mfs on their way to happily fund one of the most environmentally damaging and human rights violating industries which are designed around making you buy new clothes as frequently as possible
66-85% of all textiles which are discarded end up in landfills, and 60% of clothing material is plastic (which is generally non-recyclable or can only be recycled very few times). the fashion industry contributes 10% of all global carbon emissions and 4% of all global waste, and creates the second most water & plastic pollution in the world out of any industry (first place belongs to the agriculture industry in creating the most water pollution & the petrochemical/oil industry in creating the most plastic pollution)
keep your clothes for a long time, it's good for your wallet AND the environment
I got a winter coat when I was 18. I wore it until I was 29. I only threw it out because it was falling apart so bad that I was annoying my coworkers because it would literally leave trails of jacket bits all over the place. I bought a $15 replacement and its gonna last at least another 5-10 years before I replace it again. No reason to waste money buying something new every year when what I already have works fine.
I had the same well made jacket I picked up at a outlet store dirt cheap for like a decade until I gave it to a homeless dude. I went back to that same outlet and grabbed a leather jacket that was cheap and well made as well. I've now had that jacket for about 8 years now and it's still going strong.
This is an interesting discussion point to look at, because for some people they seem to not understand that others, such as myself, genuinely love having many different styles and colors to choose from, as a way of self-expression.
I have clothing that is five to six years old, and also have clothing that is only a year or two, I will not deny. The clothes I had to get rid of where due to how much my body changed in the past five to six years, where I gave them to my local segunda where they give them or sell them for cheap. I got my use out of them. I even have a few outfits I've only worn so far once, because I've only had the one time so far, but when occasions arise I'll wear them again.
As long as you understand those perfectly fine 2 year clothes were an investment of natural resources and virtually slave labour and if thrown away get dumped in a desert somewhere to slowly kill our planet.
But at least you can express yourself, so it's ok.
That is most interesting, you seem to have misunderstood where I specified that some of the clothing I've had for the past five to six years. Then again, it also appears you misunderstood where I specified that the clothing I've had to get rid of I give to a local segunda that primarily gives away the clothing to those who could use it, and would want it.
Did you perhaps, not read what I wrote, but merely judged me based off the initial sentence? If that is the truth, then it is alright, but please, do in the future state so first so I know what to expect of you.
I dunno about raw, but I literally have jeans that are older than my teenager. about the only thing I wear-out are socks and t-shirts and usually they both last a few years each.
The Oscars are coming up. I wish that at least once, one single woman there would wear the same fucking outfit (OH MY GOOOD!!) as last year. No, we must make the dress, wear the dress, and burn the dress IN THE FIRY DEPTHS OF HELL NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.
Side note: Why is it ok for men to wear the same suit for 20 years?
That's a great question. As a man, I generally get annoyed by requirements/expectations for dressing a certain way or whatever, and a lot of times I just ignore the expectation because I don't care. I wonder if enough women acted like that if it would shift the expectation. An arbitrary social standard can only last if people enforce it and perpetuate it, and if enough people ignore it it'll start to die.
Less social pressure on me makes it easier to ignore expectations, but I think the point still stands
So the issue isn't the unrealistic and detrimental social pressures put on women surrounding clothing and appearance. The issue is that those goddammit women are all falling for it! If they just acted more like a man who has far less social fall out for failing to meet expectations then double standards would just disappear...
Edit: The strong victim blaming energy in some of these comments is pretty disgusting
It's not just men enforcing the social expectation.
Yes it's way more difficult for women since the social fallout is way bigger for them, that's the point of coordinating. Take unions for example, the fallout for an individual worker no longer putting up with bad pay/work environment/etc is they get fired. The fallout from most/all/at least the critical workers no longer putting up with a bad workplace is many of their demands are met and change occurs.
I think there's a similar analogy here, I for one am heavily in favor of women no longer putting up with the bs and I don't pressure people to wear arbitrary stuff. I usually try to encourage the people in my life to do whatever they want as long as they're not hurting anyone. But for an issue like this, what else do you want me to do? Frankly it's not the most pressing problem in the world
I'm not blaming the victims, I'm attempting to understand what's going on so that something can actually be done to fix it. Also, don't forget that the oppressed can become oppressors, and repeat the trauma they've experienced onto others. But it's not only victims who are to blame, obviously.
In my mind, there are a few paths forward which are not mutually exclusive. On the one hand, telling people to not enforce the lame social expectation is a good thing to do. But it only goes so far, often the people who are enforcing stupid expectations are stubborn and have other traits that prevent them from doing the right thing even if you point it out to them. So another course of action is for the oppressed to work together (and/or work with less-oppressed folks) to disrupt the oppression, take back their power, and force the oppressors to change their ways, if not their views. Being a victim does not always make you powerless, although it does reduce your power and can make you feel even more disempowered than you are. So the next step is to find strategies that overcome and/or work around those limitations.
edit: to put it a bit more concisely: there are people perpetuating the problem and people affected by the problem. It's not victim blaming to recognize that some of the people affected by a problem are also perpetuating it. Otherwise recognizing toxic masculinity would be victim blaming too, since men are negatively impacted by it and some of those same men perpetuate it
Because men defined the fashion industry. What women wear is what a small group of powerful men decided women should wear. And men don't just want women to be beautiful and sexy - they want women to work hard at it, and to spend a lot of time and effort and money on it. They want beauty and fashion to be difficult to attain, easy to fail at, and never taken for granted. Because they don't just want beautiful sexy women, they want those beautiful sexy women to compete for their attention, and to fear failing at it, so the entire fashion industry is set up to make women compete with one another for the male gaze.
A suit, on the other hand, signifies conservatism, tradition, power, and respectability. Men show their alliance with, and respect for, the power structures they're part of, by wearing the uniform of power. The modern men's suit descends directly from the court dress of the French monarchy. The fact it barely changes is part of the message.
coupled with the pockets paradox - when women represent 51% of the population, I cannot fathom how it continues to go on. All they'd need to do is show their concerted unity ONCE to wake up the fashion world and get it's head pulled out of it's collective ass.
There's a big disconnect between what women like that wear day to day and "outfits".
As a dude, they're the same thing.
But even women who won't wear the same "outfit" more than a handful of times still have work/casual clothes that they've had for years and constantly rotate.
For them an "outfit" is something for going out or special occasions.
In that context, it makes sense. If you're going out partying like that, people drop one or two hundred on food and drinks. Lots spend a good amount on drugs and cover charges too.
Dropping $300 on an outfit you'll wear a handful of times sounds stupid. But not if you're a woman and someone else pays for everything else for a night. It's downright frugal even.
Young men spend a lot of their money trying to attract women, and young women spend a lot of their money trying to attract men.
They're just spending it in different ways.
At least for women they still have something in the morning. I'd hate to think of how much money I blew through in my 20s on overpriced drinks at bars. A closet full of clothes I'd never wear again would at least be something
The best part about clothes is when you've worn them long enough for them to reach peak comfortability. I have this flannel jacket that I have had for 7 years that is starting to reach the end. It looks a little rough but God damnit it's the most comfortable jacket I have ever owned.
That's such a foreign concept to me! I wear my clothes over and over again until they are literally falling apart lol! Even then I might try to stitch them back together if they can be salvaged!
remember when patches were a thing? kid tore holes in their jeans, you patched them. decorative patches made clothes even cooler, more personalized. what the fuck man
