c.2024, Broadleaf Books
$27.99
262 pages
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Truth Contributor
You don’t have a thing to wear.
Although, Fact One: your closet is bulging. Fact Two: your dresser drawers are so full, you can barely shut them. Fact Three: you obviously won’t go nekkid but your wardrobe needs a boost. First, though, read the new book What to Wear and Why by Tiffanie Darke and stop before you shop.
So what are you wearing? Right now, take a good look, and then think about where you got it. How long have you had it? Where was it made? Those are important things to know, says Darke, because fashion has gotten out of hand.
The average closet has “around 150 items” in it, and most of those shirts, skirts, pants, and shorts will be worn just seven to 10 times before they’re thrown away. “Americans,” she says, “buy an average fifty-two items of clothes a year…” and most are inexpensive and inexpensively made. This is bad for the consumer, it’s bad for workers in other countries, and it’s bad for the environment.
In times past, clothing was made of organic materials, mostly linen, flax, and silk for the wealthy and wool for everyone else. “The Industrial Revolution changed everything” by allowing cheaper manufacturing and in the 1940s, everything changed again when synthetic fabric became available. Problem is, synthetic textiles leach plastics into the air, earth, and water, and there’s no safe way to recycle them – which means that tons of discarded clothing ends up in landfills, “secondhand markets,” or in a pile in a desert overseas.
So what can you do about this issue?
Shop your own closet before you buy and keep only a small number of basic essentials. Don’t purchase more than five new items of clothing per year – and when you do, buy quality items or thrift what you need and resell what you don’t want anymore. Consider renting. Learn the art of repair and forget about “fashion.”
Instead, “Take inspiration from what is around” and “… develop your own style.”
You’re looking nice today, maybe because you put a lot of thought to what goes on your body. Now read What to Wear and Why and think about what goes in your closet.
Wanting to do better won’t be difficult after you’ve read some of the frightening statistics author Tiffanie Darke offers – stats that will resonate, and all but the most indifferent person will ask themselves if they really need four black tees. It helps that this is an easy book to understand and embrace, especially if you’re concerned with the environment and your wallet. The hard part will be actually following through with so much advice. Still, what Darke advocates is empowering and, let’s admit it, a fun challenge that will make you feel better about how you look and what you grab each morning.
Fashionistas will find something to think about in this book. The financially-challenged and new style-makers will find the right track here. What to Wear and Why is a book you’ll want to button up.