Defying Fast Fashion

Ten years ago I went Black Friday shopping with my husband. It was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and we went shopping at a bunch of stores. I was excited someone else could help me pick out clothing and give me feedback on how they looked. He has always been – and still is – better at fashion than I am. 

Facebook reminded me of this trip because it showed up on my newsfeed as a memory. I had conveniently spread out the items and taken a photo to “show off” my purchases. There were 10 items total which I had purchased. 

- 1 pair of flats
- 1 pair of black booties
- 3 sweaters
- 1 dress
- 1 blouse
- 2 pairs of pants
- 1 pair of jeans 

Original purchases in 2014

I was drawn to these flats because of the price, the quality/brand, and the style. They were priced well and I wanted a versatile pair of black flats. The last pair I owned last me many years and I knew they didn’t scratch the back of my ankle like many pairs of flats notoriously do. The unfortunate side was the color – an off-white suede. It was going to attract lots of dirt and dust over time and wouldn’t look bright for long. That’s most likely the reason why they ended up on the clearance rack. Fortunately for me, I’m not a fashionista and I didn’t really care. If they could be functional for me for a decent period of time and priced well, I would be satisfied. I enjoyed wearing these flats for many years. I even wore them once through mud by accident. They were never quite the same after that, but I kept wearing them for about a year before saying goodbye. They lasted me roughly 4-5 years if I remember correctly. That’s not a bad longevity for a shoe which cost me less than $50 and was in my rotation about 50% of every year. 

These black booties were my first pair of short boots or booties. At this time, I was still diversifying my closet so I wanted to own a pair. These were priced well, my size, and looked cute. With a three-inch heel, they were pretty killer paired with a pair of skinny jeans. I wore them every now and then, but there are limitations to how quickly you can safely walk when in three-inch heels. I tend to like walking faster than slower, so that did limit the number of times I wore these. They were almost treated like dress shoes. 

I bought three sweaters on this shopping trip because I was building up my sweater collection. Sweaters were not my thing growing up. I didn’t like wearing bulky clothing. However, as I got older, it grew on me when I found the proper style, material, and fit. One of these sweaters was labeled dry clean only. I wore this sweater very sparingly until I decided one day to wash it at home in my machine. It came out not looking too different than before from what I could tell. From then on, I wore it a lot more knowing I could wash it at home with little or no consequence. One of these sweaters ended up being very scratchy and I didn’t enjoy it. After years of storing it season after season to maybe be worn 1-2x per winter, I decided to say goodbye. The third sweater has a more baggy fit. Sometimes I’m not in the mood to wear something so loose-fitting so it’s not necessarily a go-to item in my closet, but I don’t have a reason to get rid of it. 

This dress was not a great purchase. It was heavily discounted which is what led me to purchase. However, it didn’t fit extremely well and I wasn’t in love with the design. I remember wearing it occasionally, but sometime in the last decade, it has been scrapped. At 24 years old, I was still clinging onto lower priced items and hadn’t yet learned the value of spending worthwhile money. This dress was not worthwhile money and shows because I have no recollection of ever wearing it (although I know I did at least a few times) and I no longer have it. 

I really liked the blouse when I bought it. This was when I realized I liked the material chiffon in my blouses/tops. I have worn this blouse many, many times. My most prominent memory in this top was at my company Christmas party a while back. I haven’t worn it recently because I have inherited/found other blouses of similar material which I enjoy more. This particular blouse is also starting to wear due to the many washes it has endured. It’s still in my closet, but it may be retiring in the near future. 

The two pairs of pants I bought from this photo have served me well. One of them was a light pink pair of jeggings. The other was a pair of khakis. I wore my jeggings a lot. They’ve been through many work days with me where I could dress them up to be less casual. Over time, the light pink has faded into more of a dirty white. This pair of pants has also been relegated to a corner of my closet because I have other pants/jeans I prefer over them. However, I haven’t been able to bring myself to get rid of this pair. The khakis have been one of my favorite more formal pants in my closet. They too have come to the office with me on many days. I’ve worn them to perform at festivals as an accompanist. The waist was rather large at first – large enough to be big, but not large enough to be unwearable. Over time, and with the changes in my body, they’ve fit better. I don’t necessarily wear this pair of pants all the time, but it’s a comfort to know they’re in my closet. They probably won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. 

Lastly, my jeans. Oh, this particular pair of jeans. Looking at this photo, I almost couldn’t pinpoint which pair of jeans it was. But I knew. They have faded severely over time. I loved these jeans when I bought them. It was extremely unfortunate they were the pair I was wearing at the time of this project. I really thought that was the end of them, but I have continued wearing these jeans for the last three years. They are on their last leg and will be recycled or donated soon. 

I spent less than $200 on these 10 items from Black Friday 2014. About half of them are considered “fast fashion.” I impressed myself at how many pieces I still have in my closet today. 

Editing aside, everything has faded a few shades...

 

Much like everyone else, I do get bored of the same clothes over and over again. But I am also frugal and pragmatic. If something can be bought once and last me forever, I am inclined to want to do so. Clothing, sadly, will never meet those requirements as even the most carefully worn and washed fabrics will show age over time. But I will take care of them so they can stay as long as possible. 

I wonder how many of these I will still have in another 10 years...

For the Need of a Plastic Bag

Life as a mostly stay-at-home mom with some part-time working on the side is pretty mundane for the most part. I pack lunches. I grocery shop. I do laundry. I wash dishes. I clean toilets. And then I get my 3-4 hours per day where I feel like a competent, knowledgeable human being. Honestly, I love it. It's the best of both worlds with my two dream jobs which occasionally compete with each other.

But sometimes, the mundane has small excitement. 

I was at Costco this week picking up a few items (yes, I mean "a few" in the Costco sense. Six to be exact!) and had an interesting encounter. A man came up to me and said,  "Excuse me, where can I take this one?" *tugs my bag gently*

His actual reference was to locating the red plastic bags used for meat/seafood. In truth, I myself had been darting my eyes around looking for them just minutes prior. So I pointed my finger in the direction of where they were. He saw them, his face lit up, and then he went on a mild sprint to get them and return back to where I can only assume his cart was. 

I forgot to take a picture of the meat in my cart, but here is a representative pack of meat in a plastic bag, similar to the one the man was asking for. 

 

 

 

 

Now I'm not going to lie. There were a few seconds there where my brain was actually wondering if he was politely asking if he could take the ribs I had just chosen and bagged for myself. Or if he was asking me where he could find the ribs. (I was standing right next to them). English was not his first language and with the way he had phrased his question, it could have been misunderstood in a few ways.

His use of the word "take" was not the most appropriate. "Find" would have been the ideal word choice for his request. "Take" is the word which led my brain to wonder if he wanted something I had which was more valuable than a plastic bag. He also tugged at my plastic bag which made me wonder if he wanted my actual item/the bag with my item in it.

Our encounter was actually cute. When I think back on the way he approached, his mannerisms, his voice, it brings a smile to my face. On the contrary, I can see how someone without an understanding for language and patience for differences could have been annoyed or even angered at this situation due to a misunderstanding if his or her brain led them to the possible conclusions I listed above.

I've always believed the primary purpose of communication is to be understood. I still believe that. Through all the language barriers, nonverbal gestures and reading body language can communicate a lot in itself. However, the piece often overlooked is the bias the person receiving the communication adds to the situation. If I had an issue with someone touching my things or reaching into my shopping cart, I could have gotten very defensive very quickly without meaning to. If someone is triggered by grammatical errors in speech, an initial response might be one of shutting down or getting angry.

The more you know, the better you can be. Never stop striving to know.