About the beginning of my day
Hello everyone. For whoever is new to my work and reading this, I am the founder of the Healthy Fashion Campaign and the author of Healthy Fashion: The Deeper Truths. I'd like to take a few moments to tell you about my mini thrift haul shopping that I did today—and some of what happened in my day.
It started off early. I got up fairly early and I went to the ocean, specifically the beach at Coronado Island called Coronado Beach. It is a beautiful ocean. So, I walked along the ocean, and I got so inspired by the nature, the seaweed, the views of Hotel del Coronado, and the walk. I ended up seeing dolphins swimming! I walked for about 40 minutes. I really needed the exercise.
After my walk by the ocean, I went to the thrift store, the Goodwill in Imperial Beach, California. It is about ten minutes south of Coronado Island. I was 15 minutes early, the store didn't open until 10 AM. I hadn't eaten any breakfast so I walked over to CVS and bought some trail mix, and a beef jerky/cheese stick. It was so good!
Before I tell you about what I bought, I want to say that I really like shopping at Goodwill. They are usually always organized and have a large selection of clothing to choose from.
My purchase from the Goodwill
My "Zen" mini thrift haul
I only bought a few clothing items, so, I am calling it a "Zen minimal thrift haul." It is a whole different thing if you are a thrift shop owner and you have to buy large hauls, but for people like me who are just shopping and want to pick clothes that work specifically for them. People that want to shop and know that they are going to wear the clothes they buy-- these are the people that should shop for mini hauls, not large hauls. I am a minimalist at this point in my life, and this is why I shop minimal. I don’t buy several pieces of clothing at a time, and zen, minimal shopping is part of my lifestyle right now.
Once people have smaller wardrobes, it is not easy to just shop a lot and have a large wardrobe. This is because you get into the rhythm of a minimal wardrobe, and having a smaller-sized wardrobe.
In the photos below, I show you what I bought from Goodwill, and I just bought only two pieces.
The secondhand shirt by Divided
It looks like a simple shirt, but it is not when you put it on. The cut and silhouette are very modern.
I love this new cute tee shirt. I really like the cut. I like how it is cropped. I love the sleeve length, I like the neckline. Yes, it is a very minimal design, but minimal design can still be complicated design. Also, I have been wearing a lot of tank tops and small teeshirts because at this point—it is so hot out here in San Diego, that I can’t even imagine buying warm clothes for the fall season yet.
The color of the shirt is pink, and it is very color-healing for me. When I wear it, it is going to make me feel happier. Pink is one of my favorite colors.
I support mass fashion vs. fast fashion
The brand name of the shirt is Divided, which is an H&M brand. Many people will boycott
Walmart, Target, and every other major mass-market retailer. The thing is they are all working right along with the other smaller brands in regard to producing sustainable fashion. They are trying too, and it is harder to be 100% sustainable on a larger scale.
There are tags still on the shirt I bought at Goodwill! One of the tags says 25% recycled cotton! That is good. The shirt is one of their conscious pieces from their "Conscious Choice" clothing capsule collections.
H&M has a report on their website called "Sustainability Disclosure 2021."
What I love about this pink top is that it is made of 97% cotton and 3% spandex fabric. I bought this piece because it was flattering. I am going to actually wear it. I support almost all brands. If something looks good on me and I know I am going to wear it, I will buy it.
I am not saying fast fashion is a good thing—but the top I bought from H&M is made from plant-based fabrics. Fast fashion is mostly made of polyester and synthetic garments. If they cut down on the production of synthetic fibers and produced more apparel made of plant-based fabrics, it would slow down the fashion industry. So I am supporting the plant-based products that they have. Mass fashion will never go away-- fast fashion will.
The secondhand skirt by Twenty One
The short skirt in the photo above is made by the brand Twenty One. This next piece that I bought is just a simple cotton jersey knit skirt with an elasticated waistband. This skirt has a nice thick waistband. The material of the skirt is thick too, I would consider it a mid-to-heavyweight fabric. The skirt will be good to wear in the fall season, or worn without tights in the spring and summer.
I love simple black, short jersey knit skirts. I used to own like five to seven of these skirt types, from different brands and in different colors. I used to wear them over my leggings. This skirt is a little too thick to wear with leggings. It is a great minimal, ergonomic design.
Cleaning the garments
I just wanted you to know that these two pieces smell bad. The pink shirt I got smells a lot like perfume. The other one doesn’t smell as bad. So I wanted to tell you to know how to remove the smell. One way to launder these clothes and remove the odor is to add baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and vinegar to your laundry washer. You can use that combination or add just one of those ingredients to your laundry detergent. They will remove the odors that are on the fabrics.
FINAL NOTE
I hope you like my mini thrift haul. I know it may be a little funny that I showed two pieces and called it a mini haul. The thing is, I have a Zen wardrobe, so this is all about "Zen hauling" and "minimal wardrobe hauling." When you have a small wardrobe, you can’t go out and buy twenty pieces.
When I was at the thrift store, I tried on about 12 pieces, and only 2 of them fit and worked for me. I actually do not think that is that bad. If I were to have tried on 24 pieces, I probably would have found about four to six pieces.
The thrift store that I went to was a little bit smaller—which is completely fine. They did have some very nice garment pieces. I did not look through everything. I didn’t even look through their sweaters and jackets. I only went through their shirts, tank tops, and some of their skirts.
I am going to have to go and get more biker shorts because I am a big fan of cotton/spandex leggings. Biker shorts are like a version of leggings. So, it is perfect for me. I do need more of them. I only have one pair of biker legging shorts and I have been hand washing them because I love to wear them so much!
Some of the more budget-friendly clothing items that I get at stores that some people are trying to boycott and I understand why they are, but-- one, to five, to ten years from now, those companies are going to be sustainable. Yes—part of it will be because people are noticing that some of the things that they are currently doing aren’t sustainable and talking about it, but at the same time, we can support the good things that they are doing. We can support the garments that they produce—the ones that we love.
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