To be honest I was struggling this week to come up with a post that was going to be engaging to read and an issue that was something I felt strongly about. But Monday morning came and having wrecked my brain all weekend, when I opened my wardrobe doors the issue in question was basically staring me right in the face. Clothes.
So we all put some sort of garments on our bodies in the morning, women and men alike. We can't really go about our day without having something to wear, even if it is just a pair of Harry Potter pyjamas. The words 'I've got nothing to wear' escape my mouth on a weekly basis, as I'm sure you are all too familiar with. Even the men out there, I know that you know the struggles as well. Luckily I have a work uniform that I wear most days of the week or I would be always battling with my clothes to come up with new outfit ideas. Up until recently I was constantly fighting the urge to buy new clothes all of the time. Social media, in particular, adds massive pressure and a need to always have something new to wear. I will hold my hands up in saying that in the past I would have never wore the same outfit two days in a row. I mean what if someone passes remarks that the exact dress you wore yesterday, you are wearing today. But who actually cares?
As I was dressing myself on that Monday morning I tried on four, yes, FOUR different outfits as I knew I wanted to take a few photos for this blog post. After taking off the tenth piece of clothing and throwing it onto the floor, the red mist started to descend. Most women should be familiar with this red mist when trying to pick something to wear. Oh and a few choice words slipped out as well. But! After 5 minutes of some gentle breathing, I caught myself on. Is this really worth it? So I put on the same pair of boots and jeans I wore in my last blog post (shock horror) and threw on something I liked and not something that I think you might like. After all, the boots cost me £90 and I'm bloody well going to wear them to death. It's sad that, God forbid any bloggers out there wear the same outfit in a blog post!
OK, so I'm sure you are thinking, "Orlagh get off your high horse and stop the preaching." I just want to clarify that I love clothes. I always have. I love following trends. I love scrolling Instagram and seeing how other people put outfits together. I love seeking inspiration from Pinterest. And I love seeing the delivery man coming with my recent clothing purchases. Have we established that I love fashion? My degree was in fashion design for flip sake, so I'm not going to say that I suddenly don't enjoy fashion and not buying clothes. Because I do.
But after listening to a podcast recently called 'Girls with Goals' my perception of fashion and clothing consumption has changed slightly. The episode titled 'Change is coming' discusses ethical fashion and the Repeal the 8th movement, with Aisling Bea and Angela Scanlon; two women I urge you to follow on social media. I'll not ruin the specifics of what is debated in case you want to give it a listen yourself, but it basically outlines how we all need to be more conscientious about our fashion choices.
So some of you may disagree with me when I say that females are the drivers of fashion in this world. I think it's pretty much a given. Our vast consumption of clothes is a female problem. The amount of female fashion bloggers out there is proof of that. And we don't realise the extent of how clothing is a huge polluter, almost equal to food wastage. In today's age we are so tuned into where our food comes from and how we can help the planet and ourselves by consuming the proper foods. But do we actually take into consideration where our clothes come from? It is predominately other women who make our clothes and we need to question why that Primark jumper costs £7. At university I have sat at a knitting machine hours on end in the comfort of a nice warm room listening to music, taking breaks whenever I like. Somehow I don't think those who are making some of our clothes have that luxury.
There is almost a snobbery in this country when it comes to buying clothes. A great example is the dilemma faced when attending weddings. Don't look now but the fashion police are out making sure you aren't wearing the same dress you wore a few months ago at Claire's wedding. It's a bit ridiculous. However on the other side of that there is almost this code of honour that we don't spend much money on clothes.We have all uttered the words 'it's from Primark, only cost me a fiver'. We are almost proud of the fact that we purchased such a bargain!
I want to stress that I haven't wrote this blog post to make you feel guilty about how we think about clothing. I am very much guilty of a lot of things discussed here. I wanted to write about something that affects us all, but mainly women, and to try and change our attitudes slightly towards buying clothes. I'm not saying I'm the queen of reusing and recycling my outfits. I'm a massive hoarder. I have four bin bags of clothes in my attic I don't wear to prove that. I'm not saying that we should stop buying clothes, because that would be no fun. I love the buzz of buying something new. I just wanted to try and bring more awareness to our buying habits. It's taking the time to love the clothes you have bought and wearing them 100 times until that blue sweater is turning a nice shade of grey. It's also about taking the time to be more aware of what other high street brands are trying to do help with this issue.
If there is one thing you take away from reading this, it is not to necessarily change your opinions but to be more aware of this worldwide issue. I hope that this blog post will make you more mindful of your buying habits, specifically when it comes to buying clothes. And maybe you will take some time to discover our countries independent designers.
Orlagh x
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