The Workday Reading: December 29, 2015
Dec 29, 2015
I’m moving this week. Things are a little…discombobulated. I’ll post Workday Readings today and tomorrow. The blog should be back to normal next week.
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1) Picked the wrong career? Consider a five-year plan. (BBC)
2) This under-$25 lace top from Xhiliration would make a nice, casual outfit for NYE. I also like this side-slit sequin skirt for $50.
3) What Amazon’s Holiday Report reveals about our weird shopping habits. (FastCompany)
4) Banana Republic has some fab new arrivals. I love this Ruffle Pullover Sweater. This Italian Cashmere turtleneck sweater is also worth a look.
5) The afterlife of cheap clothes; or why the Goodwill doesn’t want your donated old clothes. (Slate)
6) Need coffee table books? This Graff book about diamonds is pretty fab. I also like Garance Dore’s new book on style.
7) Debunking the ‘waist-training’ crazy and its negative health effects. (WhoWhatWear)
8) Club Monaco is offering 40% off sale styles, code NEWYEAR. This Aldrina Trench is a great basic. This drop-waist Melanyie dress looks like a lot of fun.
9) Madame Claude, who ran a ‘high-society brothel’ in Paris, dies at 92 and leaves a fascinating obit. (The New York Times)
10) Need a quick fix to go from day-to-night? This Dior Show Eyeshadow and Liner Duo is just the ticket.
Eye Candy. I adore these stack rings from Lagos. They’re luxurious, but practical with a sophisticated mix of metals and textures.
*image found here.
For the price, BR Cashmere is terrible. Try White & Warren or Brora.
So what do we do about this growing appetite for fast fashion? Is there a way we can change it?
The Slate article is an excerpt from Elizabeth Cline’s excellent book “Overdressed: The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion.” I highly recommend – it completely changed the way I think about my wardrobe and what/why I buy.
Funny the link above it is to BR – that chain has lost a lot of its appeal to me since reading that book.
For more insight insight into Fast Fashion, I recommend the True Cost on Netflix.
Thank you for these comments. I am going to do more research on this and be more mindful of what I buy.
Not all of us care for Fast Fashion. I am older and used to sew all my own clothes. They fit and they lasted. Before 2000, clothing in the US was of much better quality, but not cheap, and people bought less. There was a time when I admired, but could not afford, Ann Taylor…. The label used to be of very high quality. Besides, I worked in a research lab, where office clothes would have been ruined. Here are some thoughts. Elizabeth Cline’s book has been around for several years: why are more fashion blogs not addressing the issues it covers? I now only shop twice a year-Spring and Fall, and I buy very carefully, have alternations done routinely, and am having some things made from scratch. I wear classics and basically ignore fashion. I buy the highest quality I can afford, particularly knitwear. American wool and cashmere are garbage. I buy knitwear in the UK. I own a classic cashmere sweater dress by Pringle that I bought in 1978-I wear it every winter-it does not have a single pill and updates beautifully. Again, before 2000, cashmere was heavier, better quality, and more durable. We never needed a sweater stone to remove pills! We knitted our own sweaters too-we also followed fashion, had access to interesting fabrics, yarns and patterns-all this has disappeared, sadly. I keep my clothes forever, but I wear them carefully, mend them as needed, and store them properly.