When Fast Fashion Becomes Slow Fashion

In the past few years, there has been a lot of writing about fast fashion, and the problems behind it.  Things like sweatshop-like conditions of the workers, the fact that so much is discarded so easily by consumers who are no longer interested because it's no longer trendy, etc.

I will admit that if you looked in my closet (and please don't it's a mess right now), you'd see some fast fashion items there.  Like most people, I love a bargain, and I'm also a sucker for certain things, so when the combination hits, and I have funds, I'll buy it.  I will admit here that 99% of the time, I don't absolutely need it. 

Having said that, I did learn a while back that with things like clothing, shoes, coats, etc., the adage "you get what you pay for" is very often true.  Which is why, when I am able to do so, I will make an investment purchase (hopefully on sale, but not always), because I know the item will be a) something I will wear repeatedly, and b) something that is made well-enough to last more than one season/year/vacation/whatever. 

But truth be told, I also always wear just about whatever I own to death.  And in some cases, well beyond said death (hello, torn and frayed jeans that are just perfect for walking the dog at 5 a.m.). 

Recently, I've come across a video podcast, called What Kate Finds.  Kate is a young woman with young children who lives in Michigan, who apparently used to buy things all the time, like crazy.  I have not watched every single episode, so I am not completely sure what started her plan, but for the year 2019, she is doing a "5 buys" every month.  Basically she set down some rules/goals for herself and each month she allows herself to buy only 5 things (clothing, accessories, etc.).  She then does a review at the end of each month.  It's been interesting to watch, and also interesting to hear her say how it has changed her.  In that she has realized that she doesn't need to buy everything she likes just because she likes it, and also that it's important to realize where things come from, who makes them, etc.

In one episode, she said something that really resonated with me.  She had used one of her "5 buys" for a shirt from H&M.  She acknowledged that it was fast fashion.  But then she pointed out that a lot of things in her wardrobe that could be considered fast fashion turn out in fact to be slow fashion - in that she will keep it and wear it for longer than it is probably even intended to be worn.

Which made me think - no, it's not the exact same thing, but a lot of my fast fashion purchases have turned into slow fashion as well.  I have summer t-shirts that I've had for longer than five years, I have a few dresses that are easily 10+ years, and on and on.  I will admit that I probably didn't give much thought to how they were made, where they were made, where the materials originated, etc., but after listening to her podcast, I have to say that I feel a bit better about having them.  They may have been made and purchased NOT to last, but they have lasted for me longer than their intended lives.  I know - it's still fast fashion, but at least I haven't already tossed the stuff aside because why would I wear something I wore last year?

This is a topic that really interests me.  If it interests you as well, one of the people who writes in an understandable and approachable way about it frequently is Sophie Benson.

Financial necessity required me to buy things that were cheap for most of my life.  But I got used to taking care of things so that I could get every last bit of use/wear out of them. 

It's worth putting some things into perspective, or you can get into a vicious circle and even make yourself feel incredibly guilty.  I'm glad that Kate mentioned this in her podcast, or I'm not sure I would have ever gotten there myself.  Do what you can, and you'll be fine.  Each person needs to be responsible for themselves first.

The Planet and I

Have you gone green?  How do you feel about the Green New Deal?  Do you think climate change is real?  How do you get along with the planet?

I try on a regular basis to 'do the right thing' as they say.  I recycle (according to friends and family, I'm a 'recycling Nazi'), I signed us up to receive a compost bin which is picked up and emptied weekly, I try very hard to keep plants and trees alive, and not to waste food or water.  

I have a LONG way to go, though, before I can even get a "good" grade, and I have been trying to be more conscious of my behavior.  Having said that, I am a person who uses things until they either fall apart, or are otherwise no longer usable.  I've always been that way, mostly due to growing up in an atmosphere of uncertain finances.  We wore our clothes and shoes as long as they could last.  I think those habits are hard to break, but it's also hard to start new habits.

We have a lot of plastic food containers (mostly those Rubbermaid ones you buy in packages of 6 or so).  They are all near the end of their useful lives, and though it pains me to get rid of them, and add more plastic to the recycling bin, at least I can recycle them rather than just toss them.  Of course, then the question becomes how to replace them - buy the glass containers that are heavier, but will likely last longer?  Look for something better?  It's overwhelming a lot of the time, but I also know that I just need to do my research and make a decision and that will be the best decision for me.  And hopefully, it won't have an adverse effect on the planet in the long run.

I really enjoy looking to see what people post on Instagram, and I'm not sure how I found the account, but for the last couple of years, I've been following Sophie Benson.  She is a writer and fashion stylist who is incredibly eco-conscious and thoughtfully informed.  Through her and her Instagram posts, I've become so much more aware of how the fashion and beauty industries are some of the worst offenders to the environment.  She writes in a straightforward, easily understandable manner, and is able make it seem like a regular person is talking to you, not lecturing you.  Her article last year about purchasing and wearing/using second hand animal products (she is a vegan), and the follow-up, were very thought-provoking.  I really suggest following her on Instagram, even if you don't care about the fashion-y posts, as she links to the articles when she has written something.

Thanks to her, and just a better overall awareness, I feel a bit better informed about what products I buy to wear and to use.  I still have plenty to learn and new habits to turn into old ones, but I feel like it is all doable.

It has to be, right?

I Like the Name, I Love the Product

Last weekend, we went to the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey - nearer to us time-wise than some of the malls in the Philadelphia area - because The Tim wanted to go to a Penney's for something, and that is one of the places in the area where you can still go to an actual Penney's store. 

Anyway, I was wandering around as I am wont to do, and went to the Nordstrom's there to use the restroom, since I know that they have nice restrooms and I am picky about that kind of thing.  On my way out, I decided to walk through the cosmetics (they call it Beauty) department to see what they had happening, since the Anniversary Sale was going on. 

I am a sucker for lipstick, lip balm, etc.  I love the different colors, whether or not they are ones I would actually ever wear - it's just fun to look.  One of the clerks came over to ask if I needed help, and she very nicely walked away when I said I was just looking.  However, she had on a lipstick shade that I thought was particularly pretty, so I found her again and asked what it was.

Now, on the occasions that I have usually asked this, the answer has usually been some elaborate combination of 45 products (OK, maybe only 2 or 3) and I start to glaze over as they are explaining their process to me.  But this time, it was a single product.  And she claimed it was a shade that looked good on everyone, and pointed out some of the other clerks wearing it.  They had different skin tones, and you know what?  It actually did look good on each of them - slightly different but really nice.

This is it - Bobbi Brown Crushed Liquid Lip (!)

 in the shade called Hippy Shake.

Now I am not usually a fan of pinks, but this is a pink that is not in your face, and even has a little bit of, I don't know - lavender? - in it.  It's just not a usual pink, let's say that.  My sister Nancy had sent me a Nordstrom gift card last Christmas, so I decided to buy this for myself as a treat.  

So far this week I have worn it every day, and I have to say that I really do love it.  It's not sticky like lip gloss (which I HATE), and it stays on pretty well (I am constantly drinking water or tea, so a lot of lip products disappear almost immediately on me).  I've even gotten a couple of compliments, which was nice.  

Plus - "Hippy Shake" - how could I not love that???  

So, if you would like a new lipstick and want to treat yourself, I would recommend this one.  It's been a real bright spot for me lately.  (Yes, I realize what that says about my life.)

(And for those wondering, The Tim's trip to Penney's was a success, so all in all it was a good shopping day ...)

Have a nice weekend!

Am I Old? Does It Matter? Do I Care?

Hello, sorry it's been awhile, but life has been kicking my butt the past few months, and though I've had things I've wanted to say, I couldn't get myself to actually say them here.  But I'm taking a break at work right now, and thought I'd go ahead and post.

This morning a co-worker asked me for the eleventy-billionth time why I am not retired.  She is not a person who likes me, and is frequently making comments about how I'm so old, and how I should be retired, etc., etc.  My most favorite recent thing was when she complained to HR because every morning when she gets in, I say "Good morning" to her, and she doesn't want me to talk to her (which I didn't know).  I asked the HR person if she saw the irony of calling me in to talk to me when I was the one with good manners.  She agreed, but said I should try not to "annoy" the person anyway. 

As my friend Lisa used to say, Jesus Christ on a snowmobile!

Anyway.  The basic answer to why I am not retired is that I cannot afford to retire.  And sadly, it doesn't look like I can even plan to retire anytime in the next few years, if at all.  Which is extremely disappointing to me, since I had a plan to retire and become a dog walker because a) dogs, and b) exercise.  Fortunately I have a dog of my own to walk now, even if I do it for free.  :-)

The funny thing about getting that question yet again this a.m., is that since then, I have read two things that were specifically geared towards discussions of age. 

The first was this blog post, which caused me to immediately go to the public library website and put a hold on the book discussed.  I enjoy seeing people discuss language as well, and the concept of "ageless" as an ageist concept was interesting to me.  Sort of like the whole discussion a year or so ago where beauty products were encouraged to be "pro-aging" as opposed to "anti-aging."  There are so many ways and levels to even start this discussion, but I feel that a lot of the time - as with so many other things in life - we start out with guns blazing, and then fall back when something else shiny shows up, or life happens, etc.  (I must admit to ALWAYS being distracted by shiny things, both literally and figuratively speaking.)

Then a friend of mine who has recently decided that she is through worrying about her weight and dieting sent me a link to this article.

First of all, can I say how much the title amuses me?  I thought at first, "Wait, I thought Liz was giving up on diets," and then really appreciated how the author was making it work.  Yes, it discusses diet culture and how it messes us up, etc., but it also addresses how we feel about ourselves throughout our lives and how we let others define our place - a pretty teenager, a young mom, a woman with middle-age-spread, and old lady.  Laura Lippman takes us on her personal journey, and uses herself as an example of how hard it can be sometimes to be happy in our own skin.

Am I Old?  I'm 63 years old, so yes, I guess I'm old as opposed to being middle-aged (since I have no expectation of living to be 126).  Some days, I *feel* really old.  I don't think I look particularly old, but then again, I have always - even as a teenager - been comfortable in my own skin, and though I don't want to look scary, or decrepit, I also don't want to look 25, and I enjoy being able to move my forehead. 

Does It Matter?  Sometimes, like when I can't get a job interview because it's assumed I'll be retiring soon.  Or when people assume that I don't understand something because it's "something young people think/do/say."  I mean, it's not stopping me from living my life.  I'd rather be my age than dead. 

Do I Care?  I have always longed to be 64, even since The Beatles sang about it.  And I really really hoped to have animals at the time named Vera, Chuck, and Dave.  I *will* be 64 next year, but I'm not gonna suddenly have three more animals, so that's kinda too bad.  Otherwise, I don't let my age bother me too much.  I must admit that a lot of the time, I have to stop and think for a minute when someone asks me how old I am, because I just don't give it a lot of thought.  Again, I'd rather be my age than dead.

If you go to Google Images, and enter "old lady," you mostly get this:

(OK, I'll admit that I kinda sorta identify with the woman above ...)

But "old women" also look like this:

and of course, one of my faves:

(Yes, I know she has a stylist, etc. for her personal apprearances, red carpets, and

other stuff.  I just like her because I think she is pretty amazing no matter what.)

How do you feel about all of this?  Do you mind getting older?  Do you like the way you look for the most part?  I'm curious.

In Which I Decide My "Planning" Failed ...

Today, I got notification of a comment on this blog to my last post.  Now, I don't get many comments at all here, which is fine, because I do this for myself because I like to write about things.  But since I don't get many comments, I'm always curious to see who is commenting.  And the comment I was notified about was from someone I just started following on Instagram, so that was nice. 

What surprised me is that it was not on my most recent post, but that the date of that post was November 2018!  I thought for sure I'd posted more recently.  So I hopped on over to look.  And well, I had - but those 5 posts were still in the "Draft" stage.  Eejit.  I'd been so proud of myself for getting some things done ahead of time.  But guess what?  Unless you hit "Publish," nothing happens. 

Anyway, I just deleted those because they were either outdated ("Happy New Year!") or not well-thought out (thankfully a Draft in those cases), or because they made no sense to me reading them now.  So you really haven't missed anything great, haha.

Do you ever do things like this?  Where you think you did something and then are surprised to find out you either didn't do it at all, or forgot the last step?  Fortunately, it doesn't happen to me too often, but when it does, it's always a surprise. 

I blame social media. 

OK, not really, but it's the  most convenient thing to blame for everything and anything these days, so I thought it was worth a try.  :-)

In any event, I'll be back soon to report on The Great Switching of the Seasonal Clothes in the Closet.  For someone who doesn't have that many clothes, it's ridiculous what a project it becomes.  Mostly because I get annoyed or bored and only do it in fits and starts until it gets to the point of ridiculousness.  And that point has arrived.

Now I'm actually going to hit "Publish."  So that's it for now.