CHENNAI: Here are some neatly wrapped observations I’ve made these past few weeks: my natural eyelashes look much better than I initially thought. Meal planning gets exhausting after a while. I touch way too many things on a daily basis. I own more clothes than anyone could possibly ever need. I’m currently quarantined away from the majority of my closet. I thought I’d miss it, but the only thing this has done for me is made me realise I have way too many clothes. You can find me in plaid pajamas and a worn out National Geographic t-shirt on most days. Both of them have become so soft over years of laundry that it feels like wearing a top made of Greek yoghurt.
In romantic comedies, these are the clothes protagonists wear when they hit the three-quarters mark — after they’ve lost their job or relationship, are ignoring their dogs (oh no!) and are eating too much ice cream. They’re low effort, put together without thought, consideration, or optimism. Silken sets and feathered robes are put away for days when I’m feeling particularly indulgent, which as time passes — have been very few and far in between.
There is something about a pandemic which makes you strip down to bare necessities, and question a lot of things that you thought you couldn’t possibly do without earlier. It’s almost cathartic. Another thought that comes to mind is the amount of uncomfortable things I used to wear regularly and not even question it. Why did I do this to myself? Perhaps this is the wake-up call that is slowly exposing all the cracks in our system. One that urges us to make a turn toward sustainable clothing: both sustainably made and consumed.
While it’s easy to emphasise one and not the other, it’s equally easy for consumers to not buy from certain brands while continuing to feed their shopping addiction. It doesn’t take much for sustainable fashion to become yet another pattern of consumption: a dangerous one that is often used to berate a less privileged person for buying the same amount of product from a different label. “Something is better than nothing! At least I shop from better brands. I can’t be perfect!” Words offer refuge when nothing else does. How much is being consumed by an individual is as important as how garments are being made.
What does this typically mean for us, as consumers? It means buying second-hand, buying natural fibres and repurposing garments. It means having clothes swaps with friends and not changing styles with seasonal trends. It means getting dresses tailor-made by your local seamstresses as much as it does slowing your rate of consumption. I’m hoping the feeling stays when life goes back to “normal” or whatever version of normal we chance upon. I hope I wouldn’t want to buy unneeded clothes as much as I did before (including shoes, jewellery, bags and make-up) I wanted something new so often, and now I’m left with no desire for it. I don’t want to shop my way out of this crisis.
Saumya R Chawla @pixie.secrets