Ready-to-Wear Fasting

Hello again everyone! Did you miss me? I hope you all had a nice holiday and fun plans for the new year. My husband had last week off from work, so we had some relaxing family time as we enjoyed AB's second Christmas. And now back to blogging!

There's been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere lately about a ready-to-wear fast for 2014, thanks to this post on Goodbye Valentino. I gather from the comments on the post that there will be a lot of participants, many of whom seem downright terrified! With only two days left to go in 2013, I wanted to revist my New Year's Resolution and maybe inspire a few people who will be participating in the 2014 RTW fast.

My resolution for 2013 was to sew or thrift all of my clothing for the entire year, with the exception of one bridesmaid's dress. I'm THRILLED to say that I met my goal! To the best of my memory, the only things I purchased new in 2013 were:

• some socks
• a hat
• aforementioned bridesmaid's dress

I was gifted:

• an awesome pink sweatshirt
• some socks
• the perfect brown boots

The most incredible part is that I didn't even thrift that much, meaning almost all my new clothing was made by me! I thrifted:

• a belt
• black eyelet shorts
• white capri leggings

My thoughts on the experience? It's easier than you think! I'm definitely the type of person who shops when I feel bored or depressed. Or, I should say, I used to be that person, which meant that the first few months were a bit tough. Isn't there a saying that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit? Shopping is SUCH a habit for so many of us, that if you treat it like that (i.e. a mindless activity without much purpose) it's much easier to get over it.

When you inject some thought into your purchases, you realize you don't need 20 pairs of jeans, or 60 t-shirts. When you know about construction and fabric, you know how to inspect RTW to see if it's worth your money. When you spend a lot of time planning pattern and fabric match-ups, you realize how to have a discerning eye about what looks good on the hanger vs. what looks good on you.

If you're thinking of taking the plunge for 2014, I encourage you to go for it. Give yourself the "out" of allowing thrifting (not all of us have time or patience to sew jeans) and see how it goes. You'll find out a lot about your own views on consumerism, contentment, and STUFF.

And will I keep up my pledge for next year? You betcha! I plan on sewing a swimsuit and maaaaybe jeans in 2014, and gobs of underwear, and wouldn't it be cool if I learned to knit so I could make some socks? Hmm...