Quitting Fashion

There seems to be a moment in every fashion blogger's life when he or she decides to quit high street fashion and go exclusively vintage or designer. I think I actually made that decision months ago but now I am making a public statement about it. High street fashion is the clothing you buy at the mall. It might be more commonly known as mainstream fashion in the U.S. It is clothing from stores like Forever 21, H&M, American Eagle, Aeropostale, or Target. A few months ago, I quit shopping and took some time to educate myself on where clothing comes from. My findings were very sobering. 

        This is what I learned:

Corporate fashion has a frightening affect on the world through both pollution and exploitation of human rights. The tank top I bought for five dollars came at a much higher cost to the people who made it. I don't want to support an industry that exploits human labor and pushes people like you and me to keep buying more and more. I have a dresser and a closet rack stuffed with clothes and I'm sure many of us can say the same. I don't need to be a complete minimalist, it's still fun to get new things, but I do want to do a better job of staying educated on how clothes are made and buy responsibly produced clothing instead of fast fashion.

        My solution:
Slow fashion. To give life to secondhand finds and make well thought out purchases from transparent companies. To only buy pieces I will wear again and again. To have a wardrobe filled with a select number of lovely things instead of a wardrobe crammed full of crap clothes. I want to quit fashion and just go for style.

For these reasons I also removed advertisements from my blog.
I originally signed up with Google Adsense because it seemed like a foolproof way to make some extra money. I didn't need to do any work and I received a few cents every time someone clicked on an ad. However, as this blog has developed I have found myself more and more disgusted with the fashion industry so how could I, in my right mind, allow advertisements from fast fashion brands on my website all the while speaking out against this kind of consumerism?

I simply couldn't. I want people to make well thought out purchases and love everything they have, not be allured by the next new thing that is scheduled to go out of style next month.

Buy less, choose well: that's the maxim. Quality not quantity. That's the most environmentally friendly thing you can do. 

-Vivienne Westwood

Starting this September, I plan on doing some experiments involving capsule wardrobe changes and defining what makes me me. Instead of throwing away my clothes, or donating most of what I have, I want to start by putting items into storage to see if I miss them. I plan on narrowing down my wardrobe to a select ten or fifteen items to see how it affects my morning routine and overall well-being. My hope is for simplicity when getting dressed and less of the "I have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear" phenomenon. Stay posted for updates!

Fashion Changes. Style Endures.

-Coco Chanel