I read somewhere on the site about woman who gave up shopping for a year but I didn't have the time to respond to it and I have forgotten where it was posted. Though it is nothing like giving up shopping entirely, last fall I decided to buy only used clothing items, except shoes and underwear, for one year (I was inspired by an article I read about a woman who bought everything used for one year). My motivation for doing this as an attempt to conserve natural resources (less clothing in landfills, reduce amount of oil used to import products, etc.). I'm not sharing this to pat myself on the back or anything (I'm the worst for forgetting to bring reusable grocery bags into the store), instead I thought it might be interesting to a few of you.

I made it about 3 months without buying anything new and since then have made several totally new purchases. Although I wasn't a purist throughout the year, the experience did drastically change my shopping habits. For some reason I am now more prone to wait until I find exactly what I am looking for instead of settling for an "almost-but-not-quite" item. Shopping used requires a lot of patience & planning because it is unlikely I can run to the thrift store and purchase the outfit I have in mind only a day or two before an event. I have also had to get more creative because in most second hand stores the items are not merchandised in a collection and I've had to learn to piece together outfits on my own (with extensive reference to the YLF site). I have also come to appreciate quality a lot more. I believe putting out the extra cash for a higher quality item upfront can be a positive environmental gesture. Designer seems to age better than cheaply made clothing and can have a longer life. Also, I had a lot of things in my closet tailored this past year, something I hadn't done much of in the past. For example, I bought a beautiful jacket insanely on sale two years ago but never wore it because the sleeves were too long & they bugged me. Last winter I had the sleeves shortened and it is now a favorite. In the past I would have ignored it or given it away.

In the next few days I'll post some of my favorite used finds over the past year. It'll be fun to hear what you think about them!