Last week I came across this article by Marc Bain in The Atlantic. It starts off saying:
If you’ve ever found yourself buying clothes just because
they’re cheap, or if shopping itself has become a form of entertainment for
you, I’ve got a proposal: The next time you buy something, spend a whole lot on
it. Enough that it makes you sweat a little.
The point is to make you pause and ask yourself, “How much do I
really want this?”
In the U.S. and much of the industrialized world, cheap clothes
are everywhere. At any fast-fashion chain store, you’ll find piles upon piles
of jeans that cost less than $20. The problem is, all that low-cost clothing is
produced, sold, and finally discarded in mass quantities, which has serious
consequences for the environment, the workers paid poorly to make them, and
even the mental well-being of the people buying them.
As a
fashion reporter, I like clothes probably more than most. But I also know all
the troubling facts represented by those cheap t-shirts and jeans. For more
than a year now, I’ve set myself a simple goal for every clothing purchase.
It’s an entirely personal choice that I feel helps me buy less and enjoy my
purchases more. My hope is that it also reduces how much I contribute to some
of those issues mentioned above.
The goal
is to spend at least $150 on each item of clothing. And I propose you give it a
try.
The immediate
reaction I get when I tell people about this goal—and I call it a goal because
I don’t always live up to it—is that $150 is a lot to spend for a piece of
clothing.
Now this article makes me think. As I wrote in my last blog post about Courtney Carver of Project 333, I am trying to plan more and buy less clothing, especially the cheaper throw away type. I have recently noticed that I spend less overall and make better decisions if I am not tempted by a bargain or a sale item. I do much better when looking for a specific item to fill a real need in my wardrobe. And I make a more considered decision when it is full price.
Now the big question is WHAT IS MY MINIMUM PRICE? $150?
What do you think?
Ree
