Recycle, but make it fashion
In recent years, I’ve come to love purging my closet. From trying to reorganize it so that everything fits, to colour coding it when I discovered it was a way to ease one’s morning routine, to Marie-Kondo-ing the crap out of it…literally. I then moved out of my parent’s place and into a Toronto condo, which we all know is a sixth the size of a home in the ‘burbs.
I took this opportunity as a way to purge. Only my favourites (see: items that bring one joy) would be allowed into my new walk-through (yes, I got lucky) closet. I got rid of over 50 pairs of shoes and 10 garbage bags full of clothes.
What I didn’t foresee, was becoming addicted to purging my closet. I do four pulls a year to reduce the sudden overcrowding in my closet. Ever seen a friend’s closet where all they have is a rolling rack of statement pieces and a shelf of basics. I don’t think I was aiming for that, but it was somewhere in between that and my current state.
Then I watched Hasan Minaj’s episode on fast fashion and it’s impact on climate change and the earth. While' I’ve always had an idea on the negative impacts of overproducing clothes, something in this episode really stuck with me. It was the human mental state that constantly wants for more. Personally, I think wanting more from life is great - when it’s value and impact based, yes, do more to reduce poverty or to further gender equality. But wanting more just because you can’t wear the same outfit twice because your friends (both online and offline) have already seen it is just evidence of a fragile and superficial society.
When did it become a bad thing to wear the same piece twice. Is it because celebrities wouldn’t be caught dead in a repeat outfit - well, they rent their red carpet looks and borrow half the stuff they’re wearing or then send it to a museum to put on display. A quick google search will show you a list of celebrities who ‘got caught’ wearing repeats, as if it’s a crime!
It’s the fragility of the human ego and it’s growing need to want whatever is new that turned me off “fast shopping” - this means the need to constantly shop every week.
Apparently, Americans used to buy 12 pieces a year, and now they buy 64 pieces a year!
So this year, I’ve decided to buy less, upcycle more, resell and donate more.
Goals for 2020:
12 pieces of clothing for the year (one a month ideally, but no more than 12 by end of year)
Assess current goods to see if anything can be upcycled (add embellishments, modify in any shape or form) to replace current want for something new
Sell/trade what can be shared from quarterly purges
Donate the rest from quarterly purges
Wish me luck!