Sunday, July 13, 2014

the ban is on



Luckily I've recently moved away from being specifically a fashion blogger, because what I'm about to say would probably get me struck off some secret fashion blogger list: I'm quitting shopping.

It's a big statement I know, and also so hashtag firstworldproblems that it almost pains me to write it. But write it I did and doing it I am.

I can't pinpoint exactly when I decided that it was time to go cold turkey on stuffing my closet with anything that came with a swing tag, but I have my suspicions that the root of the decision can be found in Fashion Revolution Day and an increasing - at least on my part - awareness of the actual cost of fast fashion and a desire to further educate myself about the industry. FYI, those $2 t-shirts cost a hell of a lot more than the swing tag would suggest.

But I also think it has to do with feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the fash-uns, a feeling that sees me unsubscribing from mailing lists all over the place and deleting favourites from my bookmarks. If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then smothering must surely make it grow colder? Fashion has almost become work, not in the paid sense, but in the sense that this once fun environment has started to lose its sheen. The appreciation I have for the industry and for the actual garments themselves seems to have disappeared - or least taken an extended holiday.

My resolve to not buy any new sartorial items for six months is, therefore, bound in two seemingly different - though clearly linked - reasons. Firstly, a desire to educate myself about fast fashion and the realities of the fashion industry and secondly to take a step back and try to figure out why it is that I'm inexplicably drawn to fashion in an effort to claw back that sense of appreciation. I want it to be fun again, damn it!

My half year resolution has only come about in the past week so the details are a little sketchy but I've cobbled together a few 'rules' to abide by:
  1. Strictly no new sartorial items may be purchased (exceptions being socks, hosiery and underwear) until the end of the year
  2. If I make a purchase or decide I have to, I must write five hundred words outlining why I did or need to and post it here (which is possibly as much a punishment for me as it is for you)
  3. Op Shops, thrifting and second hand shops are perfectly acceptable, because they aren't new new
  4. No attempting to get around the rules by having people buy me gifts
I'm hoping this self imposed ban will result in a deeper understanding of where fashion really comes from, as well as a deeper appreciation for the glorious items that already live with me and a return to a time when fashion wasn't work, but just bloody good fun. 

Here's hoping. 

kb xx