Apparel Dieting

[Erin]

I read an interesting article in the New York Times this morning about "apparel dieting"... very interesting:

Shoppers on a Diet Tame the Urge to Buy

Thoughts? Has anybody else cut back, and made it a kind of game?

(I couldn't find a similar thread, so mods - please merge if I missed it!)

 

[greenappleflavor]

definitely agree. however, i wonder what this will mean for retailers if they should have to adjust if people's buying habits will change in a drastic way down the line.

i no longer buy something just because its on sale.

i have a few pretty expensive (in the hundreds) pieces i keep to remind me when i am shopping the next time and to think whether i'll really wear it or i'm buying it just because it looks pretty and the money is there and the price is right.

there are also some pieces i have that i wish i brought extras of, like this one white scoop s/s tee that fits just right. has lasted me for three years and a good amount of washes only to fall victim to a purple pen mark i wish i had brought extras............i haven't found a tee like that though i'm currently on the hunt.

as well as some key pieces i have in my mind (with certain exact detailing) but i'm not finding anywhere..instead of substituting or finding something to 'tide' me over i'm saving my money and re-wearing my few pieces with care..until 'it' pops up.

 

[lucy92]

my partner mentioning this story to me - i think that means he wants me to try it out.

 

[tourist10]

I read that article the other day. It really makes me wonder, in terms of that Six of Less challenge, why six?? Other than it being a difficult challenge to accomplish, what are you supposed to discover at the end of the process? When I try to imagine what that would be like, I can only think it would feel like fasting or giving sometime up for Lent; you deprived yourself for a given period of time, and afterwards, you gorge yourself! I would think that, if you wanted to learn a lesson in paring down or anti-consumerism, you'd need the challenge to be something more realistic yet still challenging. Even 10 items would probably work (again, arbitrary number, but at least more realistic!).

That said, it would be entertaining to see what people would put as their 6 items, if only hypothetically. Could be a fun thread!

 

[woodstock]

I can say for myself that I have a closet full of clothes, in a size that I have been using/wearing for YEARS. Don't want to say how many years, but a long time.

All of a sudden I jumped about 6-7 pounds. (probably not exactly all of a sudden, but it seemed that way, and I don't really recall doing much differently in my day to day life re: food and exercise - so it seemed sudden).

6-7 pounds is roughly a dress/pants size. In other words, I officially went up to a size I had never been before! While I can "force" certain items of clothing it really isn't a good idea and I'm not merely talking about pants. Even tops don't fit correctly and that bugs me because when your torso/boobs go up a size, it means the excess has settled in! It's not just a long wkd of overindulging that will drop off by the end of next week.

So I went for a while vowing not to buy anything at all until I could "shop in my own closet" again.

Well that went by the wayside. I did drop 3 pounds (yay) which has helped a lot but I finally gave in and bought 6 pairs of pants, a dozen tops, etc. I still vow to get back down to my old size (as soon as the beastly heat makes it possible to exercise again). What will bug me at THAT point is that I'll officially have "fat clothes" in my closet whereas I had always worn the same size without varying.

 

[Snow-White]

I have so many clothes in my closet that i haven't even worn as yet. *ugh*
I went and shopped for shoes today and I just don't want to buy anything anymore. I want to wear and experiment with what I have instead of just getting bored and buying something new each week!

 

[Erin]

I read that article the other day. It really makes me wonder, in terms of that Six of Less challenge, why six?? Other than it being a difficult challenge to accomplish, what are you supposed to discover at the end of the process? When I try to imagine what that would be like, I can only think it would feel like fasting or giving sometime up for Lent; you deprived yourself for a given period of time, and afterwards, you gorge yourself!

I think six is the bare bones number of pieces that you could get by with... yes, it's absolutely a challenge.

I guess it's just me, but if I did the challenge I wouldn't gorge after I was through. It's like a fashion fast... a cleansing. It's simply to make people realize that, okay, to have all this clothing beyond a certain point... is it necessary?

I understand we're all into fashion here. But I think beyond a certain point it becomes pointless to keep spending... and acquiring. I think we're all guilty of having "new" clothing in our closet that we haven't worn. Perhaps that's a good starting point... only buy items that we will want to wear for a long time, or that we'll at least put to use a few times..

 

[tourist10]

^ Erin, I agree with your points, especially about not needing more clothing beyond a certain point and only buying what we will wear for a long time. I think the overall message and movement is great, but I'm still not convinced that fashion fasting to 6 pieces (or even fashion fasting at all) is the means to drive home this message. The other challenge, not shopping for a year, makes more sense, to me. I would think that you should be able take full advantage of what you have in your wardrobe and just be forced to play within that framework. But that challenge is indeed even more difficult!

 

[tourist10]

The one woman from Bangalore, one of the few who chose prints among her 6, said she would only wear black from now on! I assume she was joking, but still, I think that's a little sad (and I have nothing against wearing all black).

 

[ChrissyM]

i think this concept is really interesting but for i don't think i could do it at all

do pajamas count as one of your outfits? in which case i would probably go for some sort of nightgown that i could also somehow wear as a shirt...

BUT, the big sticking point for me would be workout clothes...
if those had to count then it just wouldn't work for me..

and i would also think that there would be more wasting water or dry cleaning bills which isn't exactly environmentally or wallet-friendly...
wouldn't it be more economical to use the clothes that are sitting in your closet/drawers and do bigger loads of laundry less often?

i'll just have to find other ways to stop shopping
my challenge is to shop in my closet and wear as much as possible so that the money i've already spent doesn't go to waste

 

[newprincesita]

cool concept

 

[Erin]

I'm still not convinced that fashion fasting to 6 pieces (or even fashion fasting at all) is the means to drive home this message.

I think that doing this for a month is to stress that, YES, we can get by with fewer pieces and still be okay... I look at clothing like food. They are both necessities, but we ourselves make them into something much more - and this is what's fun - fashion and cuisine! But survival on the minimum of each is still survival. (Does that make sense?)

And no, this is not something I'm trying very soon! It definitely is a challenge, and unless somebody paid me - I don't see a need for myself, because I hardly purchase anything at the moment. But, like so many others, am terribly guilty of owning (a few) pieces that I have not worn.

I agree that not buying anything (except underwear) for a year thing makes more sense to drive home the point... I actually really, really like this idea.

 

[softgrey]

so- i guess i'm the only one who thinks this is stupid...???...


......

i mean-
sure...stop shopping...
take a break from consumerism...
but why do you have to limit the actual items you wear....?
i have TONS of clothes...
instead of wearing less of my wardrobe...
i think it would make way more sense to wear MORE of my clothes...

that would be a better challenge in my book...
find all the clothes in your closet that you don't wear ...
and WEAR THEM...

 

[ChrissyM]

^^yeah, i think reminding myself that i already have SOOOO much would do more to make me stop buying than wearing the same 6 pieces over and over again...

i imagine i would just end up feeling deprived and annoyed

*though i suppose it would make packing for a vacation easier
that's one upside

 

[Legyviel]

I agree with softie, I can see how this 'diet' could make you think more about how many clothes you really need and perhaps even lead you into having a 4-5 piece french wardrobe, but why not stop shopping for clothes altogether?
I havent shopped for 3 months in autumn, then shopped a little for some basics during the winter sales and then didn't shop for another 3 months and while it was challenging and a bit annoying I actually got to wear most of the clothes I already had

 

[Erin]

so- i guess i'm the only one who thinks this is stupid...???.........

It's a challenge... I think some people are missing the point. From a few of the posts, it seems that people think that you are to live on six pieces for an entire year or some crazy amount of time... it's for a month...

But I don't purchase a lot of clothing, so for somebody like me it doesn't seem as crazy.

 

[softgrey]

some people DID say they are going to do it for a year...

and some people already have...!
there was that one girl who wore one brown dress for an entire year...
*too bad it was so hideously ugly...
...

i think it's a fun styling challenge...
to see how many ways to style a certain number of pieces...
lucky mag does that ---or at least they used to...
i don't read that rag anymore...so i don't know for sure...
...

but it's definitely not going to make me shop/buy less...

not shopping for one month is a challenge that i have already given myself...
repeatedly...

*and frankly...for many families struggling with finances during this dramatic recession...
it's pretty much a way of life....

so these folks aren't doing anything so special...imho...
that's why i think it's kind of stupid...

but maybe i am just not as superficial or as much of a shopaholic as some other people so, i just wouldn't benefit from doing something like this...
?

**this is the challenge i would like to give myself...
ROTATE~~~
1-wear everything in the closet...
2-you either have to wear the piece or get rid of it from the closet permanently
3-NO REPEAT OUTFITS>>> you cannot repeat any outfits until every single piece has been worn at least once...
4-when you reach the end...you start again...

* no shopping until every single thing has been worn at least one time...
maybe - you get to buy one new piece each time you rotate back around to the front of your closet again...or maybe that is too strict- because it could take some people almost a year to wear everything in their closet...depending on how old they are and how big their closet is...

 

[ChrissyM]

^^i think that would certainly be a much more FUN challenge...
would definitely get me to wear more of my clothes...
and play around with a lot more layering (though i kind of already do that as well)
and would make me feel better about getting my money's worth out of the things that i've already bought

 

[fashionista-ta]

Kind of buried in the article is that if you have similar items (like black jackets, and I remember reading a piece about a woman who only wears black/navy/white who has about 15 dark jackets), they count as one. Which to me encourages a boring way of dressing ... who wants 15 things all alike? Not me ...

I like to buy the few pieces and have them as different as they can possibly be.

We talk a lot in the French wardrobe thread about the shopping diet concept ... Later on this year I'm planning to cut out shopping again so I can focus on other priorities. Not a bad idea, and sometimes a necessity, but I think the best idea is to shop in moderation. You really can't stop forever unless you plan to get into dumpster diving, which I have no hesitation in saying I do not

 

[UNiQFashionista]

very interesting concept..I like Softgreys idea haha..

I think , at least for me, in winter, I tend to wear the same items over and over, black tights,black skinny pants,black sweater, some dress , and a leather jacket...i would def try this "challenge" in winter...

I am getting pretty bored aswell..with consumerism...I was talking to a friend the other day how i have no "fall wish list" no bag excites me...nothing...except my weakness for black leather jackets...i have over 6 and i am eyeing the proenza schouler swing one...so i guess i do fit the "sixers"...will try the challenge and let you know how i did