Q & A : No New Clothes : Part II
I found myself looking at our little dresser of clothes today, noticing just how tiny the space is. You can guess that a 450 square foot (41.8 sq m) doesn’t exactly spell walk in closet. Just like about everything in our house from our kitchen to our open-shelving bathroom, this dresser is the smallest I’ve ever owned. And I’m splitting it with someone else.
With that thought, I think it’s time to begin Part II of your questions about The No New Clothes Challenge – a project my husband and I began last May when we swore off new clothing purchases. Off we go…
Q: Do you feel like you are wearing the same things ALL THE TIME?! -jpritchard
Nope! I was really expecting to feel like I was. Here’s a past post about tricks I’ve picked up for making my wardrobe seem bigger, making it last, and just general still-loving-what-I’ve-got ideas.
Q: I’m not sure I can completely stop buying clothes. I see how it’s a really great, green thing to do. So do you have any ideas on ways to acquire clothes without buying new? -Jen
Sure do! You can always check the thrift shops. Comments in this post have a lot of really great tips for sifting through the racks to find some good stuff. Don’t forget consignment shops for really unique pieces. I love the idea of trying to buy new clothes that are used and not really new at all.
I also like the approach Katherine is taking to No New Clothes. She wrote, “Since last summer/fall [my goal] is to only buy clothes made ethically. In the US, that mostly means used clothes, handmade, or toss-offs since the rare fair trade clothing stores are not exactly stylish and tend to be way more than I can afford.”
A lot of people enjoy having clothing swaps with friends. Basically you all bring a certain number of clothes and take turns “shopping” in all of the old treasures. The only rule is that you have to leave with less than you came with. Everything that doesn’t get a new owner among friends goes to charity.
Q: How long do you think you’ll keep going with this? -jpritchard
After you do something for a while, it starts to become a habit. Clothes shopping is like that for me now. I’ve lost all interest. So I guess only time will tell how long this challenge lasts (which I think will really depend on how long our clothes last).
Q: When you talk about having fewer clothes, how much do you mean? I am interested in what your definition of fewer is. – Mother of Pearl
When I started this challenge, I didn’t know what “fewer” meant. Now I know the answer: owning fewer clothes means having fewer clothes than you feel like you want or need. I know that doesn’t give you exact numbers – like how many pairs of pants or socks. Our lives are all different, so naturally we all have different clothing needs. The one thing that I have found regardless of situation in life: we all need fewer clothes than we think.
So when I think of owning fewer pieces of clothing, the most important thing for me to do is stop buying clothing. It feels good when we clean out our closets and donate unwanted things to charity. It feels even better not to acquire those items in the first place.
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And with that we wrap up the second Q&A on the No New Clothes challenge. (You can catch Part I here.) Now let’s talk about your theory on clothes. When would you define yourself as having enough clothes in the closet? Do you have enough now? Or too many? How would you even measure it? And if you have found satisfaction with the number you have, won’t you share that wisdom? I know a lot of you made the switch to fewer clothes long ago. Tell us about it.
March 19th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
I have just enough exactly. I lost (some of) my baby weight recently, so I donated all my too big clothes and had nothing at all to wear except for five oversize tshirts for sleeping in. I bought one pair of jeans, one pair of green cargo pants, two black tops, five workout shirts, five workout pants (I use these for working out and for wearing around the house) two white tank tops for layering, a black fleece, underclothes, white long sleeve shirt and a gray top.
I have SO much room in my closet and it’s SO easy to figure out what I’m going to wear! Obviously, I don’t have to dress up for anything in my life right now. I will probably have to buy a dress sometime in the future, but I am waiting until I have to (hoping to lose more weight before then).
I’ve always hated shopping and never really been into fashion…
March 21st, 2010 at 12:47 pm
I could easily be a clothes shopaholic, but one of the things that has helped me is just doing the research on how our clothes are made and who is suffering because of it. Whenever I think about women and children earning poverty wages to make that cute top, it stops me dead in my tracks.
Another trick is to have a very limited clothing allowance. Since we’re trying to pay off my student loans ASAP, my husband has alotted each of us a certain amount of money weekly (about $10) that has to cover clothing, books, flowers, basically any need or want I have that isn’t a food or medical expense. Also, we treat our credit card like a debit card. If we don’t have the money to pay off the credit card bill every month, then we don’t buy whatever it takes to keep us in the black. Between those two things, I find myself thinking long and hard about whatever I want to buy before I buy it. It’s not always easy or fun that way, but it definitely keeps things in perspective and I find that the thing I thought I needed I can probably go without at least a little while longer.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Have you worn out any of your clothes? And if so, what happens when you wear them out? Are replacements allowed? I usually own 2-4 pairs of jeans at a time. I live in Holland, so I bike a lot. Biking wears out the inside legs of my jeans super quick! Sometimes I (okay, my husband) patches them, but that can be quite uncomfortable, since the new seam usually hits wear the bike seat connects to my legs. I think that I could do a no-clothes challenge, except for this sticking point; in fact, I’ve only bought 3 articles of clothing since I’ve been in Europe, one of which was a pair of jeans.
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:48 am
Bethany,
I seem to be the only person biking and NOT getting holes in the bum of my pants. I stick to jeans when I bike as much as possible just to be on the safe side should I fall or be hit. I pretty much wear jeans until the end, then buy a new pair. I’d say replace something that gets worn out IF it is something you’re actively wearing. if you’re not wearing it much, a replacement isn’t something you’ll love, right? (I’m thinking of a jacket I parted with a few months ago. It was old and tired; but I wasn’t loving it like I used to. No sense in replacing.)
Congrats on sticking to a purchase of 3 items. Very cool!
Katie
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:49 am
LOVE Katherine’s idea of a “things” budget every week.
March 24th, 2010 at 2:12 am
Katie, I can’t wait to get back into my normal non-pregnancy clothes. I have no idea if we’ll have a third baby though, so I’m going to bag all my current stuff up and put it in the attic. Two wardrobes, yep, for now at least. Until we decide whether we’re complete with two kiddos or not!
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:03 pm
It’s funny how this works. I donated more than half of my wardrobe, and now when I look in my closet I think, “Oh my gosh, I’ve got too much!” Maybe it’s because I can clearly see each item hung, spaced nicely, and I’m reminded that there STILL isn’t a need to have eight pairs of dress pants, three skirts, three dresses, three suits and all of the various tops, sweaters and scarves that jazz them up. So no more new clothes for me, and perhaps I’ll even whittle my current wardrobe down to half of its current size. That. Would. Be. Perfect!