Last April I took the Wardrobe Refashion pledge. Mostly I thought it would give me a little more incentive to sew, but I am also interested in the benefits of up-cycling clothing. The first thing I made was this outfit for flamenco dance. The skirt I made from scratch, but the top was a pre-worn T-shirt that I added the matching collar on to.
My main motive was economic since these outfits usually cost close to two hundred dollars, but I ended up really enjoying taking the time to make something special. And it did take a lot of time. When you sew clothing ( or make anything), it gives you insight into labor. The incredibly low prices of stuff in stores becomes sickening rather than exciting when you know there has to be some incredible exploitation somewhere to produce something decent so cheaply.
Unfortunately, I have always had a weakness for cheap clothing, especially the inexpensive, decent quality stuff at Target, which is the only new clothing available in my city neighborhood. (The other clothing store is the thrift store Savers.) Plus, it's just so easy to pick up a T-shirt with the toilet paper. But, Minneapolis is the headquarters for Target and I have met more than one former designer who quit because they became disgusted with the process of having to produce and ship something like a winter coat for about 7.00. So taking the no new clothing pledge was, for me, to best way to just walk past those cute and cheap clothes when all I really needed was a boring furnace filter.
Interestingly, the positive effects of taking the pledge have gone far beyond the negative sounding "No new clothes." The best thing about deciding to do this is that it has removed the question of money from dressing myself. Instead of trying to figure out how much money I should spend on something for myself (do I deserve this? can I afford this? Is this too expensive?), I have to really think about what I need and want to wear. Then I decide if I want to try and make it or find it used. Instead of feeling that this is an exercise in denial, it feels quite liberating because I am thinking about clothes, not how much they cost, or where I might buy them. Instead of having a bunch of choices and prices pushed at me, I am in charge, trying to know what I really want to be wearing.
Clothing "shopping" has become more fun too, because I only look at clothes I really like, not what I think I should be able to afford. Instead of feeling bad that I can't buy something beautiful and expensive, I get excited to examine the fashion lines, flounces, pleats etc. And when I say I'm "just looking" I really mean it. I am turning the clothes inside out to figure out the construction details.
But its February in Minnesota, which means I am still cold and getting really tired of my sweater rotation. Whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow I know we have at least 6 more weeks of winter. I just went in a small store to "look" and everything was 50% off. I saw a sweater that fit me perfectly, and I loved the color and it is wool and warm. So I fell off the wagon for the first time since I started last April.
On the up side, I used up some stash yarn to make these wrist warmers.
