The day when we’re all as elegant as a drawing by Gruau, well, will be a great day for fashion indeed…
This week and the week before, I shopped a few items on sales. It’s a rather non-remarkable fact, but what’s more remarkable is that I didn’t purchase anything but a pair of shoes and a bunch of Petit Bateau tees (I had found them for less than €2) between the current sales and the ones before them.
That was unpremeditated : I didn’t take a wardrobe refashion pledge or anything ; still, I’m rather proud of myself, considering the fact it’s a rather new experience for me. Even if I’m not the shopaholic I suspected myself to be a few years ago, I’m nevertheless a very contemporary girl : always happy to get new clothes, and never satisfied with what she already has. So why did my consumption slow down during these last months?
I think taking sewing more and more seriously, even if I’m far from considering myself a good seamstress, has undubitably something to do with it. As I noticed it after the Made in France trade show, I’ve grown more and more critical about the things I find in high-street stores. A gapping pair of trousers, a poorly finished shirt, an item that isn’t made of 100% something, and I leave the garment on the shelf. Even if it seems perfect, I always have the feeling that it shouldn’t be sold at this price (I don’t think I purchased a garment at 100% of its original price for a very long time). There are also not-so-positive reasons : shopping as a leisure activity is making me feel less an less at ease. It might be hypocritical from someone dedicating her blog to style in general (after all, I beneficiated a lot from fast fashion), but over-consumption sickens me just as much as I find it worrying, since, as Zoe describes it in this excellent post, it has become an essential part of our economy.
I know we’re far from the Carlotta version of fashion & style wonderland, where H&M salesgirls are now local seamstresses, and where their customers own fewer, but much better garments in terms of quality, elegance and fit. Yet, at a very individual scale, I can’t help but to consider my “unpremeditated abstinence” as a good sign…
