Women, Fashion, and Consumerism: Part 3
In the final episode of our three-part series on women, fashion, and consumerism, the discussion centres around our obsession with fast fashion and the constant pursuit of "newness".
Key topics include habituation and its influence on wardrobe choices, the concept of wardrobe freeze, and the importance of creative ownership in fostering a love for one's clothes, as well as practical steps to curb consumption, cultivate personal style, and embrace sustainable fashion.
Guests:
Mentioned in this episode:
About the show:
This is Reloved Radio: Sustainable Fashion Stories, the fortnightly show that brings you inspiring stories from guests who are making a positive impact in the sustainable fashion space.
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Credits:
Music: 'Old Leather Sneakers' by PineAppleMusic
Welcome back to Reloved Radio.
2
:This is the final episode
in our three-part series on
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:women, fashion and consumerism.
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:And today, we're talking about why
we keep outsourcing our personal
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:style to fast fashion, instead of
focusing on what we already own.
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:We discussed habituation and how
it relates to our wardrobes, the
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:constant pursuit of newness and
the importance of taking time to
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:find and love our personal style.
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:We also touch on the concept
of a wardrobe phrase and how
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:creative ownership can lead us to
cherish and wear our clothes more.
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:But before we dive into today's episode,
I want to give you a quick heads
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:up that we experienced a few audio
issues in some parts of this episode.
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:So while the sound quality isn't perfect
at times, we promise that the content
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:is exceptional and well-worth a listen.
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:This one's a two-part question.
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:First of all, why are we so obsessed
with the pursuit of the new.
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:And then following on from that, how does
that drive our reliance on fast fashion?
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:Charlie: I mean there's a
shame in aging, isn't there?
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:We're constantly aging.
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:We're a problem that needs to be solved.
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:We don't want to have our natural hair
colour because it always looks more dull.
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:We don't want our skin to sag because
it means that we're ageing, it means
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:that we're no longer the newest thing.
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:I mean, even you look at the quarter
life crisis that people have at 25.
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:Probably about to hit that one myself,
is that we are no longer the new people.
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:We're no longer the fresh 18 year olds
that were, cool and knew what's going
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:on and with the trends, I think that
we're constantly being sold the narrative
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:in a society, especially as women.
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:I mean, obviously it can apply to
all genders and people and everyone
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:that at some point we're shiny
and new and there comes a point
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:where we stop being shiny and new.
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:So we're basically playing catch
up for the rest of our lives.
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:And we can find that
in a form of clothing.
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:We can find that in a new house, a
new car, a new bag, a new this, new
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:that, because we're constantly have
some sort of expiry date on ourselves.
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:And I feel like a big commentary on that
is watching how we're seeing younger
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:girls, especially start to look older
when they're teenagers and immediately
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:start to be told that they need.
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:Hardcore skincare at the age of 16.
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:And, I mean, we saw the whole
Sephora tweens trend that
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:came up earlier in the year.
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:Can we talk about the fact that
nine year olds are going into makeup
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:stores and buying hardcore skincare
because they are apparently aging?
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:They are fresh out the womb!
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:They are still They are
like They're children!
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:I mean, I still feel like a child myself,
and Like I even see targeted ads towards
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:me being like, yes, you are aging.
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:I'm like, what do you mean?
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:I just became an adult.
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:I'm 23 and we're constantly
being sold this narrative
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:that we are actually expiring.
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:So we need to fill that void with new
clothes and make ourselves look new again
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:and give ourselves Botox and fresh hair
and fresh this and fresh that because
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:there's this need to be shiny and new.
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:Otherwise we're just old and aging.
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:Jacinta: We're conditioned that old
is bad, old is used, old is not
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:fun, it's not fresh, like it's all
marketing to us, but old is actually
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:amazing, getting older is amazing.
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:And it is a privilege And I learned that
from a young age because the first few
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:funerals I went to in my 20s were for
people who were around the same age as me.
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:And so going to a funeral for
someone who has actually lived or
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:gotten to live to an older age in
their 80s was like really moving.
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:And then, so I've always just been
conscious of like our approach to
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:life because our time is limited.
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:The way the world works, like we're
conditioned to be distracted, that
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:like we aren't enough, we don't have
enough if we just get this thing, like
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:we'll feel better and if we have, a
new outfit each week and it's just
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:feeds like the dopamine receptors
whereas it's a real skill to sort of
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:sit with and not, reaching for external
validation through purchasing things
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:or yeah, you're like the environment
that you're in sort of trying to change
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:it up and fill it with like new items
that are meant to make you feel better.
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:Chryssius: What about habituation?
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:How does this concept apply
to our wardrobes and influence
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:our consumption habits?
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:Hazel: So habituation is the
concept that the more we see
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:something, the less it thrills us.
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:And this is actually something that
Lauren Bravo talks about in her book,
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:"How to Break Up with Fast Fashion".
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:And it's really talking to the concept
that the more we see something,
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:the less we are thrilled by it,
the less we find there's novelty
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:there, the less we're drawn to it.
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:And it doesn't matter if we have worn
that piece once, twice, or never.
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:It's just the fact that we're seeing
it every day when we go into our
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:wardrobes that we're not drawn to
potentially putting it on or wearing it.
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:Chryssius: This is super relatable
and I'm definitely guilty of that.
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:Hazel: Yeah, I mean, we all are.
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:I've got pieces hanging in my
wardrobe even now that I look
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:at and I think, nah, boring.
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:But it's still a really important
element of an outfit and it's just
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:that by seeing it every day, it
just doesn't bring us interest.
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:And that's really based on, our
lizard brains, our survival brains
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:that need to keep searching for the
new things that kept us alive in the
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:dawn of humanity, is the thing that's
almost destroying humanity now, is
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:that constant search for the new.
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:Vive: The novelty was something that
sprung to mind for me, but it's almost
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:as if like things being habitual can
be criticized for being unconscious,
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:and the reason that we create habits is
so that we reduce our cognitive load.
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:But I wonder if you brought intentionality
to habits, and you built the relationship
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:with the pieces of clothing that
you had in your closet, whether that
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:would change the boredom and the
desire for the new that happens when
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:you're looking at those pieces again.
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:Hazel: I absolutely agree.
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:that's kind of what I was mentioning.
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:It's like, now that I look at my
wardrobe, having only had these items
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:in it for however long, I now know
how each piece is able to be worn.
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:And so the pieces in my wardrobe don't
bore me and I don't feel annoyed by them
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:because I'm like you're a really key
piece and a great tool in this outfit,
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:this outfit, this outfit, this outfit.
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:Like I know how they work and I know
how they work on my body and the
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:work that they do in my wardrobe.
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:So, you know, For me,
you're absolutely right.
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:I have that relationship with
the pieces and they give me joy.
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:Vive: And, they have a
relationship with each other.
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:So what I hear you describe is there's
an ecosystem in the wardrobe and
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:you can bring the novelty yourself.
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:You don't have to go outside of
that wardrobe to find the novelty.
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:You bring it through the creativity that
you have with what you're working with
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:and your relationship to those things.
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:Hazel: Yeah.
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:Chryssius: And a lot of it has to do
with personal style because Hazel,
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:I know you taking the time to really
cultivate your own personal style.
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:We know that it takes time,
but we just don't do that.
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:We're not used to taking
the time to do that.
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:Hazel: Yeah, absolutely.
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:and I think that.
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:But it's interesting because I've only
given myself the time to do this because
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:of how much I've learned about the impact
impact that fast fashion and kind of
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:untethered consumption has, you know, on
the planet, on, on the humans that make
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:the clothing and all of those things.
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:And so it was those humanitarian and
environmental aspects that really
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:drove me to Give myself the time.
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:And before then not that I didn't care,
but I didn't even know that I needed the
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:time to figure out my own personal style.
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:I thought that the things that I was
drawn to buying in the op shops, or
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:if it was retail, I was drawn to them
because I knew what my personal style was.
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:Turns out I had no idea.
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:And I was consuming
things in a really, um.
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:even though I was like,
I buy mainly secondhand.
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:I only buy retail when I have to.
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:This, that, and the other, and giving
myself all of these different excuses
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:as to why I was still, um, consuming
in that way even with the knowledge
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:of the impact that it had , on us.
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:And it wasn't until I just
decided to stop, just stop buying.
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:that I had this huge revelation about
my personal style, about the way
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:that I was consuming clothing and
fashion and about really the ways,
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:the tools that we need to not do that.
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:Like I wouldn't have had the gifts of all
of those things without first stopping.
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:Chryssius: I know we've touched on it
briefly in the previous two episodes in
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:this series, but your wardrobe freeze
- can you explain the concept behind it,
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:and how it can help us break free from
that cycle of constant consumption?
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:Hazel: Yeah, absolutely.
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:So a wardrobe freeze put very simply
is the commitment to yourself to
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:not bring any new clothes or well,
There's two different options, right?
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:So you can either choose to not
bring any new clothes into your
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:wardrobe, or you can choose, which
is what I've done, to bring no new
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:or second hand, so new to me clothes.
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:The first is really great for your
environmental impact, and is a
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:really great option if shopping
is something that you want to do.
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:You still want to do, you just
want to do it a bit more mindfully
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:and a bit more thoughtfully.
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:Vinted have just put out a campaign
where they, , have these videos of
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:these people with, it says, imagine
if you could see your consumption.
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:And so there's like women walking down
the street with six pairs of sunglasses
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:on their heads and like they're on the
treadmill and they've got like a hundred
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:pairs of shoes falling off the treadmill.
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:Cause they've got so many at home.
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:Like I absolutely love that campaign.
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:It's so great.
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:but, What I think is really, uh,
beneficial about not bringing anything at
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:all into your wardrobe is it really gives
you space to examine that consumption
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:from a completely different, space.
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:like, I have given myself the
space to examine my wardrobe.
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:by not bringing anything into
it feels completely different
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:Vive: Hazel, it's such a good point.
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:And I was thinking about it this morning
that to reorganize a pattern or create
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:change, you do need a lot of space.
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:And one of the things I made a note
on from my personal experience of
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:doing the 33 pieces for three months,
was that my whole system felt more
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:relaxed, at having less there, and less
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:choices, and
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:Hazel: the overwhelm.
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:The overwhelm just disappears.
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:Like I still have maybe 120 pieces
of clothing that I own but I have no
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:overwhelm because like I said before
each and every piece of clothing now
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:plays a part and works hard in my
wardrobe and I don't feel guilty.
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:about having them because I'm wearing them
and I don't feel ashamed about having them
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:because I'm really getting the use that I
need to and that we should all be getting
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:out of our clothes out of each garment.
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:Vive: There's a deep sort of sense of, and
I made a lot of notes about relationship,
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:because it is this idea that when we're
relating with things and people and places
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:there's a connection, and a love, and a
desire to care for that thing that grows
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:and that there's almost, disconnection,
isolation, anxiety, they're all big
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:issues in, in mental health in the world.
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:And there's this sense that we are
forgetting to build relationships
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:even with things like what we own.
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:as a way of feeling that we
are nurturing and caring for
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:and
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:connected.
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:Hazel: definitely.
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:I agree And it's like the you
know, the process of say, mending
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:something gives you that relationship
with that piece of clothing.
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:Vive: And there's a, it exactly,
there's a relating with that.
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:It's almost it's an investment.
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:And in that investing of time, whether
you're mending a piece of clothing or
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:you're planting something in the ground,
there's a reciprocity almost that
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:happens and it's incredibly nurturing and
satisfying to have those relationships.
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:Chryssius: So what practical steps can we
take to start buying only what we need.
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:And truly loving what we already have?
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:Charlie: Biggest thing Is figure out
what you like and not, I mean what
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:you like is in what you've been told
you're supposed to like or what some
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:color analysis person has told you
what colors best go with your skin or
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:whether you're a skirts girl or dresses
girl because someone else has told you.
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:I mean genuinely what do you like?
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:What motivates you?
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:What are you stoked about?
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:What if you had two minutes left
in your wardrobe would be the
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:first things you would grab?
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:And why?
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:Figure out what that is and
what you want deep down.
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:then move accordingly.
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:For me, about six months ago, I realized
I didn't like most of the things in
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:my wardrobe and that most of it had
just been the idea of it had been
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:sold to me in that I'm a teacher.
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:I need to wear teacher dresses now.
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:Oh I'm young, so I need
to be wearing crop tops.
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:I don't like crop tops.
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:I don't like them.
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:I don't like the way they sit on me.
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:I don't feel comfortable.
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:So I'm going to donate all of them.
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:I moved them out and I went, okay these
dresses that I'm supposed to wear,
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:because that's my role as a teacher.
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:Now I went, okay, do I actually
like these ones or do I want
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:to wear something different?
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:And I did a big cull of everything I
didn't actually like and instead went,
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:okay, so if I've been sold all of this
and sold all these ideas that I'm supposed
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:to like this, I'm supposed to dress
this way because of my age, my job, or
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:what colors are supposed to suit me.
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:Then, what have I got
left after all of that?
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:And I had a few pieces
that I really liked.
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:Then I started going, Okay, what do I
already have that's similar to that?
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:And I had skirts and things.
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:So I went, Okay, well I don't like
the top that goes with this skirt.
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:So I'm going to get rid of that top.
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:I'm going to keep the skirt.
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:And I found within my wardrobe
already, there were so many pieces
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:that went together, that, The
future consuming I had was actually
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:just things that brought me joy.
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:And that's where I started making my
own little Pinterest shopping list
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:of things that if I went to the op
shop, if I went to a store and I found
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:this and it was actually like, I'm
genuinely wanting to buy, I'm okay
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:with purchasing these items because
I'm motivated by what I really like.
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:It's not because it's trendy.
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:I turned off the trends to
myself and when I just want
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:this because I actually like it.
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:I really like, I like the way that
this beautiful big full skirt feels.
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:And if I happen to see one at a price that
I'm okay with paying, at a place that I
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:don't mind supporting, not a fast fashion
house, an ethical brand, or an op shop,
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:yes, okay, I will spend my money on that.
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:But I'm not just going to go and just
buy things for the sake of it unless
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:it fits on that little Pinterest
board of that that menu that I've got.
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:I mean, I have, so Pinterest
is the best thing I have.
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:I have a menu.
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:We talked about this last time.
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:I have the of clothes I already
have and ways to style them based
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:on what the Pinterest girlies have
done because they are awesome.
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:They do half the work for me.
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:I have a op shop wishlist.
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:I call it.
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:Where it's items that if I happen
seen them, they're items that like,
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:these are the dream, the holy grails.
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:If I happen to see a, like a Fendi
baguette that's all like beaded
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:and which is one that I've loved
since watching Sex and the City.
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:I happen to see that, that's on my
wishlist and I, that has stayed on the
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:wishlist for over six months and I'm
not motivated by Oh, I have to have it.
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:It's like, Oh, well if that came up
and for a price that I felt agreeable
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:to, I wouldn't mind purchasing.
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:And then, yeah, it goes off there.
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:So I try and only buy things that are
from that wish list or basic items
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:that, you know, if it fits within that
sphere, okay, I don't feel any guilt.
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:I don't feel like I'm over consuming.
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:I feel like I'm consuming at a
much slower and sustainable rate.
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:Jacinta: I think it is getting
comfortable with repeating looks and,
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:or like, putting pieces like together
that you like and how you feel in them.
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:I always remember on Clueless when
Cher would didn't like mirrors.
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:So she'd take Polaroids of outfits,
but you could take photos of outfits
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:that you like, just like to jog your
memory and have a little folder in your
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:phone of these are the things that I
like to wear that make me feel good.
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:I'd say you can swap
clothes with your friends.
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:I love
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:like going to someone else's wardrobe,
hiding your wardrobe as well as
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:really, but going to someone else's
wardrobe is like, is new, air quotes.
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:And hiding.
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:Things out of sight in your
wardrobe if you put something
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:away, you're like, Oh, I forgot
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:you don't need everything out at once.
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:It's seasonal
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:Like you can't wear it all year round.
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:Hazel: For me, having frozen my
wardrobe now for almost a year,
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:I am completely obsessed with it.
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:Like, I have fallen deeply in
love with freezing my wardrobe,
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:that I'm going to do it forever.
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:Like, Probably I won't do it forever.
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:I'll invite a few new things, or new to
me items, into my wardrobe eventually.
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:But It's given me such clarity, and
I think that when people are buying
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:more and more things, it's because
they're searching for clarity.
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:They are searching for the holy
grail of retail item that's going
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:to bring them this key that unlocks
everything in their wardrobe and makes
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:every single outfit work and makes
getting dressed in the morning easy.
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:That's not where the key lies.
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:The key lies in understanding What you
like to wear, how you like to wear your
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:clothes, the way you want your clothes
to feel on your body, and, you know, then
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:all the kind of stylistic things, like
the colours you like to wear, the fabrics,
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:all of those items can come into play.
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:But without slowing down and actually
giving yourself the time and space to
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:figure out answers to those questions,
you know, the concept of, you know,
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:Buying what you love and keeping what
you have doesn't mean anything, because
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:you keep on buying looking for that
holy grail, that key, which isn't there.
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:It's in you.
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:Vive: I so agree Hazel, we
know that we're like, Chrissie
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:has said, we're being primed.
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:We're constantly being primed and
encouraged and spammed to purchase
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:and to have not enough time to learn
to mend our clothes or wonder about.
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:How clothes make us feel
and we don't have that space.
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:So I agree slowing down and
Jacinta said it as well.
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:It's just first step.
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:It's I always it always comes down
to slowing down and noticing like
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:noticing is such a an underrated and
yet powerful tool for everything.
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:For me, the steps are to slow down to
notice the body and it's starting to build
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:we have emotional language, literacy.
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:It's starting to build literacy
with sensation in the body.
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:Hazel: So maybe a year ago, I
would have looked at something that
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:I wasn't wearing or that didn't
have a in my wardrobe or that, you
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:know, was broken or whatever it is.
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:And now I see that piece as a resource
and I'm like, how else can I wear this?
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:How else can I make this
garment work for me?
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:In a way that I need it to because I don't
have the option to get something new.
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:So like you're saying about that
relationship the longing for novelty is
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:I'm now actually flipping the script on my
wardrobe and I'm like, oh, I I can, I can
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:change you to, to fit into what I want.
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:Vive: You've got space and you've
also got a wonderful container,
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:the frozen wardrobe for creativity.
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:So within the limitation of the
container, it's like seeing the container
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:differently, not as a limit, but as
this wonderful pot of alchemy where you
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:Hazel: Yeah.
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:Vive: learn to be
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:resourceful with what you have.
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:Hazel: And I think I shared this story
on my Instagram a few months ago, but
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:when I was 16, I had this pair of heels
that I loved and I wore all the time
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:and they were kind of this like painted
like shiny plastic material and I'd wear
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:them to the clubs because it meant that
I would get in and in England it was not
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:very strict at that time and they'd be
like yeah sure you're 18 fine but I would
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:spray paint them every week when we were
going out a different color to kind of
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:go with what I was wearing and to go with
the feeling you know my mood for that
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:day and Like, I just remembered that with
this kind of, like, jolt of recognition,
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:like, oh shit, I can do that now!
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:Like, that's still available to me,
that kind of resourcefulness, um, and
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:that creativity is so available to me,
and even more so now because I have
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:more resources to kind of play with.
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:So, Whether it's dyeing, whether it's
getting someone to alter your pieces for
361
:you, whether it's, you know, I haven't
done any sewing because it makes me
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:Come out in hives all over my body,
but you know, I'm thinking about it.
363
:I'm thinking about the options Just
like when I was 16, I didn't care.
364
:I was like, yeah, of course,
I'm gonna do this Like I'm not
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:buying a new pair of shoes.
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:I'm just gonna spray paint them gold
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:chryssius_1_05-26-2024_150741: you
don't even need to spray paint them
368
:these days because they have all
these beautiful paints that are
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:specifically made for painting leather.
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:Hazel: I've just bought some and
they're iridescent and they're beautiful
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:Vive: Oh my
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:Hazel: amazing boots that I have that
I haven't and I'm going to fix this
373
:like amazing leather, , purse that
I have that I've literally had in my
374
:drawer for like six years and it's just
laying there because it's gone all worn.
375
:But I'm like, no, I'm going
to buy the iridescent paint.
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:I'm going to paint the shit out of
you and you're going to look amazing.
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:chryssius_1_05-26-2024_150741: it.
378
:Vive: Most people including me
feel like they can't, or they don't
379
:have the thought to repurpose.
380
:And I'm wondering what is the belief,
what is the value that stops us from
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:painting our shoes different colours?
382
:What is the story that we've been telling
ourselves about why we can't do that?
383
:Or not even thinking of it as an option?
384
:Hazel: I really feel like it goes back to
what you were saying when we recorded last
385
:time about not feeling like the expert.
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:But it's like, you don't have to be an
expert to pick up a can of spray paint.
387
:And I think it's just that just doing
it and seeing, and like you were saying,
388
:allowing yourself to play, allowing
yourself to make mistakes, because it,
389
:Vive: hmm.
390
:Hazel: You know, if it was not going to
be worn, if you weren't going to wear
391
:it anyway, it doesn't matter if it's
not perfect or the way that you wanted
392
:it to be or the way that it might look
if, you know, Nike made it or whatever.
393
:Like, If you do it yourself,
then you're learning and you're
394
:progressing and you're evolving
as well as evolving your wardrobe.
395
:chryssius_1_05-26-2024_150741: that
whole idea around learning about what you
396
:like and learning to play with things.
397
:I feel like part of the reason that
we don't do it as much as we should
398
:do it is that we've become conditioned
to just outsourcing everything.
399
:And I don't know if
400
:maybe Viv, you could speak to this a
little bit, but even just everything
401
:on social media is all about.
402
:buy, buy, buy.
403
:Get everything outside of yourself rather
than taking the time to, you learn.
404
:Vive: And I think it's almost
like a double edged sword
405
:because people feel so time poor.
406
:They don't have the time to learn.
407
:And so that promise of outsourcing and
getting and being highly productive.
408
:And it's this obsession with
productivity that we need to
409
:be able to do, be, have more
410
:that stops us from pausing and thinking.
411
:could I try this myself?
412
:Could I play with this myself?
413
:Could I experiment with this myself?
414
:We'd probably go, I just don't have
the time and I really need that.
415
:So it's almost like everything gets
spun into time scarcity mindset
416
:and needing to be productive.
417
:Hazel: And also needing to be perfect.
418
:Needing to perfect, because we
don't have the time to get it wrong.
419
:Like, I think we have time if we're
going to nail it, but we don't have
420
:time to get it wrong, but we can't
ever learn if, if we're already
421
:nailing it, like, it doesn't matter.
422
:Like, The
423
:time to play is the learning.
424
:Vive: so even when we buy that piece of
clothing or we perhaps we do play and we
425
:try something, we swing back into that.
426
:It's not good enough.
427
:It's not perfect enough.
428
:Oh, I painted my shoes
and they look like shit.
429
:We sort of don't.
430
:Where, and I think people are starting
to see this now and wanting to
431
:learn how to be over in the process.
432
:And I guess that's the other thing is
that it's like we're wishing away time.
433
:We just want to be at that point.
434
:We just want to be at that point where
we can perfectly restore our shoes.
435
:We don't think about how will I enjoy this
process of mending my, sweater or painting
436
:my shoes and giving myself a bit of space.
437
:Like we, we really have lost
touch with enjoying process.
438
:It's all about arriving at the
point that we want to be at.
439
:And
440
:that to me
441
:is also
442
:that productivity piece too.
443
:Hazel: It is, and it's also, It also
speaks to when, why people can't slow down
444
:to find their personal style, because.
445
:They don't give themselves that time to,
like we were saying, enjoy what they're
446
:wearing and kind of focus on why is they
are enjoying what they're wearing or why
447
:they aren't enjoying what they're wearing.
448
:It's like,
449
:Vive: And be
450
:messy.
451
:And it's this kind of it's the
obsession with the linear, isn't it?
452
:It's like, okay, so I'm, I'm
going to decide that I'm going
453
:to find my personal style.
454
:then we're like, and so that should
be like one, two, three, boom.
455
:There I am up the line I've
arrived at my personal style.
456
:But what we know is that.
457
:Emerging things emerging
is like the squiggly weird
458
:shape, not the linear
459
:line.
460
:And
461
:we don't know how to, yeah, we don't
know how to exactly the joy of the
462
:evolution of the emerging of the
experimenting of the play and sort of
463
:somehow allowing ourselves to have an
outcome that we would like, which is to.
464
:create a personal style or find our
personal style, but not controlling the
465
:process and the emergence and strangling
466
:the personal style in the process.
467
:Hazel: And I mean, I can really relate
to what you're saying because I feel like
468
:now sometimes I'm telling myself this
story that I always have to look amazing.
469
:And that if I go and see my friends
and I'm not looking like 100 percent
470
:stunning and my outfit isn't like the
best, then I failed in what I'm doing,
471
:which is absolutely not the case.
472
:And every time I.
473
:I noticed that happening.
474
:I have to bring myself back down to
earth and be like, Hazel, you are human.
475
:You can wear whatever you want for the
way that you are feeling in this day.
476
:And it doesn't matter if
you don't look as beautiful.
477
:like Quote unquote good as you did
last time you saw these people or quote
478
:unquote good as you did last time you
posted your outfit on instagram it's
479
:like i'm still just trying to dress
for who i am and who we are changes
480
:on a daily basis in terms of mood
481
:Vive: And the other thing that made
me think of Hazel was and it's only
482
:because a couple of times this week,
my daughter, my eldest daughter,
483
:I've put something on and my daughter
said, can I have that when I'm older?
484
:And I've thought to myself, yeah.
485
:Wow.
486
:There's really very little that has
been passed down from my mum or my
487
:grandma to me other than jewellery.
488
:And it's, I was like, imagine
if we're able to care and relate
489
:with these heroine pieces.
490
:And I love that you call them
that, the heroine pieces.
491
:How story and sense of being
part of that intergenerational.
492
:Connection and storytelling
and relationship.
493
:How that could be woven in to
why we take care of our clothes.
494
:Hazel: Absolutely.
495
:And it
496
:used to be, it used to be,
497
:such a part of
498
:normal society and it's only in the last
50 or so years that it's become, and
499
:probably less really, maybe the last 25
years, that it's not so much the norm as
500
:we have moved away from, , post war era.
501
:I guess it's different
history, Australia, but from a.
502
:UK perspective.
503
:and I still have A dress that
my grandma made for herself.
504
:And she made it and I
wear it now to my events.
505
:I wear it to give my workshops
and my talks because it
506
:illustrates that exact thing.
507
:It's like, this is a piece of clothing
that was handmade by someone that I love.
508
:And because of genetics,
it fits me perfectly.
509
:And I get to stand here
and talk to you about
510
:how we can reuse our clothes, how we can
get the most out of our wardrobes, how
511
:we can really become more sustainable
in our fashion choices wearing something
512
:that has the history of my family and
the history of the clothing that we have
513
:worn.
514
:Vive: And so that is that beautiful
reciprocity of the relationship with that
515
:piece of clothing, it's not only something
that you can wear, but it's something that
516
:brings the spirit and the soul of these
generations of women that came before you.
517
:It connects you to your ancestry,
so you're part of that bigger.
518
:World view that bigger picture
and you're thinking not behind
519
:just behind you, not just in the
present, but in front of you as well.
520
:And that's what's needed right for
climate change for taking care of
521
:the earth and the world and other people.
522
:Hazel: Yeah, absolutely.
523
:and I just, and it always gets such a
big reaction from the people that I'm
524
:speaking to, because they're seeing what
I'm talking about in motion, okay, I get
525
:it, like, yes, I'm in, kind of thing,
so, um, it's such a powerful piece in
526
:regards to the, yeah, to the of what
I'm trying to, , help people understand.
527
:Vive: And it just so speaks to
the longing for that connection
528
:to something other than ourselves
529
:to something bigger.
530
:Hazel: Yeah,
531
:exactly.
532
:Imagine if we could flip it from being
like, we want to be a part of something
533
:bigger and so we all try and dress the
same, we all try and get on these trends.
534
:But imagine if we can flip that
back to being about relationship,
535
:being about family, being about
heritage, being about care and love
536
:for where we come from and where our
future generations are going to go.
537
:Chryssius: A huge, thank you to
our panelists for their insights
538
:and expertise around our topic of
women, fashion and consumerism.
539
:If you'd like to connect with Vive,
Hazel, Jacinta or Charlie, you can
540
:find their links in the show notes.
541
:I hope their advice has inspired you
to rethink your consumption habits.
542
:Embrace your unique style and make
more sustainable fashion choices.
543
:Remember fashion is not just about
what we wear, but how we express
544
:ourselves, and connect with our values.
545
:If you've enjoyed this series, leave a
review and share it with your friends.
546
:Until next time, keep
reloving your wardrobe.