Blouse - Vintage Havana, Altar'd State (Made in USA)
Skirt - Vintage, Goodwill
Sandals - Gianni Bini, Dillard's
Bracelet - Vintage, Great Aunt's
So what's been going on in my life since I last posted six months ago? Well, we had the usually holiday hub bub, followed by the first of the year, be a better person push. I'm drinking more water and eating more vegetables, and I've started running. Another resolution I have stuck with was one that started out somewhat unintentionally, purchasing only secondhand clothing. I didn't specifically resolve to avoid new clothing, it just kind of happened. I was throughly disgusted by the clothing factory fire and collapse in Bangladesh and even more disgusted with American retailers response (or lack of one). I read the book "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion" by Elizabeth Cline. There were just several things that added up to me saying, "You know what? I don't need new clothes." I've learned by now that I can satisfy my sartorial desires in a way that lessen my impact on the planet and on other people. I've keep my second hand only policy all year, until Saturday.
My parents were up and my mom and I were killing time at the mall. Since I'm not buying new that limits shopping options to Sephora and William Sonoma. The men folk weren't back from Cabela's so we decided to check out Altar'd State. I knew it was a Christian based store, but I didn't know what their angle was, modesty or more along the social justice line. Well, the shorty shorts in the window told me that it probably wasn't the first. We began browsing and after a while found a piece made in the USA. Intrigued, we searched further and before long I had a handful of US made clothing to try on.
I ended up buying three new pieces. Now, I don't know for certain the conditions of the factories in which the pieces were made, but at least by being US made hopefully they are following minimum wage as well as health and safety regulations (not to mention building regulations).
For now, I'll mostly stick to secondhand (still best for the environment regardless of where the new clothing is manufactured), but its good to know that when I'm craving something new there might be some slightly better alternatives out there.
