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clothing chastity.Submitted by Henry on Sun, 08/26/2007 - 8:30pm.
I keep reading all of this cool clothing stuff - the woman who wore the same dress every day for a year (brown dress project) who is now wearing, for another year, only clothes she designs herself made out of recycled clothing from her closet or thrift. And a former-HM (who may return) is doing a similar thing (I paraphrase so forgive me if it's wrongish) with redesigning her own stuff instead of buying more. And I like it. I have friends that do this. They kinda smell, but I like the smell actually. I like the idea of redesigning your stuff. I also like the idea of not making clothes so important. I think I've confused myself about this. I'll take a nap and rethink it. "Religion is for people who are afraid of hell. Spirituality is for I think this sounds like a really good idea. I do. I think that not only cutting down what you wear, but not buying much anymore, is a good idea. Maybe just start with wearing what you have and when it wears out, don't buy others to replace it. Keep one good pair of jeans on hand. Wear flip flops often. Naturally, keep enough for you to be able to go out in any weather, but just one of each thing. If you like accessories, check thrift shops and second hand stores or yard sales, too. I mean, it's not a crime to have a few, you know? And do laundry every night! Another thing this sort of makes me think about is, if you do cut down on your wardrobe, maybe get into the habit of either hand washing (to use less water), or, if you don't already, put your things out on a line (either outdoors or indoors) to dry to save on dryer energy. Especially easy with fewer clothes. -xoxo- what would be the point? i don't mean to shoot down your idea, or someone else's idea, but what is the point of restricting your clothes? isn't it adequate to dress appropriately for the weather, and not purchase more than you need? does this idea orginate somewhere else? did i miss something? for the record, i think it's way cool to make clothes out of reused/recycled stuff. i'd like to be one of the people who do that, one day. i am not now, but i would like to be. "All persons, whether living or dead, are entirely coincidental." Kurt Vonnegut well in the brown dress girl's stuff her point seems to be anti-fashion and consumer culture. i think if you want to reduce your consumption of unnecessary things that is great for your mental health. but i am with mamaneen, clothing is not just utilitarian and i would question more what it means to you to reduce your garments, why you feel the need to address that particular thing when you said yourself you don't have three walk-in closets full of repetitive shit in the first place. anyway, that is just how i think. i am very invested in my appearance and what it says about me, i think we all are, whether we want to admit it or not. i imbue my clothes with a lot of personal work. i alter them, i embroider, i dye and repurpose things, i have a outright fetish for turning t shirts into pants and skirts. but i also work in the world and need to balance my individual style and preference for wearing men's undershirts and skirts made out of old social distortion t shirts topped off with a vintage cardigan or hoodie with a back patch with social appropriateness. so, i will always need to have that store bought part of my wardrobe. wearing the same thing every day is not an option for those who work in the world and don't choose to make consumerism the focus of people's interaction with them. being mindful about our decisions is always a good trait to nurture, though. "If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime."-Jack Kerouac http://www.amazon.com/Not-Buying-Year-Without-Shopping/dp/0743269357 (the author recomends you get it from the library of course!) but when i was a kid, the clothing available to me was very limited and almost entirely secondhand. speaking from experience, i can say trying to parlay even TWO pairs of pants and THREE shirts into a week's worth of clothing is challenging {even if you only wash them when they stink and/or have conspicuous stains/dirt} if you a} don't want the people you interact with on a daily basis to perceive you as a bit odd and/or slovenly {this was a huge concern of mine at the time, anyway} and b} don't have the resources to replace or adequately repair already somewhat worn clothes that will wear out much faster with so much more wearing and washing.
"if i pass for other than what i am, do you feel safer?" ~ lani ka'ahumanu dragon knows dragon Right now I wear a uniform 90% of the time, and it sure does make life easier. I only have one maternity shirt and one pair of uniform pants that fit though, so I have to wash every other day - which is a little crazy. Otherwise, I do like to feel good in my clothes, and finding just one thing that felt right all the time - Phew! that sounds hard! I want to know what you decide on though. just getting rid of stuff and not buying things I don't need...but for me it's been more of a slow process. I kind of feel like "need" will vary (you mentioned a need for cold-weather gear, for example) and that it is OK to have things you need (such as rain boots, athletic shoes, rain jacket, etc) because the whole purpose (IMHO) of humans clothing themselves is to protect from the elements. I, the great justifier, have taken that one step further to include some dress clothes (that I buy and keep for years, mainly in black, grey, and colors that coordinate) in that equation because I work in a place where I must dress up...but that is me and my sitch. I think any move away from blind consumerism is laudable...and if you have sewing skills, use em! {though i am at a bit of a loss as to by whom and how it is best defined}, but this struck me as off: "the whole purpose (IMHO) of humans clothing themselves is to protect from the elements." granted there's the qualifying "IMHO", but to my mind, it's kind of like saying, "imho, the earth is flat". interesting opinion, but absolutely contrary to available evidence. for as long as humans and our ancestors having been using clothing to protect ourselves from the elements {and possibly even longer than that}, we've also been using it for a variety of social and cultural purposes. if someone chooses to use it to the sociocultural ends of functional aescetism or utilitarianism or the like that's groovy {imho}, but clothing is definitely and inescapably about more than mere protection from the elements.
"if i pass for other than what i am, do you feel safer?" ~ lani ka'ahumanu dragon knows dragon I was thinking about it that way -- it seems to me that the cultural stuff would have come after that, if only slightly, kwim? is in a part of the world where the climate was such that folks didn't need to cover themselves for protection from the elements and given that folks who are still living relatively similar hunter/gatherer lives in relatively similar climates are also not required by the weather to cover themselves, but in both contexts, people chose/choose to ornament themselves in a variety of ways that include clothing, i'd say the idea that clothing serves only/served originally to protect humans from the elements is still an opinion not supported by the available evidence.
"if i pass for other than what i am, do you feel safer?" ~ lani ka'ahumanu dragon knows dragon |
this is so me!! I haven't tried this for a project or anything but I live like this anyway, I can't stand most clothes because I have extremely sensitive skin (you know that story The princess and the pea? My skin is crazy sensitive like that) and most fabric irritates me. When I find something I like I wear it out. You know how clothes get that soft brushed feel when you've had them a long time? I love that feel.
MSPmedia
The world is extremely interesting to a joyful soul.
~Alexandra Stoddard