Living Lightly

I'm living up to my title for today's post.



I was greatly inspired and intrigued by some statements that were made by Midoritsuru (a lovely gal I came into acquaintance with through wardrobe_remix) on bits and bobbins' blog in a "remix(ers)_revealed" post. You can read the whole post here, but here's just a snippet:

"Currently my greatest passion and obsession is reducing my material impact on the Earth. For the past few years I’ve been making an effort to move towards a lifestyle which is simpler, more sustainable and more harmonious. I find myself thinking throughout the day, what more can I do to make less waste? What more can I do to live lightly on the Earth? This is what I’m most preoccupied with lately."

In addition to Midoritsuru's awe-inspiring attitude, I was also offered some constructive criticism recently by a friend. He suggested that I base a little more focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling.

Dean also gave me some helpful advice, suggesting that I "beef up" my blog a bit, which I agree with. While I still enjoy my fashion-based blog, I'd like to keep things fun and interesting, and I think incorporating a focus on RRR power, I can achieve that. I'm hoping to include posts about different ways one can "live lightly," including some fun DIY refashioning projects, and I'd especially love to show off some of the blogs out there that focus solely on recycling and sustainable fashion.

For starters, I'd like to talk about (what else?) the joys of thrifting! One man's trash is another man's treasure, it's so damn true. I personally do about 99% of my shopping in thrift stores. Thrifting provides you with the opportunity to:

• Reuse! (the second "r", people!)
• Find things you wouldn't be able to find in a store, especially vintage items, if that's your thang.
• Be original! You rarely run the risk of someone else having the same outfit as you.
• Live lightly not only on the planet, but on your wallet! You can't beat the prices you'll find in your local thrift shop.

Often, when a person compliments a certain item I'm wearing, and I tell them I got it at Goodwill, they'll look at me in disbelief, and sometimes in disgust! I've had more than one person comment, "I would never get caught shopping there." When I was growing up, my mom refused to set foot in the Salvation Army or Goodwill, because she was under the impression that thrifting was only for the needy or destitute. Wrong! Here are some examples of some truly fabulous ladies in their thrift shop finds, via the "100% Thrifted" flickr group:




1. johnnycutcorners
2. irene_adler
3. nemrešpobje?odnedjel je
4. sjwhidden
(Click the fine ladies' picture or name to view their flickr page.)

In closing, have a gander at some of these fantastic eco-friendly links rep'n the RRR.

• Humane Recipe
• Painfully Hip's thrift stars
• Wardrobe Refashion
• "100% Thrifted" (flickr group)
• "TRASHIONISTA - Sustainable style and recycled fashion" (flickr group)