Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule in fashion? Well, in style it refers to the occurrence
that people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time. Whoa!
That means that 80% of your clothes typically go unworn. That's a lot of clothes. For me, I was typical; I had about 8 pairs of
jeans of which I was consistently wearing about one or two. I had coats, dresses, pants, skirts, suits that I
was not wearing from year to year, yet keeping in my closet.
Why is this important?
First, I'm wasting time buying clothes that I'm not wearing, second, I'm
wasting money on clothes that I'm not wearing, and thirdly wasting the
resources that went into making clothes. Moreover, when I finally get rid of
these clothes, many of them will wind up in the international used clothes
market in developing countries --- contributing to the destruction of their own
fashion industries by their markets being flooded by cheap, used clothes from
industrialized nations. I remember when I first started realizing how the
access to cheap clothing was oftentimes wasteful. This past summer, I saw a pair of cute, pale
pink cap toe ballet flats at a discount store for $4.99. I thought, "Great, I can buy five of
these and when they fall apart, I can just put on another one." What
waste. "Why not just buy a pair of
good shoes that would last?" I think now.
I did buy those shoes. Five of them. And I only wore one because they hurt so
much, they didn't have any sole support of course, and they were falling apart
almost within a week.
When I went to the stores today, and saw so many clothes
during this Christmas season, I just had to take a step back and remember there
is no point in buying clothes if you're not going to wear them. And, so many of my family and friends this
season are saying, "Don't buy me clothes, I have enough
clothes." I think we really need to
take a look at how we buy and each person figure out for themselves are they
buying well and do they really need what they are purchasing.
Mass media is not going to tell you to stop. The message is buy, buy, buy. There is a big push for people to spend in
order to keep the economy rolling. But
keep yourself financially rolling. If
you don't need it, don't get it. And,
if you do need it, buy something that is quality that will look good after you
wash it, that won't lose its shape or color, and that will fit & feel good
so that it won't be a part of your 80% rule.
Cashmere Turtleneck - $170
Mongolian lightweight and warm cashmere that has a loose drape. Features an 8" turtleneck that is long enough to be doubled and fully fashioned shoulder seams toward the top of the back.
Ascent Top - $395.00
Structured short-sleeve tee in soft, supple unlined black lambskin, with black-on-black satin zip closure at center back. Sewn in New York of Italian vegetable-tanned leather. http://www.titaniainglis.com/
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