(Slow?) Fashion Report Card; 2020, My Year of the Dress . . .

Second half of January, past time to report on my garment purchases for 2020.  My friends Duchesse and  Sue have already posted theirs, each with some musings about slow fashion and fast fashion and the long-term effects of changes 2020 has made to our shopping habits. I’m not going to do any musing today, having done a fair bit here already. Last year, for example, after I posted my 2019 clothing purchases, I followed up with numerous posts referencing or directly concerned with Slow Fashion (and my attempts to be guided by the movement’s values): you can find those posts by clicking on the Slow Fashion tag/label just below this post.

Instead of musing, I chose to fill a page in my sketch journal. A “two birds, one stone” approach, if you will. . .  Showing up in my sketchbook; showing up at the blog. . . now if only I could do my Italian homework here as well 😉

In case you’re wondering about the unflattering footwear in this sketch, I can only tell you that Glerups felted-wool boot slippers are so comfortable that one might live in them all winter . . .

Here’s that journal page, with a sketch I scribbled on the back of an envelope while looking at my reflection in the mirror. . . then cut out and glued onto the page. Sue tells us, incredulously, of reading that the average American woman bought 76 pieces of clothing in 2013. Sue bought significantly fewer pieces, 1/3 as many her first year of reporting and she’s brought the number down since. This year, she sees that the number of purchases seems to be at a set point, and she’s concentrating on making those purchases more ethical (after first trying to establish what that might mean — it’s complicated and individual, really).

My own number dropped this year from 20 pieces bought in 2019 to 15 in 2020. Not surprising — we haven’t had anywhere to go! (although we did get out a bit over the summer, before numbers started rising again. . .

Here’s what I bought in 2020, in case you can’t read my writing on the page pictured above:

1. COS Navy and Brown wool Sweater dress (You can see it here; hard to believe that I bought it on a shopping expedition with a girlfriend — sans masks — before we knew what 2020 was delivering.

2. COS pink sweatshirt dress/tunic, bought on that same shopping day. You can see it here, where I ponder the reality of not being in Paris. . .

3. Cotton T, 3/4 sleeves, indigo-dyed such that it fades gradually, like denim. Made in Japan by a Japanese company called Homspun. Bought in my neighbourhood in a shop that sells a beautifully curated range of Japanese products for the home, stationery and wardrobe included. . . Pricey but my favourite T-shirt ever and based on how often I’ve worn it already and how well it’s wearing in, I’ll be wearing this for years. You can see it in this post.

4. The same cotton T, except in a pale pink. Equally enthusiastic about this, but will have to be careful not to stain it. . .

5. A lime-green linen dress, with coloured buttons down the back. This is the “Nana, I love your dress” dress.

6. Rust-coloured linen shirtdress  (Bought both 5 and 6 at the summer sale of a neighbourhood shop, independently owned and focused on ethical fashion as they define/understand it.

7. Pink and black print linen pants you can see here. I’ve been looking for comfortable linen pants in a fun print for some time, so I snapped these up when I saw them at an end-of-summer sale — another independently owned neighbourhood shop (although not my neighbourhood — we were visiting my son and this shop wasn’t far from our hotel; again, that seems another lifetime,  almost half a year now since I saw those grandkids).

8. Same sale, and I couldn’t resist an oversized crisp Classic White Cotton shirt. Big enough to work as a tunic and also as a beach cover-up. Something I hadn’t been looking for, but I know will be worn plenty.

9. One more garment in that shopping bag — a navy-white pinstripe cotton midi-length dress by Two Danes. I love this so much, and will get so much wear from it in our climate. Spring, Summer, Fall. . .

10. As the weather turned cooler and wetter, I became weary of jeans-and-sweater combos and decided to check out the new offerings in that independent boutique just a few kilometres away — perfect destination for an afternoon walk. . .  In my bag as I walked home, that grey wool dress I showed you in the previous post. . . .

11. And a grey wool/cotton sweater dress (cotton knit bonded to wool knit so the inside is smooth and cozy). I’ve sketched myself wearing it, in the photo above, and you can see it in this post. . . .

12. On that same outing, I also bought a silk print shirt, loose, in grey, white, yellow, and orange. See Sue’s recent post on The Anti-Haul Haul.. . .

Depending on your perspective, it gets worse. . . .

13. I went back the following week, having thought about a folkloric-print knit wool skirt by Ivko and resolving that I needed the colour in my life! November probably had something to do with that resolution, but we get a lot of grey around here and I haven’t regretted that purchase yet. . .

14. Still not done, though. I bought that silk-and-cashmere dress by Traces of Me. Of all the garments I bought in 2020, this was the one I was least sure of. In fact, even though dressing-up opportunities are limited right now, I’ve already worn it several times. Why, it’s even had an outing to my Local Yarn Store! Accompanied by a leather motorcycle jacket 😉

15. And finally, I bought a new silk scarf (a pattern of intersecting grids in black, grey, cream, yellow, and orange) to replace a ten-year-old favourite which somehow was blown off my neck (wrapped and loosely knotted, but silk can be so slippery!) on a stormy day — I retraced my steps to no avail and only hope that it’s been found and recognized it for the treasure it is, has been worn with joy ever since. . .

So that’s my wardrobe-acquisition account for 2020. No outerwear and, for the first year in forever, not a single pair of shoes.  And after that day with my girlfriend almost a year ago, when we perused “the high street” — Robson Street, here in Vancouver — and I bought those dresses at COS, I’ve done no more shopping in chain or department stores. All my purchases since have been made by small, independent companies and sold in small, independently-owned neighbourhood shops.  And no online shopping, as it just doesn’t suit me. Losing a favourite, very well-curated neighbourhood boutique  (five minutes from my condo staircase, and Paul and I have each bought a few items there each year since we’ve lived here) to the economic challenges of this pandemic has definitely reinforced that preference.

I’m aware that my report is also, to a certain extent, an account of privilege. I’m trying to be mindful, to exercise that privilege with responsibility — but also taking Conscious Joy in it, because otherwise it’s wasted. . . . I did say there would be no musing today, though, didn’t I?!

But should you wish to muse, or to comment at all, you know I’m always pleased to hear from you and to see what conversations evolve.