As girls, we are socialized in a way that what we wear matters; is it appropriate? Too bright, too this or too that. We are also socialized with an underlying expectation of variety in outfits to be expected when entering the workforce. Obviously, this expectation comes with a cost: financial and environmental. So, I decided to try a little experiment and go against this injunction.
Even if on Friday I was delighted to throw the whole outfit
into the wash and happily slip on a new clean set, this week had its fair share
of lessons I would like to pass on.
My outfit for the week consisted of a pair of jeans, a black
tank top, a plaid shirt. The only exception to the rule of wearing the same
thing was, of course, underwear and socks (do I need to go through this? No?
Good, keep reading.)
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My first (surprising) find concerned the “hygiene” aspect to wearing the same set of clothes repeatedly. It did not smell bad! I don’t sweat much so maybe someone with a sweatier nature would have had to change their top after two or three days but, on my end, it was quite manageable. The advantage of the shirt on top of the tank top fell under the modularity of the outfit, allowing me to adjust according to the temperature.
My second find is that absolutely nobody cared. No one was
interested in what I wore or re-wore. Life went on at the office between the
occasional teasing and problem-solving. I realized that I don’t pay much attention
to what my colleagues are wearing either.
My last find revolved around the absence of mental load. Not
having to think about what to wear the next morning ended up being quite a
freeing experience. Wake-up, reach for the same outfit, go.
My advice for someone who would like to try this
experiment would be to have two outfits and alternate between them during the
week. Use one pair of jeans and two tops and voilà! Of course, this applies for a
person going to the office or needing to dress a certain way at work. Working
from home did radically transform our habits when it comes to clothing and part
of me hopes it helped people buy less stuff.
If I can rock the same outfit for a whole week, do I really need to buy this extra dress? Not really. Or if I really want one, I might find something to my liking at the Free Store 😉
~ justine lemoine, recycling coordinator
