Oct 1, 2011

Daily outfit: Abstract








Sweater: Hand me down
Jeans: Garage sale
Shoes: Steve Madden
Purse: Vintage



"Going green" has become a marketing campaign. Maybe you purchased an eco friendly cotton t-shirt but it's still something that was recently produced and lets face it, the world is full of already made t-shirts. I found out that Patagonia, a clothing company focused on outdoor wear, started a campaign to buy and sell their used gear via ebay. Hows that for a green campaign? Thats another reason why I love thrifting and buying vintage. I care about fashion, and dressing well, and there aren't many other options for being sustainable. The ready to wear fashion world is about consumerism, you can slap as much green font as you want on your marketing campaign, but it's still about replacing perfectly good clothes with new ones a few times a year to stay "on trend".
         Fashion blogging has it's awesome examples of sustainable fashion practices, like clothing swaps to meet the need of showing off ways to style new garments to your readers, without having to go buy something from the mall. Or showcasing independent designers. Sure, buying new clothes is fun, fitting in is desirable, but there needs to be a point where we take some time to think about where our products come from. I'm not trying to preach, because this is something I have to make myself conscious of as well. Being self employed means very little disposable income, so I can never go buy the Jeffery Campbells shoes every other blogger is wearing so I can feel like I appear "fashion forward" to my readers, and my situation doesn't afford me the ability to support the independent designers that deserve it. Instead what happens is when I do go buy some item from the mall (rare, luckily), it ends up being cheap materials and probably from some country with cheap labor. Frankly I just want to be backwards at this point. I am sick of that little twinge in the back of my head that tells me I want something I don't need because I see it all over the place and I feel like it's an important aspect of being a successful blogger, or you know, a successful human! It's ingrained in our brains as consumers to buy, and new things make us happy, and I am trying very hard to break myself of the destructive side of that and replace it entirely with thrifting, vintage, and swapping clothes. I feel like I am being manipulated by a ghost, how did these thoughts end up in my head to begin with and why can't I just make them disappear? I'm clearly at that point where I'm figuring out how I can carry out whats important to me in the things that I do. I've been thrifting for 10 years, and I try to do it by selling vintage and supporting myself with something that I believe is fun, and sustainable, but I often forget that's enough. Good grief, I just wanted to write about patagonia, but I ended up with this novel. Soo, I will just exit with a grin.

16 comments:

  1. This outfit is SO cute! I can't wait to wear cozy sweaters like this one for fall (it's still hot where I live). Great post too! I love that thrifting and swapping are both eco-friendly and a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've studied 'Ecological farming and food production systems' MSc and one of the most important things I've learnt is how many chemicals are realised to produce one single t-shirt (including fabric processing and colour). You are right about swap not shop movement,its becoming more and more interesting,since people can thrift clothes for free without destroying the environment. Well anyway you look gorgeous.I like your shoes and I love the colourfull sweater :) Come visit my blog and if you like it,we can follow each other :)
    x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love everything! Amazing outfit :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I absolutely love everything about this outfit and thank you so much for your thoughts on green fashion! I very much enjoyed reading it :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. You're adorable and I love everything about this out. I also completely agree on everything you said. It's tough for me, though, because I work for a retail company that is constantly churning out new items, so I'm supporting that industry. I feel like a hypocrite somewhat!

    ReplyDelete
  6. thanx for following me back :)
    I could go on and talk about clothes and ecofriendly products for a long post, but i dont want to become boring :)
    xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. I totally know how you feel. I broke myself of the compulsive shopping habit a few years ago, and now almost 100% of my purchases are vintage or second hand. It's so much more rewarding to buy something with a history (and something that you're not going to see anyone else wearing). I love the sweater you're wearing in this post!

    Thanks for commenting on my blog! It's always nice to hear from a fellow vintage addict :)

    http://fieryfinish.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. I honestly thrift because i can find good finds a affordable prices.
    I love current stylish trends, im not month of a vintage person. Trendy is my thing and i love shopping at these malls you don't really fancy haha.
    I guess that's my thing.
    OMG OMG OMG
    Thank you so much for fallowing my blog.
    Im looking forward to seeing more of your style :)
    xoxo

    District of Fashion

    ReplyDelete
  9. nice sweater :D
    I'll definitely will following you if you follow me :D
    Decimal Shoes

    ReplyDelete
  10. You are absolutely adorable... I am loving that sweater to pieces and the way you styled it just makes me want to wear it right now! :)


    xx
    Jen

    http://belledecouture.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Everyone should be more green and buy vintage clothing. As reseller/ being on tight budget too, sometimes I do score new designer like Jeffery Campbell shoes. I prefer paying $ 10 for them when it being sold at flea market. Maybe my weakness is seeing great deals but these "newer" items need a new home.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such a darling and fun outfit! I love the colours in your sweater. And oh my, you have such a pretty face!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great post! I feel the same way - I find that more and more lately, I feel guilty when I buy something new, rather than happy. Thrifting is definitely better on all fronts - you get something "new" without guilt, without busting a budget, and you end up with a wardrobe that's unique.

    Part of growing up is definitely figuring out what your principles are and how you can best live by them. It's something I've been working on in the past few years, too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. An awesome sweater! Espcially now since it's cool enough to wear them and I'm slowly getting back into mine. LOVE the oxfords too! Nothing more comfy!! Thanks so much for your comment on my blog a while back!! Would you like to follow each other?

    www.plentyforpennies.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. LOVE this, Lily! The sweater with the jeans and the sunshine. what a great look.

    ReplyDelete