For the purpose of this assignment, I have left out clothing in my drawers, and focused solely on items hanging in my closet. The items in drawers are things such as undergarments, cold weather accessories, work out clothes and pajamas. All together I have cataloged 267 articles of clothing that hangs in my closet. To break it down, I have counted 47 sweaters, 4 vests, 8 flannels, 37 long sleeve shirts/blouses, a combination of 106 short sleeve/sleeveless shirts and blouses, 21 dresses, 19 pairs of blue jeans, 13 pairs of black pants and 12 black leggings. These garments originated from a variety of places which I have listed below. I cannot say that I wear every item in my closet often, however I do like to think that I wear the majority of my clothes. With that being said, there are definitely items I wear more often than others. For example, I would say that my most repeatedly worn items are my black pants and neutral colored sweaters. About 80% of my clothing is new that I bought myself. About 15% is new, but given as gifts. About 5% is used from places such as Ebay and yard sales.
Countries of Origin:
Cambodia
China
Guatemala
India
Indonesia
Italy
Mexico
Pakistan
USA
Vietnam
I cannot say that I was surprised at the amount of clothing that I own. I love to have a variety of clothing to choose from. This may sound silly, but I feel as though I have different styles depending on how I'm feeling or what the occasion is. For example, somedays I love to wear all black and dress more boyish, where as other days I like to dress in flowery dresses as if I'm going to church. I cannot say that I am completely satisfied with my consumption patterns at the moment, but they have certainly improved. About 6 months ago I was reading a magazine and came across an article titled "20 Things I Wish I Knew in My Twenties." Number one on the list was something along the lines of "I wish I paid more for my clothing", which really threw me off at first because...bargain shopping! I began to read and the author was explaining that she would buy tons of clothes at store like Forever 21 and H&M and either wear them once or not at all. She also explained how much more she loved the items in her closet that she invested in. That stuck out the most. I then thought about my wardrobe and the items that I spent the most money/time on, and voila! Those were the items of clothing that gave me the most satisfaction. Since that read, I honestly looked at clothes shopping completely differently. Now, I did not go out and just buy extremely expensive clothing or stop shopping all together, however I did take my time to think about the purchases I was making and if I would actually get use out of them. Since taking this course, I have learned so much more about the fashion industry than I ever could have imagined. This has forced me to dig even deeper into my own shopping/spending patterns. I can proudly say that my shopping habits (or lack there of) have significantly improved in the past few weeks. I have learned to "shop" in my own closet before going out and buying unnecessary items that I most likely already have. Recently, when I was looking for a dress for my birthday, I bought one used instead of new. I am not in the process of strategically going through my closet and trying to only keep what I know I will wear. Although I have made improvements, i still believe there is always room for more (improvements). One main reason why I would like to continue to consume responsibly is the impact that fast fashion is having on the planet. I love the idea that I can reduce my carbon footprint through better shopping habits.
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