Shopping like my Dad
While attending Sustainable Cleveland’s online seminar on “The Circular Economy and Fashion” the speakers suggested that the audience should try shopping like a 50-year-old man. Many of my friends take this advice very literally, and buy loads of large collared shirts and flannels, which always look great, but that is not what they meant by this advice. This advice is meant to suggest that consumers should buy new clothing less often and keep wearing their clothes for as long as possible. Although not all 50-year-old men follow these guidelines and people from different demographics can also share these traits, I realized that my dad is a great example of a man around 50 years of age who keeps his clothes for forever, and buys very few new clothes.
Image via UnSplash. (This is an image of a random man, not my Dad).
My dad has a jean shirt that he has kept since college. He also only buys new clothes once his old ones have a bunch of holes in them, and even then he has been known to keep those hole-y clothes for gardening. Every couple of years for Christmas he asks for a packet of white t-shirts and those last him as long as he can muster. He always says that he does not understand the exorbitant collection of shoes that my mom and I have collected over the years. He has a pair of business shoes, a pair of nice sneakers, and a pair of the most decrepit, grass-stained sneakers ever (sorry dad, thanks for mowing).
I love fashion. I have always tried to keep up with and predict trends. I read my giant Smithsonian fashion through history book weekly. So, my dad’s minimalism with clothing has always confused me. However, I do believe I can learn from the way he views clothing. Clothes are an investment that should last you as long as they possibly can. No matter if the clothes are white t-shirts or the latest trend. Check out my article on increasing the lifespan of your clothing: here. Clothing swaps also help increase the life-span of your clothes (wink, wink)!
Image via UnSplash. (This is also not my dad).
Also, purchasing less clothing, as my dad does, is helpful to the environment. There are tons of outfit combinations that can come from a collection of only a few basics.
Overall, as someone who loves to create outfits in a way that my dad cannot necessarily relate to, I might not understand his lack of interest in clothing. Nevertheless, I want to learn to place less value in having a large wardrobe and buy fewer clothes which I can make last longer. That is what Sustainable Cleveland meant when they said to shop like a 50-year-old man. And that is definitely what it means to shop like my dad.
