“Love the one you are with” Steven Stills
February is a celebration of love and friendship with conversation candies or sweetheart candies saying: best day, be true and you are mine. Yet we know our clothing pieces can also use tender loving care every day of the year not just Valentine’s Day. So here I’ve thought of practical tips to help you take care of your clothes and save yourself some money along the way.
Thrift It
I use to go thrifting back in the nineties but I have completely fell off the thrift scene in college. What a bummer. Now in California I went back to these stores, fell in love, and I haven’t looked back. California must be majoring in thrifting because I am struck with happiness here. I must mention I am picky but I still recommend thrift stores.
There’s a lot of great new thrift stores that can buy you gently used items or you can simply add a new accessory or jacket to your wardrobe at half the price.
San Diego, CA
M.I.Y.O (Make It Your Own) is a small boutique store in downtown Escondido, California. It’s got a great selection of jackets, shoes, sunglasses and dresses for women and a decent section for men tops and pants as well as shoes.
L.A., CA
Wasteland: a quality thrift store with bargains on blouses, denim, and new products never worn. Check it out.
Mend it
Sometimes it’s easier to just buy things. But when you are on a budget you consider the life of your clothes. If your shirt is completely unwearable, turn it into a rag or reuse for a household apparel.
But let’s say you have a blouse and there’s a button missing or you need to mend it simply take it to a tailor or have your dry cleaners fix it. But please don’t throw it out. The Average American throws out 81 pounds a year. What?! Yes, that’s so much waste. Wait, that’s a total of 26 billion pounds of textiles for America. Yuk. Don’t throw it out.
Swap and Sip
Another way to meet up and talk fashion is through swap and sips. What’s better? Sip on your favorite drink and swap your gently used clothes and meet others who are like-minded that can give your clothes new life. Some sip and shop events are with new clothes or vintage clothing boutiques around major cities.
Donate to friends/family
I was very grateful to friends and family who helped me out when my son was born and donated literally bags of clothes sizes. Hello?! Savings! But while we added clothing to his wardrobe it helped immensely to know there were more clothes as he grew quickly. Whether it’s a neighbor or a classroom in a nearby school, ask your network and I can bet quickly there’s a family in need that would be grateful for your donations. Donating to your local women’s shelter or a friend of a friend in need is your best bet. Donating to other used clothing shops is good too. The smaller the clothing shop the better. Women or children’s clothes can be sold to Clothes Mentor, Buffalo Exchange, Thredup and Ebay.
Shop Quality Items
Not ready for thrift stores? Who likes low quality clothing? No one especially if it doesn’t last. Or you can say “adios” to your hard earn money. Shopping at quality apparel retailers: Everlane, Eileen Fisher, People Tree, Matter Prints, Reformation, Veja, and Nudie Jeans are some alternatives . Who says they regretted a great pair of jeans especially when they last so well?
So go on and love your clothes and find new ways to love them even more. Life is fast. Make your clothes timeless and love them to their fullest. How are you investing in your clothing? The average American is paying $1700 per year for apparel according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. How do love you clothes? What kinds of sales are you catching with sustainable clothes? What is your go to staple piece of clothing? I love jeans and dresses but more on that in the next blog post. Feel free to sign to e-newsletter up for more ethical apparel stories. Next one, I will blog about my adventures thrifting on my budget. Happy Valentine’s Day to all the apparel lovers. Mua & smiles!!