybe some people are wondering the same thing.
The comment was:
"your news years resolution makes no sense. why ever put limits on your fashion, its a art not a science..."
And, Iain, I do agree: fashion is an art, not a science. All the books in the world can't teach you fashion - it has to be explored, developed, trained and honed, just like any other type of art.
However, limiting myself, by not buying new clothes or shoes for a year, by only buying thrift or consignment (or getting clothing via gifts or swap), is something I decided over time that I wanted to try. Some of the things that made me want to do my Fashion Resolution:
1. Fortunately, unlike some places, the recession has not really hit my part of the world. I'm not doing this for monetary reasons - L and I are double-income no kids, and have very little debt. But... my shopping has gotten a little out of control in the last year, and I want to cut back a bit. Scaling back my options to consignment or thrift stores means that I will have to search harder for those gems. I've always been a bargain hunter anyway - and I still get to buy accessories, jewelry, and hosiery!
2. I lost a lot of weight about 2 years ago: 60 pounds, to be exact. I went from a size 16 to a size 4, which meant I had to replace my entire wardrobe, everything but socks. I got into the habit of shopping, mostly to replace my basics and fill my wardrobe back out to where it was when I was heavier, but also for the thrill of the hunt. It's taken me 2 years, and I've gotten to the point where I don't really need anything else.
3. I do love a challenge. There are things in my wardrobe that I've only worn a couple of times. There are things I find in there that I think, "Jeez, I'd totally forgotten I bought that." Can I really go an entire year with no increase in the number of things I own? Well...I have 73 pairs of shoes. I own over 40 dresses, over 30 skirts, 27 jackets/blazers and nearly a dozen pairs of pants (not so much into pants). My closet is full. That doesn't even include the gigantic dresser I have full of jeans, t-shirt tops and casual clothes. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to suffer, nor will I run out of combinations and outfits.
4. I'm not cutting myself off entirely from shopping and cycling new (to me) things into my wardrobe. In looking at my collection, I can see that there are things that weren't wise purchases, or that I don't really love, or that don't fit anymore, or that just aren't "me". Getting rid of some of these allows me to bring in pieces that will freshen things up and keep myself excited about my clothing options.
A lot of people are cutting back on purchases lately, but my reasons are my own. I hope the above helps make sense of my year-long goal.
In reality, I suspect that not much will change for me, since I already shop consignment a fair bit (if you check out any of my consignment or vintage tags on my posts you can see that). I'll probably shop for L more - Iain, you may see me in your store! How weird would that be?
Sunday, January 4, 2009
5 comments:
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Cheers,
Sheila
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First off, you shouldn't have to defend yourself for setting ANY goals - especially one as worthwhile as this. Second, if fashion is an art, then exploring it with self-imposed limits is an act of creativity to be commended, not scorned. Finally, as someone who is in the middle of a slightly more lenient shopping ban myself, I salute you, lady! Go to!
ReplyDeleteWow! Congrats on that impressive weight loss.
ReplyDeleteSal: Thanks for your comment and welcome! I didn't feel I was defending my decision so much as I was getting it straight in my head the "whys and wherefores" of it. Plus, I figure lots of people don't know me that well, and might not understand my reasons. There are many people doing this kind of thing and I hate being seen as jumping on the bandwagon. I'm more of a maverick.
ReplyDeleteWendy: Thanks! The hard part is keeping it off.
You are a maverick and I love you so :) This is a GREAT post for so many reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe line that particularly resonated with me was when you referred to the "thrill of the hunt" -- I think I'm still in that phase, lol. Seriously, I actually lost the majority of my weight a long time ago but had interptions in my process due to pregnancies. So I think I'm only now really fully coming to terms with my actual size....and therefore exploring my style -- thus my blog.
I love how you explained all this. I also think that although lots of people are attempting a variation of this general intention, yours is not only more realistic, but less limiting and totally allows for the creative process of style and what it's really about. That IS different.
Your ideas made total sense to me.
Really super post!
Kayleigh, you kill me - you're so good for me ego. I think I'll keep you, lol.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I was okay with my size, even when I was a 16/18. Oh, I had some very bad moments when I loathed myself and cried in my poor, non-custom-built closet - I sure don't miss those days! But I still loved to shop and find that beautiful item that I could make into a fabulous outfit - I still miss a lot of my "fat" clothes.
Hee, my New Year's resolutions are always achievable. I hate setting unrealistic goals.
Thank you for your very kind words, m'dear.