Slow Fashion October OTD (outfit of the day)

 I started the day at the gym.

Shoes: ANCIENT and resoled shoes bought on sale.  Over 10 years use so far.  They are good leather and comfortable.   They got demoted to gym wear as the top is separating from the sole a bit and the glue doesn't hold as long when used outside.  

Socks:  Gift

Pants: bought for 1$ at thrift 2 or 3 years ago.  They just live in the gym bag.

Undies...old.

Foundation garment: See previous post. Same one.

Shirt: tank top purchased at thrift maybe a decade ago.  It's an eddie bauer or something and just will not wear out.

I also did yoga while there.

yoga bag: gift (actually, it was a gift bag but is a nice canvas shopping bag that now transports yoga stuff)

Blocks: bought on super sale during a 'rona closure of a local studio

Strap: I think I paid retail for this but it was like 15-20 years ago.

Mat: super cool FOLDING yoga mat bought at thrift for 2$ or so.  Used for several years now and shows no wear.  I like the flat fold better than the roll.  I can travel with it in a suitcase.  

Towel/blanket: Gramma got me this when I STARTED college so it is over 37 years into pretty well daily use.  It's thin but still soaks up liquids like water and sweat.  

Slow Fashion October: Another OTD (outfit of the day...see how I am all hip with the lingo if it is 1998)

 I WILL have a change of shoes here in a bit so I'll include both options:

Boots: bought by my job, warm insulated rubber boots.  Wore them home one day and back to work today to get them back to the office.  I wore them 5 times in the last week.

Shoes: Bought on deep sale 2 or 3 years ago.   Not thrift, I think they cost about 50 or 60$.  I wear them 3-5 days a week in fall and spring depending on weather.   They are good leather with good soles so will last a while. 

Socks: gift (thanks Chris!)

Jeans:  Ancient thrift jeans, this is day 1.  If I can keep them clean they will see several wearings this week.

Belt: Same as before.

Undies: Bought new, but worn weekly for about a year an a half.  They were part of the early 'rona underwear stock up that allowed me to go 2 weeks between laundry runs which saves $$.

Foundation garment:  Bought on super sale at Ross or TJMaxx.  Over a year ago.  Worn tons.  Protip: It is grey and grey bras don't look dingy like white ones after a year or so.  I don't generally use bleach and have touchy skin so whites get dingy looking.   Solution: avoid white clothes.

T-shirt: From a giveaway at work.

Button down (because I thought I had a meeting but now it is canceled):  Bought at thrift years ago.  I am pretty sure I paid 4-5$.  I usually stop at 2$ but this is a high quality shirt in orange (not a fave color but counts as "high visibility" on construction sites), it fits my line-backer shoulders and long monkey arms, AND has the coveted DOUBLE pit zips (vents for hot days) so I can wear it a lot all year.  Hence, it gets worn almost weekly.  I get compliments.  It is an REI or Eddie Bauer brand.  I'm not a brand rat but those two do tend to be high quality construction and fabric, along with a few other brands, so when I see them at thrift, I give them a 2nd look even if they are above the usual 2$ limit on shirt price.

Hair tie: Haven't picked one yet but all the ones with me are used.  I know this because they are around the bottom of my travel french press (thrift, obv) and it looks like it is wearing a fuzzy bracelet.  Tons of hair stuck in the ties.

Next time I buy some new garment, or maybe those carhartts mentioned in a previous post, I should put a dot or hash on the inside of the garment each time I wear it.  Then I can track the "cost per wear".  With some of my 2$ shirts I'm pretty confident we're approaching a penny a wearing.

Slow Fashion October Outfit of the Day

 Today...

Boots bought on deep sale (35$ usually 135$) and worn...80-100 times so far. 

Sox: none.  You don't need any with these boots unless it is cold out.  They are lined with cotton flannel

Jeans:  Thrift, worn 5 times so far this week.  Purchased many years ago.

Belt (I forgot this last time!):  Thrift, 3$ and I resented the cost, real leather sturdy belt with a brass buckle.  Worn almost everyday. Bought years ago.  could be 1000 wearings so far.  I reverse the direction it goes in the pants each time so it doesn't get that permanent dip in the back from always being worn the same direction.

Undies:  NEW!  but from thrift.  First wearing.  They are from that pack that was still sealed and the undies still taped to the cardboard insert that I found at thrift.  The pair I changed out of were in tatters. Clearly over 7 wearings.

T-shirt: Gift (thanks Chris) several years ago.  The collar is starting to get a bit wonky, but no holes yet.  Worn about once every 2 weeks for 2 years.  100ish wearings.

Foundation garment: It is on day 5 like the jeans.  I haven't sweat much this week and no one is going to be around me at work today (it's a holiday but I'm going in to make up some time rather than use vacation time for a day last week).  Bought new at deep discount at Ross Dress for Less. Probably 5-8$.  That's the price range I wait for for the high end foundation garments.  

Coat: Thrift, years ago.  

Hairties: dollar store.  Not sure how many times one hairtie gets worn.  Until it breaks.

Even Slower Fashion October

 Yeah, that's right.  Struggling with titles.  Leave it alone.

I talked to a couple of friends and they too were stunned at the thought of wearing something a few times and chucking it or donating it.  We were chatting and wearing clothes with visible wear and tear from age, wearings and work (and my tendency to run into barbed wire).

E.G. today's ensemble:

Shoes bought new and worn almost daily since I got them (on sale) (obviously) so over 100 times so far.

Sox:  Gift (Thanks Marcie!) and worn 2x so far this week.  I got them over a year ago and they are summer weight so probably over 100 wearings to dat.

Pants:  Jeans bought at thrift (hopefully after the original owner wore them more than a few times).  I've had them 2 years or more.  I put clean jeans on Mondays and wear them until they are stinky/dirty or it's the weekend.  So, day 2 this week.  And I wore them last week .   Right now I have 4 pairs of jeans in rotation and haven't put a new pair in the mix for over a year so...lots of wearings.

Undies: bought new in the box, but at thrift (and as it turns out a size too small but dammit I WILL get my money's worth out of these).  I've had them since the beginning of 'rona.  Many wearings...unlike jeans, they get worn once and washed, not for the week.

"Foundation Garment": ...ok, it's the bra.  BOUGHT NEW (at TJMaxx) over a year ago.  I have 4 in rotation so it must get 365/4 wearings per year...OK, true confessions, no bras on the weekend so more like 265/4 per year.  About 66 wearings per bra per year.   I do have one bra that is a frankenbra made from 2 others.  1 had the hooks all torn up and stabbing me but was otherwise fine, the other was so low cut in the front that the hams weren't staying in the sack unless I was just sitting at a desk all day.  So, hooks off both, good hooks sewn onto the better formatted bra, and voila...more life in that foundation garment.

Shirt: a tank top for under button downs.  I got it at thrift YEARS ago.  Like I can't remember how many years ago. It is a really good quality one and won't seem to wear out.  If I've had it 3 years (it's been longer), I wear the tank tops half the year under button downs and to yoga etc,, one wearing then washed.  So, about 20 wearings a year per tank which puts this at 60 wearings minimum and I'm thinking more.

Sweatshirt: like the jeans, put on on Monday (always with a t-shirt or tank under sweatshirts to keep them less sweaty), and wear it until soiled.  I wore it 3 days last week, 2 so far this week.  Had it a year, wear it half the year.  50+ wearings.  Bought at thrift and it has the design section of a previous sweatshirt applique'd on it (thanks Anne!).

Coat:  Bought at thrift over 5 years ago.  It is a letterman's jacket from the 1990s.  Super warm and sturdy.  Worn lots in the winter.  I'm going to say 50+, likely 100+ wearings.  

I did buy 3 more undies because I found them new in the box, and in the right size, at thrift.  Also got a new or nearly new pair of Carhartt work pants at thrift (10$!!!  so expensive but they fit and have no spandex.  We know how I feel about spandex).  They are at the bottom of the pile of 3 pairs of work pants.  As the ones above them wear out, these will come into rotation.  Or if I fall in the creek twice and get down to the third pair in a day.

R.I.P. Pearl

Pearl, ca. 2018-2021

 

One of the many free chickens, Pearl, has passed away.

Pearl lived a good life laying many eggs.  MANY eggs.  She was spent.  Her final days were passed in chicken hospice with full palliative care (food and water in reach without getting up and no other birds bugging her).  She took her time moving to the great beyond.  Her body was buried at sea, or will be once the creek starts running again.