1. Financial
It’s hard to get an accurate figure of how much the “average woman” (whoever she is) spends on clothing each year. Some say about $2000. Imagine all the things you could do with your money if you weren’t spending so much of it on clothes, shoes, bags, and all the other accoutrements the fashion world lays at our feet. We’ll cover this topic in depth in Month 7 when you join the program. For now, consider that instead of spending so much on clothes, you could
- Save for something. Like a deposit on a condo, house or Vesper. Or an overseas vacation. Or to attend that 2-week personal development workshop in Bali. Whatever it is, putting your money away to save for something you really want, that will have lasting value (even if it’s “just” in the memories) is one great way to re-divert those shopping funds
- Invest that money. There are more investment opportunities than you can poke a stick at, and I’m no investment expert so I wont be giving any advice on specific ways and methods of investing. But you get the general idea. Put that money to work for you on something that will yield a return (other than the momentary rush that comes with bringing home a new handbag)
- Spend it on something that will enrich your life. Spend it on an evening class to learn French. Spend it on a Thai cooking course. Spend it on a white-water rafting weekend. Spend it on a watercolours-for-beginners retreat. Spend it on something that adds zest and depth to your life and makes you feel like you are truly living. Don’t spend your life – live it.
What we spend on clothes per year may have to do with these things:
- the passion you have for the contact sport that shopping is for many women. If you love clothes shopping, you’ll spend more
- the amount of disposable income you have, if you are awake to the purgatory awaiting those who indulge in ongoing purchasing on credit
- the level of unconsciousness you are living with, if you love clothes, don’t have a high disposable income and have a credit card, or two, or three
2. Practical
If it’s true that most women wear only 20 – 30% of their wardrobe, then not going clothing shopping for a year offers an opportunity to get those numbers up. For a start, you won’t be adding any new pieces to your wardrobe, so out of nothing more than desperation, you may find yourself reaching for things you haven’t worn for ages. Not going clothing shopping for a year may also inspire you to really look at what you’ve got – do a wardrobe review and clear out the stuff that’s not paying their rent in your precious wardrobe space. So you’ll have less to wear which will mean you’ll wear more of what’s left.
Much of the challenge will touch on the practical elements. Months 2 and 11 will cover mixing and matching. Month 5 will cover colour and style. Month 9 will offer alternatives to “new new” shopping. Month 10 will cover organising what you have. You’ll want to be there for all of that!
One of the ways to get more out of what you’ve got is to tune into this concept of “shopping your wardrobe”. This means that you go into your wardrobe, and you pick and choose an outfit for the day like you would if you were in a store. Sure, it might be a small store. But the emotional component of ‘shopping your wardrobe’ is that you feel you have loads of choice. Many women (and maybe men) wear only 20 – 30% of their wardrobe because they don’t know how to mix and match properly to get more out of what they have. They “set” dress – this top goes with that bottom, and never the two are separated. If you learn how to mix’n’ match better and get a little creative with what you’ve got, you’ll get more out of your wardrobe.
3. Emotional
Shopping comes with a lot of emotions. Why women shop is not a one answer question, but we know that it involves emotions. I was talking to two women recently, both of whom hate clothing shopping. The reason? They don’t like their bodies and hate to see their bodies in changing room mirrors. Other women have told me that there is a lot of guilt associated with spending money on themselves.
When I got back from San Francisco in late November 2009, my bags swollen from the injection of ~$900 worth of unneeded, ‘justification’ purchases of clothes and accessories, I felt a confusing array of emotions. I was delighted at having such gorgeous new things to wear. I felt a gnawing sense of dread at where the money would come from to pay for them. I felt a smidge of self-loathing at having been so weak and ‘asleep’ to have purchased these things in the first place, when I knew neither the need nor the means to pay for them existed. I felt a growing sense that this habit may hold some deeper issues that I wasn’t aware of yet (and really needed to be). It was this experience that really kicked my unconscious into sending me little messages…. like: how about we take a year off from clothes shopping?
Clothes shopping for many women is usually about more than just the need to cover up our nakedness. There is often an unexpected thread of emotions running through shopping for clothes. Professor Karen Pine from the University of Hertfordshire discusses the relationship between emotions and shopping in her work, Sheconomics. We’ll be exploring the emotional and psychological reasons for shopping in Months 4 and 8 of the Challenge. You’ll want to be there for that !
4. Eco-environment
Dyes, pesticides, child and slave labour are costing us all more than the resources that come out of our wallets. The International Labor Organisation estimates that over 200 million children are working in sweatshops with many workers earning as little as 25 cents an hour. Not everyone is agin sweatshops though — the benefit to us as consumers, proponents of cheap labour tell us, is that these workers are getting a job (better than not having one at all) and that we, the consumers, are getting cheaper products. I don’t know how long it takes to make a pair of brand name sneakers, but at $.25/hour for labor and an average retail price of around $100, you wouldn’t need a finance degree from Wharton to work out there’s a hefty profit in there somewhere.
There is a growing movement to “buy green” when clothing shopping, and we’re not talking about the colour of the clothes here. Dyes and pesticides that are used in clothing production are harmful to the environment, to the workers making the clothing and to the wearers of these clothes. Month 9 of the challenge will touch on these issues.
5. Creative
Shopping is a contact sport for many women, me included. I’m great at it. I could represent Australia in the shopping Olympics. But when you stand back and look at the bigger picture, it’s rather a sad and sorry state of affairs to consider all that creative energy going into shopping, and becoming a better shopper. Taking a year out from clothes shopping has challenged me to put my brain and body to a better use than being a clothes shopping champion. I’m writing more; I’m ‘finding my voice’ and learning how to use it. When I’m away from home (the danger zone for me, as this is when I’ve discovered I do most of my shopping), I’m enjoying the sights and sounds of that place more, rather than shopping through the experience. I’m living more of my life, rather than spending my life.
And here’s the other thing – I’m being more creative with the wardrobe that I have. Having had the experience of being this challenge, I’m starting to be more creative with what I’ve got. I’ve become more playful with my clothes, more appreciative of them. I’m not ‘saving’ anything for ‘good’ – I’m wearing that gorgeous jacket, even if it just down to down to pick up the groceries or out for a casual coffee. Months 2, 3, 6 and 11 of the challenge will jive about the creative aspects of shopping your wardrobe.
