Today is my 29th birthday, about which I am very excited. I am sometimes a little sad that this is the last year of my 20s, because I've enjoyed my 20s, but I also see so many fabulous people (here and in my real life) who are rockin' their 30s (not to mention the fabulous people in their 40s, 50s, and so on) that I almost can't wait to get there myself.
My brother turned 26 a couple of months ago and started talking shit about how he was old now. I told him that I wasn't old yet so he couldn't be old yet, either. Furthermore, I told him, I would let him know when I got old so he could prepare for it.
Hasn't happened yet.
Today is also the last day in my No New Clothes Initiative, during which I only bought clothes that were thrifted, vintage, repurposed, or otherwise used. So I wore a 100% thrifted outfit in honor of that occasion.
Showing posts with label no new clothes initiative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label no new clothes initiative. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Happy 100% Percent Thrifted Birthday to me!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Fashion Challenges
In addition to my personal challenge of the No New Clothes Initiative, in which I will buy nothing new (read: unused) for the next six months, I've discovered and taken up a couple of other short-term challenges or projects thought up by others.
Kori over at The Fashion-y Blog has proposed a Blogging Society Challenge in which participants will start with a plain men's button-down shirt and use that as the foundation for a unique outfit. I think it'll be fun to do myself and to see what others come up with. She's already posted some fabulous photos of others' ideas (handpicked for this purpose from The Sartorialist) on her blog. Check it out!
And over at Wardrobe_Remix, where I spend so much of my online time these days keeping up with the hundreds of awesome outfits that are posted daily, there is this project to dress up another wardrobe_remixer or allow yourself to be dressed up. I've suggested an outfit for one participant already and been dressed by another.
It's a bit of a challenge to look at someone's else clothes (at least what's been posted to wardrobe_remix) and try to remix them in a way that will be interesting, fun, and flattering for that person. But it's certainly fun, too. And it's great fun having someone else put together your outfit. Truly, I love planning an outfit and testing options and seeing it work or, sometimes, not work, so it's fun to practice this on someone else. Also, it's neat to get a fresh take on clothes you've already worn, a perspective outside your own. This is especially great in this particular community, friendly and supportive as it is.
Kori over at The Fashion-y Blog has proposed a Blogging Society Challenge in which participants will start with a plain men's button-down shirt and use that as the foundation for a unique outfit. I think it'll be fun to do myself and to see what others come up with. She's already posted some fabulous photos of others' ideas (handpicked for this purpose from The Sartorialist) on her blog. Check it out!
And over at Wardrobe_Remix, where I spend so much of my online time these days keeping up with the hundreds of awesome outfits that are posted daily, there is this project to dress up another wardrobe_remixer or allow yourself to be dressed up. I've suggested an outfit for one participant already and been dressed by another.
It's a bit of a challenge to look at someone's else clothes (at least what's been posted to wardrobe_remix) and try to remix them in a way that will be interesting, fun, and flattering for that person. But it's certainly fun, too. And it's great fun having someone else put together your outfit. Truly, I love planning an outfit and testing options and seeing it work or, sometimes, not work, so it's fun to practice this on someone else. Also, it's neat to get a fresh take on clothes you've already worn, a perspective outside your own. This is especially great in this particular community, friendly and supportive as it is.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The No New Clothes Initiative
Winter is coming (supposedly), which means coat weather. My old coat was a thrift store find from a few years ago (I got it for $10 in the middle of the summer and was so proud), but it finally reached the point of being too ratty to wear and too tired to be refurbished. So, in need of a new coat, I headed off to the thrift store. I had no trouble finding a replacement. In fact, I found two and had to choose only one (pictured below), leaving behind a nice red wool double-breasted coat.
After a couple of hours of shopping, I found myself thinking about my clothes-buying habits. I spend a lot of time and money on clothes (and books, but that's not relevant at the moment) and I make a lot of impulse buys. Frequently, these impulse buys are at Target or Old Navy. Cute, but not necessarily substantial or necessary. Surely, I thought to myself, I can find just as much (if not more) cool stuff at the thrift store. Plus, thrift store clothes are unique, cheap, and more environmentally friendly in that buying used clothes cuts back on the demand for and production of--or at least my support of--newly manufactured clothes from raw materials. I'd been toying with the idea of changing my shopping habits substantially, but this particular shopping trip sealed the deal for me. So here's the new plan.
Project: Buy only thrifted, vintage, or refashioned clothes for the next six months. This will primarily include local thrifting, but I'll also look to vintage shops (local and online), etsy, and ebay for my shopping needs. Whatever I buy must be used or refashioned from used materials, however. Eventually, I will try to cut out--or at least cut way down on--online shopping, too, in order to make my wardrobe and shopping habits even more environmentally friendly by diminishing the costs of transporting my stuff, but that will come later.
Exemptions from the initiative: Underwear, socks of the purely functional sort (should they become necessary), and fabric to sew with--assuming, of course, I become motivated enough to begin a real project any time soon.
Time Frame: I began a few days ago and will maintain this level for six months, setting the end date as March 27, 2008, my 29th birthday. Upon reaching the six-month marker, I can re-evaluate my goals and either renew my resolution to buy only non-new clothing or modify it slightly if necessary, perhaps at that point adopting a resolution to diminish my online purchasing.
Purpose: Challenge myself by having to look for the things that I want and need and having to work with what I have. Save money by buying clothes on the cheap instead of just cheap clothes. Practice more sustainable habits.
Realistically, this won't limit me too much. There are lots of thrift stores in my area and many of them are quite good. But it does make the purchases I make more ecologically sound, more interesting and unique, and, well, more thrifty.
And as a kickoff to the project, I went thrifting two more times this last weekend and found lots of awesome stuff. It will all be duly modeled over on Wardrobe_Remix.
After a couple of hours of shopping, I found myself thinking about my clothes-buying habits. I spend a lot of time and money on clothes (and books, but that's not relevant at the moment) and I make a lot of impulse buys. Frequently, these impulse buys are at Target or Old Navy. Cute, but not necessarily substantial or necessary. Surely, I thought to myself, I can find just as much (if not more) cool stuff at the thrift store. Plus, thrift store clothes are unique, cheap, and more environmentally friendly in that buying used clothes cuts back on the demand for and production of--or at least my support of--newly manufactured clothes from raw materials. I'd been toying with the idea of changing my shopping habits substantially, but this particular shopping trip sealed the deal for me. So here's the new plan.
Project: Buy only thrifted, vintage, or refashioned clothes for the next six months. This will primarily include local thrifting, but I'll also look to vintage shops (local and online), etsy, and ebay for my shopping needs. Whatever I buy must be used or refashioned from used materials, however. Eventually, I will try to cut out--or at least cut way down on--online shopping, too, in order to make my wardrobe and shopping habits even more environmentally friendly by diminishing the costs of transporting my stuff, but that will come later.
Exemptions from the initiative: Underwear, socks of the purely functional sort (should they become necessary), and fabric to sew with--assuming, of course, I become motivated enough to begin a real project any time soon.
Time Frame: I began a few days ago and will maintain this level for six months, setting the end date as March 27, 2008, my 29th birthday. Upon reaching the six-month marker, I can re-evaluate my goals and either renew my resolution to buy only non-new clothing or modify it slightly if necessary, perhaps at that point adopting a resolution to diminish my online purchasing.
Purpose: Challenge myself by having to look for the things that I want and need and having to work with what I have. Save money by buying clothes on the cheap instead of just cheap clothes. Practice more sustainable habits.
Realistically, this won't limit me too much. There are lots of thrift stores in my area and many of them are quite good. But it does make the purchases I make more ecologically sound, more interesting and unique, and, well, more thrifty.
And as a kickoff to the project, I went thrifting two more times this last weekend and found lots of awesome stuff. It will all be duly modeled over on Wardrobe_Remix.
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