Laume's Studio

The Pledge

I, Laume, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period 6 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed, _Laume_.

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I've signed up for the six month refashioning pledge. I could have signed up for a two month stint, or a four month, but what the hay, in for a penny, in for a pound. The sign up period started on July 1st and I almost forgot and broke my pledge in the first few days when I was in Reno the other day. We were in Ross, looking at patio furniture, but I spied these adorable green shorts that screamed my name. They were in my size, yippee, so I tried them on. Fortunately they rode up the middle of my butt, it happens when you have a high waist, and that's when I remembered I wasn't buying anything new - oh yeahhhhh - so I was saved by a bad fit and gratefully handed them back to the lady in charge of the dressing rooms.

I also bought some new fabric (the dangerous side effect of a flat tire!) and I'm sort of thinking that was skating really near the edge of what is allowed. I notice other refashioners are only using thrifted, gifted, or already owned fabric, and I had already decided months ago to personally pledge to use up my huge stash and not buy anything new anyway. But it doesn't count if you're buying to finish up something specific I think, or for someone else. I had to buy t-shirts for William, an outfit for Joli's faery costume, and eventually I'll have to buy some shorts for hubby.

Yesterday I was in Walmart (only place in town really, sorry) for another reason and they have new women's fashions out. I fondled a few things and then decided it was not a good idea to linger. So far I've been amazed at my lack of purchasing desire, but I know that there will probably be moments of weakness and forgetting (like the other day) or I'll want to impulse buy to compensate for some stress or worry. Yesterday I could feel the itch to bring something home. Instead I left (yah me!), went home and sorted out the over abundant clothing I already own. I swear I found a couple things I not only forgot I owned, I don't even remember ever seeing them before at all! Now all my hanging shirts/blouses, vests, skirts, and dresses are all sorted into piles. I didn't reduce any of it yet, just set the piles aside, as I had to make dinner and do some laundry before we went to see the fireworks.

It was probably a good idea to sleep on it because I woke up thinking about those piles and realized I could now sort and reduce them with a bit more objectivity. I'm starting to see a small light at the end of the wardrobe tunnel. I started sorting through my wardrobe despairing of actually making it fit into my tiny closet/storage space. Now I'm beginning to believe I might actually do it. Not with room to spare or anything, but at least all of it squeezed in. And maybe a year from now it will be easier to see which items that are left still aren't being used and can also be forwarded on to someone else. I do want to actually refashion some items - not only clothing, but costumes of course, and bags. But for me, it's more about not bringing anything new into the house. Even if I don't have much to show in the way of new creations, I'll keep you posted on the Not Buying end of things.

I noticed that I'd inspired my .... well, she's not really related to me but I think of her that way - my daughter-in-law's sister - let's call her my niece, Elena, to also sign up. She doesn't have anything to show yet either but hopefully she will later this summer. She's very creative so I'm looking forward to seeing what she's inspired to make.

Now if I can just talk my daughter-in-law into it - she's already a skilled and experienced refashioner!

My friend Julie, who inspired me to sign up in the first place, is also continuing with the pledge. She's been on a skirt making mission this summer.

You can also check the main Wardrobe Refashion blog where pledge members can post their photos and stories, as well as the Flickr Wardrobe Refashion group photos. And not connected, but also fun to browse, the Flickr Wardrobe Remix group, where people can post pictures of their street fashion creativity.