Lately the notion of clothes shopping has meant something entirely different to me. When ever I move, I purge my closet and re-evaluate my wardrobe. This latest move I noticed that I had too many clothes. Shirts, skirts, pants etc… Items I had collected and thrifted long ago that weren’t even good quality or didn’t fit me correctly. Why was I still holding on to them?
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| 1940's skirt |
At one point during my clothing purge for the move I seriously contemplated throwing away over half of my clothing stash purely from frustration. Then the answer came to me. What is good quality and what isn’t? What is timeless and whats a passing ‘trend’ item. Quite a bit of my wardrobe consists of vintage pieces. However since I don’t care to put too much wear and tear on them, I save those for special occasions. I then have the section of my closet which are items I have sewn. Thankfully I have grown leaps and bounds as a seamstress in the past few years. However, this meant that there were pieces I needed to let go of solely for the sake that they were not made that well. Finally, there was the gaping black hole of my wardrobe which was such a mishmash of items it drove me insane!
I threw most of it away. Actually, I should rephrase. I gave most of it away. I have made a new resolution. (actually I made quite a few but more on that later :) I will no longer buy something because of a passing fancy. I will research an item, I will save for a good quality piece, and make sure it happens to be one that has the ability to incorporate itself with other pieces of my wardrobe. I have not thought this way about clothes for that long. Shoes on the other hand? I have had this policy with shoes for years. I will drop well over $100.00 on a pair of shoes without a problem!
I had a pair of synthetic lace up boots for the longest time. I loved those things to death! Quite literally, because they died… In the process of finding a replacement pair for myself, Frye Boot adds kept popping up on my screen. Simply ignoring them because of their hefty price tags lasted about 30 minutes. I began to research their footwear with the intention of buying a set of lace up boots for my self. I saved for a while and I bought a pair! The boots are made from genuine leather, which means that when properly conditioned and taken care of they will last me forever! So I ask, why is it that we as a consumer society don’t hesitate to buy dozens of pairs of shoes hovering around the 50 dollar price tag. Shoes that will last three years at MOST. However, we won’t consider buying a set of shoes that will last us a lifetime for a couple hundred dollars? (granted this is not the entire consumer population) I have earnestly asked this question of some of my friends and acquaintances and their answer is always “I can’t afford it” My thought is that I can’t afford to buy replacement shoes every year! Being a good steward of what we own and taking care of our possessions is so important yet somehow gets overlooked completely.
In the end, the truth of the matter is simply this. I do not need that many clothes. What I do need is for a garment to last me ages if I please :)
My resolutions are simply as follows:
I will not shop for the sake of shopping. I will always have a purpose and need.
I will not sew clothes using cheap fabrics. (if possible….I know there will be occasional exceptions)
I will be more thorough in my construction of garments.
I will make sure something fits me perfectly before adding it to my wardrobe.
I will find one item of clothing to re-purpose or give away before I add any more than two new items into my closet.
Do you have any rules of thumb for clothes shopping or sewing? I would be very interested to hear your opinion!
Have a lovely day :)
Olivia
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