WE DRESS THE WAY WE DRESS
Creating simple designs with complex meaning is how I express myself. I chose Apparel as an outlet purely, because each morning I wake up I dress how I feel. When I wake up feeling amazing and decide “I want to go out today!” I throw pieces with colors that I feel compliments each other. When I wake up feeling like “It’s a lazy afternoon”, I’m going to wear jogging pants/sweatpants and a random T-shirt. Not quite sure if that's the process for most people, but subconsciously I dress a certain way. It just became a way of showing how I felt without telling people verbally.
There was a point in time where I didn’t want to wear the same outfit twice, so I would go to Goodwill every week to find items for a dollar or go to the outlet to buy clothes by the pound; me doing so allowed me to get creative with different color, prints, ect., but in reality I was hoarding so much clothing. I had to purge my closet every 4-5 months.
I didn’t spend a ton of money each visit, but I summed up all of my receipts from 2019; I spent approximately $205 at Goodwill last year. It may not seem like much, but the amount of clothing was excessive and the process of getting rid of clothing literally took hours out of my day when I had more important things to do.
2020 was around the corner and I started getting busier around the holidays and didn’t really have time to put thought into my outfits. One day I decided to just wear the same jeans 4 days out of the week to see if anyone at my job noticed; realizing no one cared made me want to continue this same rotation in jeans, and throwing on a different Lip Tee or Purple Crewneck. I felt like a cartoon character; the only thing that changed was the top that I wore. As time progressed, I feel that my brand became most of my closet, along with brands by my friends, local brands of Los Angeles, and a very small portion of “high end” pieces. I still go thrifting from time to time, but I usually go with a purpose rather than buying on impulse.
I strongly agree that thrifting helps you find your style. Once you’ve acquired enough you will know, because you won’t have anywhere to put your new clothes. I compare it to iPhone storage, we have to delete apps just to make space. Hopefully after the first closet purge you will notice. It took me a few years to realize, but I’m still learning to let go. I would like to hear your response on how you get dress, how you feel about letting go of pieces from your closet, or even your best find at the thrift! leave a comment below.