Off The Beet: A Fashion Diet For The Environment

When I was in middle school, I had a friend who would write down what she wore every day in her little notebook. On the bus ride home, she would chronicle her outfit down to the brand and style of her jeans. She wanted to make sure she wouldn’t repeat an outfit in a month. Though I knew it was a faux pas to wear the same garment two days in a row, I never took clothing repeats so seriously.

It was easy for me, though. I have lots of clothes. Now I realize, I have too many clothes. So, when I read a New York Times story about shoppers on a “fashion diet,” it made me reassess my closet. The challenge: Wear six items of clothing or less for 31 days. Today, I’m on day 24.

Before I get too far, I better answer the common but-what-about questions. But what about undergarments? They don’t count in the six pieces. But what about socks and shoes? Fine. Outer jackets? A-okay. Actually all accessories are fine (including the suspenders I rocked on day three). The rules actually say you can have multiples of the same item to ease laundry woes, but I didn’t. I really wanted to explore how my clothes would wear in heavy rotation.

There are many motivations for this movement. Two of the biggest ones are to cut down on consumerism and to be more eco-friendly. This great article from Get Rich Slowly I read some time ago quotes fashion designer and Project Runway judge Michael Kors, who said our closets should consist of 70 percent “meat and potatoes,” or basics, and 30 percent flair. Cutting back on clothes we don’t wear saves us money and closet space, but also, it helps to save the environment.

When we buy cheap clothes, they usually don’t last as long. That means we use more water and pesticides to grow cotton, dye for jeans, and chemical fabric softeners. OnEarth magazine said it takes 1,500 gallons of water to yield the 1.5 pounds of cotton it takes to make one pair of jeans. Men, women and children in the United States get 1.5 new pairs of jeans a year. That’s 450 million pairs of jeans.

In addition to wearing fewer clothes, I managed not to buy any clothes. Twenty four days might not sound like a long time, but considering that I passed up the Shadyside Sidewalk Sale and dozens of e-mail offers from store like Urban Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret and Macy’s, I’m pretty proud of myself.

I purposely varied my fashion pieces in quality. For the past 24 days, I’ve worn:

1. A pair of dressy-looking black shorts from H&M
2. A pair of gray-wash skinny jeans from Express
3. A gray pencil skirt from Express that I bought second-hand

4. A purple V-neck shirt from Forever 21
5. A teal Armani tank-top
6. A tight black T-shirt from Express

It’s like a math test question. The prompt: If Estelle has three shirts and three bottoms, how many outfits can she make? The answer is nine, assuming all of the combinations match. It’s almost like wearing a uniform. Getting ready in the morning is a lot easier, but sometimes I wish I had more options. I chose three tight-fitting tops because I wanted to be able to tuck them into my skirt or shorts. If I had a do-over, I would have switched-out the purple shirt for a more flab-forgiving top (I’ve been sucking my gut all month).

I talked to people about my progress, and I’ve gotten reactions of complete surprise. Others noticed something was up. I realized that most people don’t notice the repeats, and if they do, so what? What I care about is wear-and-tear on my clothing.

Even though I’ve only hand washed and air dried these items, I can tell the V-neck won’t make it after the experiment. I’ve worn it to work and to parties, and it shows. There’s discoloration along the neckline and pilling on my hip and underarm areas. I’ve been battling the the pills on my black shorts with a fabric shaver that I picked up at a church flea market. There’s an As Seen On TV version that probably would work as well. Just don’t push the clothes into the shaver too much or you could tear the fabric.

With less than a week left, I’m happy to go back to the rest of my wardrobe while there’s some summer left. But I think this experience will change the way I shop for many seasons to come.

Post and photos by Estelle Tran