I have been busy with all sorts of things the past few weeks.

One of them was developing a flowchart for use in hard to make clothing purchase decisions.

One of the hardest things about keeping a concise closet is practicing thoughtful shopping. Many of us go out shopping for clothing, either for fun or because we need something specific, and often come back with more than we set out for. For many, this can be a difficult process to navigate. Whether it is a matter of self restraint, thoughtfulness, or simply establishing a budget.

The flowchart above gives you an idea of the line of questioning to utilize before deciding on a clothing purchase. Sometimes, even the act of questioning the purchase is enough to get you thinking that you might not need it. However, an adamant decision not to buy anything can often result in spending the next day pining over a garment that you passed up, only then realizing that it could have been really fun/practical/transformative/applicable for a specific event.

Some other factors to take into consideration that are not included on the chart (for lack of room? This seemed like a good size where one could print it small and keep it in their pocket book):

Affordability
Sometimes we love something that is simply not in our budget, though it is important to remember that just because something is expensive doesn’t mean you can afford it. You have to make the decision about whether or not the money spent on a garment will be a good investment. At this point, we often have to make compromises (why not buy the one coat you need, and pass on three cute dresses you will hardly have occasion to wear?) or save up for a needed or much desired purchase. The investment you make in a garment can strengthen your respect for an item and hopefully encourage you to take good care of it.

Supporting Small Businesses and Craftspeople
A situation in which I can often justify a slightly-un-affordable or redundant (as in, you already have something like it) purchase is in the case that doing so will support a small clothing business or contribute to the lively hood of an independent designer or craftsperson. So, you love tailored jackets and you have plenty, but purchasing the gorgeous handmade felt blazer created by a local artisan doesn’t sit too high in the thoughtless purchase ranking in my mind. The fact that you are overbuying is compensated by your support of these small industries.

Sometimes, however, editing can result in the feeling that you have too few clothes. This my friends is the fun part. It is at this point that one can engage in the most thoughtful, considered, and arguably enjoyable type of shopping: looking for exactly what you need, in your size, not stopping until you find something that you love.

Next up: Profiling My Own Wardrobe. Yikes!

After a lengthy conversation with a new acquaintance about fast fashion (and the fact that ‘slow fashion’ as a term for the alternative was less than desirable) I decided that further elaboration on wardrobe editing I mentioned in a previous post was in order.

I am certainly not the only one who feels this way (take Project 333, The Good Closet, or Transparent Seams, for example).

Fashion as we know it is about consumption. What was at first an industry designed to meet a vital need (we humans seem to need food, shelter, and, of course, clothing) soon became a rapidly multiplying circus of disposable goods, manipulative marketing, and excess-as-success.

On the one hand, we live in an area that promotes and distributes countless aesthetic choices. One can articulate their visual representation in endless ways. One is not limited to a dictated national dress, nor is it any longer the case that ‘fashionable’ items are beyond the financial range of most Americans.

On the other hand, the vast options for dress came at a price. Our cultural upbringing developed in us a hunger for the new and a taste for acquisition of good as a way of feeling accomplished. Being fashionable shifted from focus on class and creativity to accessibility, speed, and assimilation.

clothing trash

There are multiple implications of this shift and I have and will continue to elaborate on pieces of it via this blog. My focus today is on the idea of a wardrobe detox.

Open your closet, take a look around. Asses its contents. How often do you wear the things inside? Do you have things you have never worn? Does it suit your lifestyle? The most common comment I receive is that one simply has too many clothes.

Wardobe Rehab at 'A Pair and a Spare' (Click image for link)

I propose a not just an evaluation and a little editing, but rather a Wardrobe Detox.

Shed all unnecessary clothing. Donate it or recycle it into new pieces. Figure out which pieces are really important. Distill your clothing items into your unique style. Once you have your bare bones wardrobe assembled, start filling in the gaps.

Cheap, fashionable clothing from h&m, forever 21, and other places like them will be revealed for what they really are: Temporary, disposable items. Once you are down to your bare bones wardrobe, you’ll realize how little you really need. Take all the money you would have spent on 15 new shirts to wear once and have a nice piece of clothing made or buy something from a fair trade or artisan empowering retailer.

So, we won’t call it ‘Slow Fashion’ because fashion, in its nature, is not slow. Perhaps we could call it something like

I’ll keep thinking of good titles for this paradigm shift. In the mean time, I plan to present a series of posts dedicated to Wardrobe Reconsideration, Rehab, and Detox.