I pulled these capri’s out of my closet. Nice, business casual ones for work. Still in great shape and I can wear them again! Then, as I calculated back, I realized I have had them since 2005. 17 years? How is that possible?

I had read about ‘fast fashion’ and mis-leading claims in the fashion industry about brands being environmentally conscious. Fast fashion is the manufacturing and marketing of clothes to rapidly produce high volumes of clothes. Which isn’t environmentally friendly, or course. And brands claim that their clothes are made in a sustainable way, or earth friendly, which is more of a marketing ploy, it seems.

I have always been what you could call a pack-rat. I am definitely getting better as the years go by and being able to let go of things I really won’t need. I think this has been driven by 2 things. Often, in the past if I did give something away or get rid of it, it seemed to be the thing I would later need and would regret getting rid of, resulting in the fear of ever getting rid of anything again. The other reason, being money saving. If I kept it, I wouldn’t have to buy it in the future. Win-win.

You know that old phrase, ‘waste not, want not’? Side note: silly story. I didn’t get that. If you don’t waste it, you don’t want it? What? How does that make sense? And then I clued in one day, if you don’t waste something, you are not in ‘wanting’ of it – old speak. We don’t talk like that now, so it took me a while. 😂

So I have a closet full of quite a few clothes I guess. A lot of it, I don’t wear all the time. I do have some old stuff. When you are 20, you haven’t been around long enough for styles to change much, but now that I am 40, if you keep something long enough, it comes back in style! The style more recently was tight fitting pants, but that has now changed, and loose or flared styles are back in again. So when I pulled these Capri’s out, they are just loose enough to be ‘in season.’

I used to keep everything, but now that has shifted. I have to be more intentional with what I choose. I am deciding that if the item is good quality and a classic piece, then I will keep it. I had bought items in the past that just don’t hold up even sitting in the closet – which is a quality issue. But I have ‘business wear’ pants, blazers and nice jackets that have held up and stood the ‘test of time.’ Some nice sweaters have held up very nicely too. When I get home from work, I throw on leggings and more casual tops and keep the work wear in the closet. I realized recently that I still had track pants that I must have bought in 1999. They are American Eagle, bright green – I love them, with a reflective stripe on the side of each leg. I pulled these out again for my morning walks with the puppy as they are bright and visible. I have a fabric book / shopping bag from the late 90s as well. I use it all the time. The other weekend I did go through my closet and purged out some stuff that didn’t fit my new criteria for keeping, and I am quite pleased with what I have remaining in my closet. It might not be stuff I wear all the time, but it is stuff that I will get use out of. It feels good because I can keep using clothes that I love, and be mindful of what I choose to buy, when I do buy something new.

Sending Love,

Devon