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Thanks to EVERYONE for shining light from new angles. I'm continuing to learn so much from all of you!
I hereby reveal that I am no longer updating this page, please enjoy the following!
Messages - January 2007
Hi
Alex
I
was blown away with your project. I remember my mother shopping 'Thrift
stores' during the
depression.
She brought home clothes and set the ironing board up in the yard and with
cotton balls
and
carbon tet....cleaned them, repaired them and was always the sharpest dressed
lady in the neighborhood.
I
bought a sweatshirt at Yankee stadium in 1950 and have worn it ever
since....yep 57 years and if anyone
ever
took it from me....I would track them down and kill them !
CJS
Did you make it through November…December….2007? Any scraps of clothing remaining? Sassy shoes still intact? Ari’s curls getting longer? Please….we’ve been waiting so long….. L sniff, sniff
Alex,
This project is so
refreshing. As a child from a small town lower middle class working
family, this means a lot. I spent my life growing up not having what I
wanted and watching others in material delight. My parents insisted that
higher education would afford me the things they could not provide. Now
in my 30's living in a master planned community in Phoenix, Arizona my ideals
have changed. My husband and I are college graduates working as
professionals. All I see are name brand purses, clothing, luxury
vehicles, vacations, etc, etc. This environment has let me down, been a
dissapointment if you will. Adults acting like middle school children.
Homeless and hungry children nearby and our kids have clothes for their
stuffed animals. Most of us with credit card debt and mortgaged to our
eyeballs.
I appreciate your
project and feel it may bring attention to the much needed consumer trap.
Women need to think for themselves and look at other areas of their life for
fullfillment. I am still dealing with this lack of inner satisfaction
and finding a balance. Great job, love the insight.
J
I just wanted to say that I am a middle class woman who stumbled upon your website by mistake. I have to say that you really made me stop and think. I just wanted to take a moment to say good luck in 2007. I commend you for your strength- not all of us have that but, you make me what to dig deep! S Way to go! I
hope by your example we all will take a second look at how our
I hope I may be so
bold as to address you by Alex,
I applaud you! I
happened across your story while browsing MSN money, and reading the article
"Get off the Spending Treadmill." I must say that you are my
hero! Your web site is simply charming, and more important your message is
powerful. I was so impressed by reading your journal and viewing the
photos that I emailed your web address to everyone of my gal pals
encouraging them to visit. We all relate to your feelings
and appreciate your bravery in demonstrating exactly what makes you a great
person.
I just wanted to send
you a note to wish you the best of luck with your new recycling project
(I will be following your progress) and to let you know that you've got fans
out here!
Respectfully,
T
Alex:
LOVE IT, LOVE IT,
LOVE IT!!!!
What a great
story!! I have felt exactly like you for many, many months
now. I am so sick of all these stores pushing junk into our lives
(Target comes to mind...how many sets of Christmas dishes does one need to
buy in a three year span, Valentine's Day towels, Halloween wall
hangings...need I go on?) Anyhoo, I absolutely respect on every
level what you are doing and applaud your efforts.
Like you I am a Mom
of three young boys...I think that really started my trend toward not
buying. Why buy and wear nice things when you are carrying spewing
babies around? And with every child we managed to move to a less
"high maintenance" place...San Diego, The South, and now
thankfully Alaska...where no one gives a moose head about what you are
wearing. Most people wear the same parka for six months in a row
anyway. I have gotten off the consumer train and I could not be
happier. Maybe it is just because I have gotten a little older, or
became a mom, or move to a great place...whatever the reason I glad it
came to pass. Thank you for setting a tremendous example. I am
forwarding your website to women that I know will be on board. The
others need to come to this conclusion on their own. Think of all
the great places we can take our kids because we did not get that handbag,
costume jewelry, etc. The list is endless and I apologize for the
rambling. I just wanted to say that you rock!!! Keep up the
great work. I will keep checking in to see what other neat ideas pop up.
Take care and
have a safe and healthy New Year!!!
K
Hi Alex!
hello,
its sure good to find
someone who thinks like I do.
I love to recycle
stuff.
I make alot of
things from recycled stuff. one of my favorite is room screen panels . I
have made and sold several . My husband makes the frames from recycled
wood, or sometimes rebar. which I paint and panel with recycled
fabrics. I even had a little shop for a while in the SKY Village
Marketplace in Yucca Valley California where I sold mainly
recycled stuff. When people found out what I was doing I was literly
bombarded with stuff to recycle. I have done decorator pillows ,
stuffed with those little sewing scraps. Lots and lots of aprons infact
the apron business paid the rent on my shop. Pocket purses are a
favortite of the kids here . You can fill them with popuri or jewlery
or ????, skirts from pants or pants from skirts. My favorite skirt I
have had since 1992 , I made it from fabric I bought at what was then
payless drug store for 4 yards for a dollar. I also am an avid dumpster
diver. I just found two very nice wood rocking chairs . When word got
around the sky village market place that I like to recycle, a woman gave
me four great 1930's double bed head boards that had been water damaged
and the veener was peeling a little. I painted them pale yellow with
lavender and pale blue accents and use them for backboards for outside
benches that I made from pallets. I can send you jpegs if you are
interested. any way recyleing I love to do it.
I have a great
wind thing that I made from a bent up car radiator fan that someone
threw out on the desert. I painted it bright orange, and it works
as a weather vane The desert is a treasure trove of stuff to
recyle ,yesterday on our way home from Las Vegas we passed a hot
tub that someone had dumped . If it is still there tomarrow I will
take my truck and see how much of it I can drag home .... I think the
cedar from around the thing will make a great fence for the yard where
we keep our travel trailer . I am also working on some yard
fountains powered by solar energy from junk.
Hi, I am 35yr old guy, I
want to tell you, your "Brown Dress Project" is so so
cool, it inspires me to buy less clothes and do more recycling. I hope
your project inspires lot of people.
Hi Alex,
I am totally in
agreement with you about not shopping for things that you don't
need. I am a divorced woman with three grown kids, on a very
limited income, but have managed to hold on to my house, and have three
years left to pay off my car. I retired in June for the
tranquility of home and peace of mind. I was employed with the
Johnson County Environmental Department for almost 17 years, so I know
something about recycling. Part of my job was to come up with a
new environmental fact every month for our fax cover sheets. But I
can add to a lot that I didn't use for that fax sheet. I recycle
everything from aluminum foil (blackened cookie sheets that most yuppies
would throw away) to empty Starbuck's coffee containers (they make
excellent mailers) which I use for mailing Christmas cookies to my kids
and grandchild. That is my one extragavence that I will not give
up. I'm planning on growing my own vegetables this summer; the
prices at the store are abhorrent, and most fresh fruits and veggies are
sprayed with chemicals, and God-forbid spinach with e-coli
bacteria. I will also reap the rewards of toning my muscles, and
getting some very good vitamin D. Because I have always been
active my life (I also danced modern, ballet, and tap) I probably look
25 years younger than my counterparts.
Anyway, I'm
thrilled to know that there are other people out there who are not
falling for the media sales pitch of what makes a person beautiful.
Keep up the good
work, and your daughter will grow up healthy and be able to survive
anything on her own.
I have a son who
lives in Seattle and he knows very well how to make it. He did not
have a car for almost five years after he arrived out there, but he was
lucky to land a job with Microsoft.
Take care,
C
Hi,
Congratulations on wearing
your 'little brown dress' for 365 days. You are an
inspiration. I have a son and stepson in their last semesters of
college - starting tomorrow. Luckily both my husband are VERY
frugal. However, as this last semester approaches - I am even MORE frugal
and you are inspiring me to NOT SPEND ONE PENNY other than what I have to
- all of 2007...I already pretty much DO this - but you are helping me to
do it even with a greater vengeance!!
I already have a very
detailed 'budget' and a plan to become a millionaire (common these days)
by the time I retire (not counting the equity in our house and not
counting my husbands savings) - as long as my job survives (computer
programmer). .. and that's only calculated in a 5% interest rate.
My husband had to pay about half of his income to alimony and child
support for many years, then we totally put his 2 sons through college and
mine (last 2 graduating in May 2007 Lord willing) - we also believe in
tithing to our church. Our house I paid off in 2004 and aggressively save
33% of my gross even though I tithe the 10% also. So many people
live beyond their means - we still have the original appliances in our
kitchen (bought the house 19 years ago) - my husband has fixed the oven 4
times but I keep using it!
Anyway you probably don't
want to hear all about me - I just wanted to let you know that although I
cannot wear a dress every day as you have, now I will not feel bad at all
about wearing my clothes this year and not buying anything at all.
I keep my clothes clean - and
I 'rotate' them in my closet - wear them from left to right in the closet
and that way I wear everything and don't think too much of 'what should I
wear today'? cause it's all set up.. I also take the bus to work to save
on my car and gas as I get a deal at work to take it. (lets me read
an extra hour a day too)
Well - God Bless You!
Thanks for the inspiration!
L
Dear Alex, Alex- I absolutely love your
idea. We just moved from Sammamish, WA (back to Colorado) and I
have to say- the absolute air of materialism there was suffocating. We
knew shortly after moving there we didn't even have the
Alex,
Wow, what a concept!
I love that you did this even when others were negative about it.
You've made so many statements about our society by doing this project.
I love it! I look at the people around me and how they tear through
new cars, clothes, furniture like there's no tomorrow. People forget
about what is really important.
I would challenge you
to go a step further...not use leather or animal products in your clothing,
be cruelty-free. We can easily get by without harming animals,
especially when it comes to clothing. I understand the negativeness
you've encountered. I've been a vegan since September when I saw a
short film by PETA called "Chew on This." Well, I
couldn't watch the whole thing, but I listened to part of it. It
changed my life forever in a wonderful way. In order to get the proper
nutrition, I have turned into a bit of a health nut. Meat and dairy
are so bad for us. This country has been fooled by the meat and dairy
industry. I just wish I had raised my daughter the way I'm eating now.
Also, I buy organic whenever possible. But family members have gotten
furious at me about it. And I don't preach to people around me.
When they ask questions, I answer them. I'm careful not to offend
anyone.
Anyway, I really
admire you for this. It kind of makes the people who drown in excess
look, well, silly!
Oh, and I also love to
dance, although I do make much time for it these days. The dancing bug
kind of runs in our family. So I definitely identify with that.
Best wishes on your
endeavors!
S
Alex,
hi
alex Messages - December 2006
Hello Alex,
I just read your article about
your brown dress project, and realized that you did what I've been doing for
the last 10 years.
I stopped buying new clothes to
myself about 5 years ago and just wear whatever I have in my
closet. Some clothes are already so worn out, that they tear apart like a
napkin. Well, then it's a sign to use it as a cloth for cleaning and find
something else in the closet to wear...
It's very convinient and I don't
spend so much money on unneeded items.
Thouhg, my teen kids don't share
my view...Maybe one day they will...:)
I don't think other people care
about what I wear every day. As you said in your web site , they care about
their own image.
It's great that you made a web
site to tell others about your project.
Thanks.
N
Alex , My leg warmer secret. Take an old holey sweater and cut along the shoulder seams. this makes a great line over the knee like a boot. Now you also have a sweater vest or you can cut under the arm pit seam straight across, this will make a great mini to wear over tights or jeans and will keep your fanny warm!!! if it is a turtle neck this becomes a head band. If you would rather a hat, Then cut a circle out of the left over material and sew it to one side of the the turtle neck voila, you have a hat. This is what I do to recycle my old sweaters that have been worn past a second life at sally alley. Good luck with your new project. S Loves Clothes and they don't have to be new to feel fresh.
I think I’m not
grasping the new project. Why make new underpants out of tee shirts if you
still have old underpants you can wear out?
MEA (who has worn
homemade knickers all her life, as did her mother and grandmother (and I
assume, but you never know, great grandmother). . . and think using up
what you have is a great idea – all my aprons and nightdress were made
out of something else worn beyond the point of using for the original use.
You are my hero! Truly a
woman of respect and wit. I feel inspired to do something
similar. Soothing to a girl who is struggling with an obsession over
fashion and outward beauty.
Interestingly enough, I
came across your site because I was searching for an explanation on
why it is a fashion crime to wear the same dress as an another woman
for the same occasion. I went dress shopping recently with a good
friend of mine. Our tastes couldn't match each other more, and
when we wear each other's clothes we nearly don't remember who's
is what afterwards, and of course, we don't mind. So we're in Ann
Taylor Loft and see these cute but not too formal dresses on sale. We
try them on and we love them. We ask a sales person to put them on
hold for us. She looks at us in disgust: "You what? You want to
buy the same dress, and wear it to the same occasion?" I
look at her in stupor, and have no clue what's wrong: "Yes, of
course, we're great friends and this would be great fun." The
sales clerk roles her eyes and stomps away, holding the two dresses an
arm's stretch away from her body, maybe so she wouldn't catch cooties
from the dopes who saw nothing wrong with buying and wearing the same
item of clothing and enjoying it...
M.S.
Hello,
Just found out about your
project and read through all your journal posting.
Thanks for doing these
projects and thanks for sharing your story with the world through your
internet site.
I found some of your
entries to be insightful and all of them sincere, refreshing.
Its acts like little brown
dress that change society - slowly but with permanence, 'cause change
that sticks, happens not by laws or force or preaching but by small
individual consistant acts.
Little brown dress and
recycled cloths were perfect examples of small individual consistant
acts. Without pretense and possibly without intent you have
influenced an unknown number of other individuals who will carry on
where you leave off.
Clitchish but its like the
metaphor of the beating of a butterfly wing in China changing the
weather in Florida.
Carry on girl!!!!
S
I think what you did is very cool. I pretty much do the same thing. I have a couple jeans that I use over and over and just change my top. I don't like brand labels displayed on my clothing either. I try to look for things that don't put their label plastered everywhere to been seen. I like them to be hidden. After all they are not paying me to where their clothing. Every piece of clothing I have would fit in a small suitcase. I don't like to pay big bucks to where a logo. I just find it very hard to spend an arm and a leg for something as simple as clothing.
Sincerely,
C
Messages - November 2006
Dear Alex,
I found your site after a
recommendation from Sara Scaturro, a friend in NYC, and I really like your
projects and writings. I am a swedish PhD-student in fashion design working on
hacking and subconstructive practices in low-level fashion. Engaging in it
both practically and in reflection (making a series of cookbooks on how to
remake the clothes that are dying in the back of the wardrobe. it is now
forming a small pdf "recyclopedia" - at www.selfpassage.org)
some texts on my research is also
on the website if you are interested.
I just want to send you an encouragement and best greetings and wishes. I will continue to follow your works with great interest!
all the best wishes and regards
from Otto.
Hi Alex!
My friend linked me to your site
last night, and I've just read the whole journal for your Little Brown Dress
year... what an inspiration! The past six months have been a small revolution
for me, I've been really questioning society's valuation of people based on
their belongings. I've gotten rid of half of my "Stuff", I've had
awful moments where I realise that I identify some things as being Me. "I
am Because I Own"... it's confronting letting these things go, to realise
that ME, MYSELF and I cannot be quantified, commodified,
bought, tamed, simplified or easily understood. It opens my eyes to life in
all it's terrifying entropy and uncertainty. I think maybe that is the same
identification people have with their clothing? You have certainly made me
muse on my own relationship to clothing... especially at work (I am a
receptionist for a government agency). I did note this morning that the first
thing I went to say to my boss was "I like your jacket"...
I thought you'd be interested in
this: http://www.lintrezza.com
It's Linda Cockburn's website,
she and her family decided to try and live for six months without spending any
money...
Sorry for the blither, you've
sparked off many ideas...
- S
Hi.
I live near Palm Springs, California. I grew up in L.A. County though. And
this area out here in the desert, is one of the most superficial places I have
ever lived. I love your brown dress idea and the fact that you actually went
Hi, Alex,
I ran across your site about the
Brown Dress while looking for instructions for making a doll dress pattern.
I admire your sense of adventure and willingness to go out on a limb to
prove a point, if only to yourself! I'm often criticized for going to
war over a principle and I'm soooo glad to know you're out there taking
the same heat. It's important to stand for something and I will
think of you whenever I'm chastised in the future for standing up
for an ideal.
n
Dear Alex,
Bravo on the little
brown dress project.
Hopefully you will
inspire more women to examine their compulsive need to shop for more new
stuff. I am 55 and remember the painful years of being
self-conscious for wearing the same garment for more than two days in a row at
work and never two years in a row. Big city east coast girl
at the time.
In addition to the above
madness, I as well as many of my women friends spent thousands of dollars and
became deeply in debt to credit card companies just to "keep up".
Debt = another form of
imprisonment.
Debt is a very
sobering experience and once out of it, I had no wish to return. Also I
had a very thorough look at the fashion/advertising industry.
I rebelled in my 40's
and started up a wardrobe that I referred to as "uniforms".
This consisted of functional, presentable, and very cheap clothes to
wear to work. My theory, at the time being that work was to
earn money - not so that I had to spend money to be presentable for work.
I had better things to do with money. I came up with
about 5 outfits, coordinated to mix and match. Hmm, cheap,
uncomfortable (polyester!) and very ugly stuff.
Gratefully, I hung on to
many of my clothes from the 80's and 90's that were beautiful albeit perhaps
no longer "fashionable". But oooooh the lovely
fabric. You have inspired me to revise my thinking
and use the fabric in these clothes for alternative ideas.
Putting my sewing skills
to use, I now own a beautiful black silk skirt (the original dress had those
ridiculous sequins sewn in at the neckline - HA!). New
queen size bed required new sheets, old sheets are now lovely pj's and
nightgowns or used for kites and on it goes. I will check you website
often. You have some delightful ideas!
You have inspired many
women with your philosophy and shared your knowledge.
Thank you,
A
and your site and the
message...
I wish you would have
more pictures of yourself dancing....
they are the
best............. UP the ARTISTIC element so women can bridge the gap!1
I applaud YOU.
THANKS
D
Dear Alex, I am enjoying your site: funny, intellectual, challenging. I was searching for brown shoes and found ‘brown dress”. I am a lover of “The Goodwill” (kind of like The Ohio State University J )but searching in vain for flat, brown shoes which is so out-of-character for me. My right-brained-ness has taken over and I was skimming/reading your journals out of order. I am fascinated by your life, lifestyle and way with words. In my quick perusing I did not catch where you live. Love your projects and that you will allow yourself to be so vulnerable. Really love the idea of recycling clothes!!! Mostly just wanted to write and say that I love your site. A
I
have a comment about your little brown dress project. Interesting.
However, after viewing your photos, it seems you still practiced some form of
fashionable expression. Socks and sweaters. I am curious to know if
you purchased or created any new clothing in that year. Also, how did you
feel at the end? Is consumerism still something you feel has no value?
Messages - October 2006 Dear
Alex Martin, A
friend told us of your projects and directed us to your website. We are two
theatre students in the third year of a degree at Dartington College of Arts in We
are currently making dresses out of household items such as dusters and tea
towels and shall endeavour to wear them for the duration of our project. We will
let you know how this turns out! It
would be really helpful if you could answer a few questions for us. Would
you consider the brown dress project to be a feminist work? We have found in
ourselves a lot of conflicting attitudes towards feminism. Would you for
instance describe yourself as a feminist? Before
you began your brown dress project, had you found that other people were
thinking similarly in regard to the economic system and image that is pushed
onto us? If so, why do you think people are considering this now more than ever?
Is this because of a negative vision of the future that people can see, as the
world becomes even more money driven? It
seems to us that there is a general feeling of concern in society about the way
that we are living. There seems to be a lot of fear amongst people about where
we are heading in regard to war, climate change and social changes. We are
finding, through this project, a lot of people and organisations trying to
instigate small changes to get back to a more simple and community minded state
of living. Has
any of this been a consideration for you in your work? Do you feel there is a
general feeling of a need to make changes? What
do you feel the brown dress project has achieved? Was it a simply a personal
project, or has it influenced others to consider different ways of living? I
hope these questions are not too hefty but it would be really good to hear your
opinions. Hope
to hear from you soon and we will try and send you some pictures of our dresses
when they are finished.
E and A
Hello
Alex, Dear
Alex: D & A I've had fantasies of doing the same thing. I'm an at-home mom of a two year old now, after having been in the "professional" design world. I find that women, especially when they congregate (groups of moms- in my case) can be exceptionally judgemental of each other. Sadly, I found myself doing the same thing. What is she wearing? Where did she get that bag? How are her kids dressed? Oh my god! I've mentally decided to "opt-out" of the competition several times and maybe because I grew up wearing a uniform in Catholic school; I've adopted an ad-hoc uniform of my own. I do applaud your persistence and dedication tho! I'm constantly swayed by the cute little fair isle sweater in the catalogue! Alex, You
are right about the commercialism and fashion. I do realize I like many
other women have more clothes than I will ever wear. Although I donate I
still find I still have too many clothes. I
really admire what you are doing. Thanks for helping us to remember we do
need to simplify our life. J. Marion, NC Dear Alex, I was delighted to read and learn about your little brown dress project! Very nice! Looks like you are living my life . . . of a limited recycled glorious wardrobe! Continued success, E Hi, I just discovered you site and found it quite fascinating what you did with your brown dress project. I really like your new project as well. With that I can really associate. I have been doing that for a while (although not neccessary exclusively). You probably know about this, but I just wanted to let you know in case you didn't. There is a blog http://www.wardroberefashion.blogspot.com/ where many ladies including me post our refashioned things. It's great to get inspired! So, in case you are not part of it yet, I wanted to invite you to look at it and consider joining. We would definitely benefit from your ideas. N from Serbia Hi
Alex, Dear
Alex Hi Alex, I think you project is great! I wish America's were less wasteful and would wear and remake things with what they have. I have never been one to keep up with fashions, but try to buy things that would not go out of style. I would still have things that are 30 plus years old, if I hadn't changed sizes. Love your ideals and keep your projects going. J from Valparaiso, IN You are GREAT. You are sending the right message to kids and adults alike about excessive consumerism and waste. Thank you for your efforts. Just wanted to let you know there ARE like-minded folks out there. Take care, M what are you doing on a website / advertising if you care so much about the environment, you are an opprotunist Messages - September 2006
Well
done Alex! hello alex...interesting project...i also limit my consumerism...i don't shop...my friends think im just cheap, but, really, i've spent the last ten years downsizing...everything in my life, no car, hence, limited work availabilities (downsized from the tv/film industry hair dept to grunt labourer and i walk to work and every where else...will use transit to visit my successful cheap friends who won't pick me up and live just outside the city limits...no cable tv...i abuse the internet and the pc stand is my table...my wardrobe is limited to comfortable safe grunt work and it is my fashion statement...i only purchase nutritious bev/food products for optimum health benefits as i am over 50...i cringe when co-workers suggest checking out the $5.00 racks in ladies fashion dept. wearing my thread bare purrfect fitting denim shirt...i have one glass and on and on...basically if i cant kick it out the door, i don't want it...when i heard the "little brown dress" news brief i traveled to your site...thanks for listening...i luv your dress...did you knit your socks and make all of your accessories? you go girl interesting press you are getting b, north vancouver, bc Hello Alex, I saw a piece about you in my local Recycling Newsletter and I was curious to check out your website. Your little brown dress was an excellent idea! I commend you for doing such a good job protecting our environment. If I lived closer to you, I would pay you to make me clothes! I like your website and what you stand for so much, that I hope you don't mind I sent an e-mail to Ellen Degeneres in Burbank, California to have you on her show because you are such a good influence...a role model, in fact. I hope to meet you someday and if Ellen contacts you, I hope to be on her show with you! I will continue to support your website and I'm so glad to know there are people out there like you! Thank you! A Bethlehem PA Alex:
Hi! I am a student in New York and in my Theory for English majors class this morning, my professor mentioned a book Not Buying It by Judith Levine and your Little Brown Dress Project. We had been discussing Carl Marx's determinist ideas about how we are conditioned by material circumstance and even if we are conscious about the fact that the material defines us as individuals, we cannot easily, if at all, rise above this. I am not sure I agree with this; I haven't thought about it long enough to decide what I think. We talked about the idea of department stores and how that concept nearly abolished the idea that you go to a store to buy a specific thing. Instead, you go to a department store to wander around and buy what you like. People expect products (clothes, iPods, etc.) to "speak to them." You go shopping without knowing what you want and then when you see an item, the desire is created. Marx talks about use-value (a table is valuable because you can sit and eat on/at it) and exchange-value (a table is valuable because it is a certain company's brand, with a certain style such as rustic, or rich-looking). We shop at department stores and malls where the exchange-value "calls to us," inciting desire, basically buying and consuming items in extreme excess. Anyway, my professor mentioned your LBD project and I decided to check it out. I thought it was really interesting in relation to this morning's lecture in my class because you were eliminating the desire for , in this case, clothes. I would like to do something similar, was the first thought that came from my young, idealist change-the-world mind. I thought of scenarios that would make it difficult to wear the same dress... internship interviews, my catering job with a uniform, some active things (hiking, snowboarding, etc.) and to live the kind of life I lead, it would certainly be a sacrifice of sorts. Or maybe just a challenge. I wonder if i am strong enough to try it. One other consideration came to mind. This spring I am supposed to be studying abroad in Beijing, China, and although I could easily wear the same thing (and have the identity - the weird american with the same ratty dress on :) ) i find myself thinking, well maybe i would wait until i got back home to do the dress thing, or the recycled dress thing (i do sew). but then i thought, well if i am making exceptions, maybe i need to do something like this to sort of free myself and my mind from the constraints of consumerism and buying to excess and worrying about physical apperances. Maybe I would want to try to continue this in China. It would add another dimention to it, while being in another culture i can compare the responses etc of the two cultures/countries. I hope I am explaining myself well enough.
I know this is a long email and you probably recieve many a day, but I wonder what your thoughts are on the studying abroad thing and/or anything that came out of my rambling mind onto this page. I would greatly appreciate even the smallest response if you can make the time.
Thanks!
J
I am
reading your journal about your year in the little brown dress. I am at
the point right now where you mention seeing a homeless man on the side of the
road, and how you realize your family would never let that happen to you. And I
can’t help but think how incredibly lucky you are. To have that, and
more, to know it. To have the freedom to make choices, to wander, and know
you would never fall off the face of the planet. Thank
you for sharing parts of your life with me, through just sending your best
wishes out there. Take care, and consider this a virtual hug. J A friend
I think that you came up
with a great idea. What i think is interesting how people thought this to be
so different. Wasn't in in the 1800 and early 1900 that people wore
the same thing everyday because they could not afford to buy more colthes. If
only teh rest of the world would get on board. I like how you changed
the look by adding different colors and different articles of clothes. I
have one question. How much money do you think you saved buy not
buying any clothes?
J California
You
are awesome! LOL
I
hate to shop, could care less what the fashion trend is and probably own
maybe one good week's worth of "work" clothes to my name and
refuse to pay the high prices to get new ones. When I do buy, I buy
basic.....black and brown slacks. I have basic shoes in same for
summer and winter. I wear them all year long, each season, every year until
they cannot be mended any longer.
I
work in an office environment and we are required to wear business
attire. So, the slacks are worn every week and I have just enough
tops to mix it up enough to where no one really notices.
I
look forward to keep up with your newest project.......
Who
cares what everyone else thinks!
C
Virginia
Beach, VA
Hi Alex! You' re an inspiration!..I'm sending the link to my sister, a friend, and my 3 kids, and, since my husband Steve is scared of computers, Ill print it out for him to read. Have you ever heard of "Buy Nothing Day" - it's always the day after Thanksgiving. My son Ian (he's 21) goes to the mall every year on that day and pushes around a shopping cart advertising it. It's pretty funny..the security guards always end up making him leave, but they are always really nice about it ... Pope John Paul thought America's biggest symptom of a spiritual crisis was our massive consumerism. You can actually feel it when you're in a 'buying' frenzy, at least I can, which is why I know that you are on the right track. Anyhow, I'm probably your mom's age (51) and for the last few years, expecially since 9-11, Steve (59) and I have both felt like we're in our teens and 20's again. We can't stomach the news anymore... certainly not to watch repeat after repeat after repeat of 9-11.. It was bad enough that day. Move on.. Anyway..didnt mean to ramble..best of luck to you, and thanks for the inspiration! With Love, L, Grand Junction, Colorado
Your ugly brown dress
makes me actually remember why I liked consumerism, you make wasters say, see,
hippies are dirty and think their so cool. LAME. But thats not
ther point of making a spectacle and parody of yourself is it? True
sacrifice is to learn to connect to those who are far away from your mission,
find your commonalities, bring them closer to the truth, let the middle ground
be found a foot closer to you than it was before, and it is soon just
commonality. That is true sacrifice. To compromise with the enemy,
to let yourself remember what it is like to be lost in ignorance, to be
without a light spirit because of the crap like consumerism and waste that
hangs around your neck like a dead cat! stinky and sad. You have
to remember because its how you can relate to them so you can connect and then
they recognize themsleves enough in you that they can imagine another way for
even themsleves. The brown dress is so transparently ego based/ holier
than thou, even in its awful design and blatant rebellion against the
staus quo. You wont sway them, you will solidify their course.
quit trying to prove your special (how much more decadent in effort and self
centeredness than the average wasteful fool is it to take a picture of
yourself everyday and think about the BROWN DRESS PROJECT! than to say,
blindly buy a latte everyday. Let yourself in on your secret that your
not, then you can have a function, not just a self serving purpose. Its
easy to be obnoxious, difficult to be teachable (humble).
Let's see. Brava.
I find your projects admirable and emulatable. Personally, I sew and knit
because I like doing it and I would like to save money and natural resources,
but I still like shopping at yard sales and (shame) eBay and I think that is a
shopping addiction. Working on it. I have found $50 worth of yarn
and needles at a yard sale for $5, so there. Hi Alex, I am a reporter in Vancouver, BC. My Dad pointed me toward your website. As a self-described fashionista, cursed with a love for good quality but blessed with a conscience, I was blown away by your Brown Dress project. It has inspired me to re-assess my own habits of consumption, (something I've gently started doing in the last couple of years since amassing a ridiculous credit card debt). I have decided not to buy any new clothing, shoes or accessories for a year. A much milder version, but one step at a time! So far reaction has been unlike anything I'd have predicted....I can only imagine how people reacted to your much more dramatic statement! Can I interview you for a piece to run on the radio station I work for in Vancouver? It would take less than 5 minutes over the phone....the station I work for is News 1130. If okay, there' s no big hurry -- sometime in the next couple of weeks would be great! Sincerely, T Hello Alex Your project is over, but I am just hearing about it today. Reading comments, can't help but notice the ideas for sustainable, renewable project. I sew, not enough, but have altered from fabrics I love from clothing I have purchased in order to not have to throw away a memory. Another useful tip from my family of Scots women was to save all the buttons from things being thrown away or consigned to the rag bag. That was always one of the main reasons for purchasing in the first place: details do count. Hating to shop (I could have been a man's brain on this issue) I find myself living out of my 30 year old closet, and loving it. So I was happy to see that others have the same feelings and I'm not so freak-y after all. It gives one intense pleasure not to do without, as it is from within. Good luck, enjoy your time - it is too short. One final thing: www.freecycle.org Keep it out of the landfills. j Hi, Alex, Was thinking of your camping trip. Did the recycled items pretty much cover the activities you wanted to do? Any new interesting recycled items added to your fall collection? Thought you might enoy knowing that on the Simple Living site a couple of people are starting a project of recycled and/or homemade clothing. The group enjoyed your brown dress project as well. So it seems like more people are enjoying creating or re-creating their wardrobe. On the SWAP sewing plan, the addition to the 2007 challenge will be that one of the 11 items needs to be reversible. I was thinking about that with regard to your project. Probably if if one item was a multi-large size, and another was a size or two larger, the largest item would work as a sort of reverse-lining if it were used more like yard goods with the slightly large item setting the size and providing a bit of seam allowance. I'd be interested in your ideas or anyone elses about how to do a recycled reversible item. S
Hi Alex, But I haven't done anything
with clothes, fashion, make-up, jewelry, etc. yet. It's difficult.
At times I want to devour an August InStyle mag, but mostly I'd like us all
to be less consumption, fashion and celebrity oriented. Brava for
you!!!! I am anxious to see what else you do with this concept.
You should write a book, don't you think?!
Messages - August 2006 For your project for this years with the focus on turning old into new or transforming old clothing I was thinking that a couple of themes match the process. One is process by which caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies. Some names from that might be any of the following words plus Project. Cocoon Chrysalis Butterfly Name of one of your favorite Moths or Butterflies (Audubon id books could be useful for this or some websites) http://butterflywebsite.com/gallery/index.cfm http://www.whatsthiscaterpillar.co.uk/america/index.htm http://www.whatsthiscaterpillar.co.uk/ The second theme I can think of is a phoenix rising from the ashes and being reborn/transformed. Names that come to mind for that are Phoenix Textiles Phoenix Wardrobe Project The thrid idea that comes to mind is Rumpelstiltzkin in which straw is turned into gold. The name that leads me to is The Straw into Gold Collection I also thought about how nature transforms the landscape with the seasons. I couldn't really think of a good name from that though other than perhaps Winter into (your other favorite season) Textiles. S When you're cute, you look good in anything! Which you do. What about me, fat, old and a "boy"? How about a pattern for me, but in black?
taanks, m
Can't remember how exactly I happened on your website but it is fascinating. Probably was when I was reading the Seattle news website. What a statement to make about our society. We are so spoiled and wasteful and I am right up there with most everyone, although I try to recycle and consume somewhat responsibly. Anyway, congratulations on what appears to be a very successful protest against rampant consumerism. I started to say American consumerism but I think it is somewhat world-wide.
Your
recent comments about spending too much time updating the beast hit home.
I love communicating with people and recently have found myself
caught up with all the options available on the internet, rather than
working on the simple communication with those I already know (home, small
local community - they just are not EXCITING anymore - at least
that is my rationalization) Guess I will have to work on that - the
sustainability of local communication!
Anyway
- enjoy your writing and observations. Keep everyone thinking!
Sincerely,
S
Tensed, Idaho
just wanted
to say you rock!! my friend sent me the link, who got it from her friend,
etc... UK
Alex,
This
morning my husband showed me and article about your brown dress project. I
would like to know why you took on this project. We have just moved to an
exclusive area in southern California where they are filming the show on
Bravo called The real Orange County Housewives. It seems to be a very
materialistic world that we live in. I am the mother of five, 3 of which
are teenagers. I have been thinking about your project all day and have
read most of your journal. I was wondering though if you could please
explain better to me why you choose to do this. I think I may have a very
valuable lesson for my kids and would like your input. I have spent the
last hour in my closet and have come up with a black dress and a black
skirt that I think I could wear everyday for a year. I look forward to
your response.
Thanks
T
I just heard about your project and I love it! I feel the same way about consumerism / spending as you do – but I’m not quite as radical – but I do have my ways LOL – like I refuse to pay 5 dollars a day to park my car – so I walk a mile getting much needed exercise and have quiet time to myself - also I try to buy clothes have more than one purpose; ie clothes that I can wear to work and also play in. In fact recently I was dating someone and he looked in my closets and he said – you don’t have many clothes at which point I felt proud of myself! D
Hi, Alex,
Hope you are having lots of
fun with your new wearables project.
I've been thinking some
about your brother's comments about your overall project. I do
agree some about how people can spend so much time on the web that
they don't connect to people in their community. However I think
for projects such as this, balance is the key. For people who are
leading with interesting ideas and projects, I think it helps if they
connect some with the greater world to help spread useful and
interesting ideas. A good example of this is the PathtoFreedom
website where a family is growing over 6000 pounds of organic food a
year in their very small yard. They spend most of their time
working on their projects, a small bit of time doing local events, and
media projects, and an occasional bit of time posting about their
adventures on their website.
The other thing I have seen
is that when a business or web project does take off and become
successful that often friends, relatives, acquaintances, and
faux-friends will try to make the successful person stop or slow way
down out of jealously, resentment that the person is no longer spending
every possible moment with them, embarrassment over an innovative
project, or the belief that women should be seen and not heard. It
does bother me that whatever the case, you seem to have accepted this
and been effectively silenced on your new project. So I thought
I'd offer some support toward the value and appreciation of your
thoughts and projects for the greater community.
S
hi,
I
may be living on the other corner of the earth away from you but I think
you are doing quite an astonishing work. I must say that your passion
and originality really impress me and give me a lot to think about my
whole life as well. Our belief and the way we see things around us are
so much influenced by the people around us that we have totally
forgotten who we are.
I
just want to say thank you to you for after reading your littlebrowndress
article, I have suddenly realsed so much thing about myself.
Best regards,
K
Hi Alex I’ve only just heard about your “little brown dress” exercise. I know it’s a bit late – but well done! I heard about your story from a very interesting site we have her in Australia – a couple who have spent 6 months trying not to spend a dollar – living off food grown/made on their suburban block, using solar power, composting toilets etc etc (I actually work for a company that makes a no-flush composting toilet – ideal for our water starved country). Anyways back to Linda and Trevor and their son Caleb. It’s a great story and Linda wrote a book about it, as well as a diary type blog. Their new adventure is building a straw bale home with minimal materials that contribute to co2 emissions etc. Take a squiz (which is aussie for “look”) at their website www.lintrezza.com – imagine not even being able to go food shopping, not just clothes shopping?!?! No retail therapy anytime!!! I am really enjoying your “story” – so thank you for sharing it with us all. I been finding it very entertaining, as I am sure you will find Linda, Trevor and Caleb’s adventure. Cheers & thanx for sharing your fun. Linda -- How about making clothes from non-co2 emitting fabric, or fabric that hasn’t used 20 zillion gigalitres of water to produce? How about instead of making a non-fashion statement only you could also make a statement about how much it costs us environmentally to produce goods that emit hazardous chemicals and the cost to the earth water wise, fossil fuel wise etc etc. The fabric required will be Hemp! How about you grow some – make it into fabric and then make your clothes? It’s only a thought When do you wash the dress ? And how often ? We want to start something like this at work. (little brown suit ) A Dear Alex,
Congrats on your brown
dress experience and also for sharing it with others. You hit a nerve
with thousands of women who are tired of this fashion/consumerism
nonsense. You are causing me to examine what I can do without, and
for that I thank you.
God bless,
J
Alex,
Thank you so much for
doing this project! A fellow "thrifty" mom directed me to
your blog, and it's such an inspiration! I'd never thought of going as
far as you have, but I can, and have, reduced my wardrobe at times to
what I needed to go a week without washing, and most of that was
purchased second hand. My daughters had very few new clothes
growing up, I dressed them in second hand and remade clothes and
clothes made from fabrics I was given. At 21 and 16, they both are
amazingly free of the fashion obsessions of their peers. When they do
shop, they buy (secondhand) for quality, durability and versatility.
My older daughter has built a future "work" wardrobe for
less than $5 - 3 pairs of neutral pants, 2 neutral jackets,
and 4 blouses. Her only "fashion" expression is in
hats, and all of those are ones I've made for her, and I think she
views them more as art than fashion. Her sister is much the same,
though with a distinctly personal flair in her clothes.
We wear clothes until
they're worn out (I have shirts and jackets over 10 years old), then I
get them to remake into shopping bags, hair bands, quilt blocks, etc. Our
annual clothes spending for the three of us is, I think, about
$170, and most of that goes for shoes, work clothes and underclothes.
I need shoes with special support, and those actually account for half
our spending alone. My sewing skills aren't up to suit jackets,
but I get very nice, washable ones from thrift shops for $5 - $8
each. I'd never thought of making our own underwear, but I think we'll
now be looking at that as a use for old t-shirts.
Our reasons are complex, -
thrift that has most of its roots in environmentalism, and economic
and feminist ethics. I don't believe sweat shops benefit anyone in the
long run, and I don't want to benefit by such a system. And I believe
"fashion and beauty" expectations limit women more than
anything else in the US culture, and do more damage to their
self-image.
Thanks again, and I hope
you find time to post at least some updates on your new project.
R. in Austin
Hi! I just learned about you today, and I'm partly thrilled and partly annoyed at the universe for showing it to me (yay!) so late (boo!). Nonetheless, that was very cool and appeals to my specific type of nerdery. See, I am seriously addicted to sewing and thrifting, so I can very much relate to your thrill of having control over your clothes. I have sewn so much stuff over the years, that hardly a day goes by where I don't wear something I've made. Usually it's several pieces. And what I didn't make, I either thrifted or got from a "real" store six years ago. I can't remember the last time I shopped at a "real" store for something other than clearance leotards and tights for ballet (and trust me, several leotards are cut out and in queue!). So yes, serious applause from me! It's so normal to me to either dream up my clothes or go treasure-hunting for them. Once on a LiveJournal craft community, a girl wrote that she had a very vivid dream and she remembered all the outfits she wore. So she made them! I sadly don't have the link anymore, but the clothes were cute, like a skirt with felt elephant cutouts going around the bottom. Might be a fun idea in the coming year! I've also suceeded in making my own underwear, and I wear it all the time. I swapped around the tops and bottoms from a few different swimsuit patterns I had to find the perfect combo. Doesn't take much knit fabric, so I cruise the remnants pile like crazy. Lastly, for underwear, I cannot recommend a certain book enough, which is "The Undies Book" by Nanette Rothacker. Dirt cheap at the link because it is sadly out of print. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684146053/sr=8-1/qid=1154750599/ref=sr_1_1/103-4034483-4104611?ie=UTF8 And now I will stop gushing, but sewing clothes and knitting makes me SO EXCITED! I hope to sew clothes for a living someday. It's like my language. Happy Sewing!! Sincerely, A Alex – I’ll miss your updates. I’m sorry you’ve taken this step but I understand. It does make perfect sense. I was (am) dying to see a home-made swimsuit and hear your further reviews of those flimsy shoes. Please consider monthly (or so) updates - at least, to let us know how it’s going (or IF it’s going). I hope it goes well for you! I’ll be interested to hear what you learn from this year. B Alex,
I found out about your
project(s) in the Utne Reader digest that comes weekly via e-mail.
I found it very inspirational and thought provoking (in a good way).
I printed the pattern and if I can scrape together some time I think
I will make the dress out of sustainably producted hemp fabric.
I read your opeing and
have a comment or question - I'm not sure which and I'd like
your thoughts on it, if you have time. If you don't I understand. I
am a working mommy, too.
In
the FAQ's you state "But on a feminist note, let's stop
agreeing that the best way for women (in particular) to
"express themselves" is by purchasing new wardrobe items
and putting together daily outfits."
Ok,
I agree - COMPLETELY. The emphasis on appearance is nothing
but a method of oppression. However, in the photos I noticed how you
layered the dress for colder weather, certain events, etc. (Some
of the outfits were great.) While this is practical and neccessary,
is it not also a method of expression? How can it not be? I
understand that who you are is not defined by what you wear
(contrary to popular social constructions), but you still have to
put together what you wear each day if for not other considerations
but the weather and your planned activities. This in turn is
expresses something about you as a person.
Perhaps
I am thinking too much. (I have been accused of this before.) Lately
I have begun to question that I have perhaps simply replaced
mall shopping and mainstream fashion with Goodwill and urban
anti-fashion, which is now a fashion itself. Afterall, I am still
expressing myself with my attire and appearance. It is just that now
I wear no makeup, refuse to do anything with my hair other than put
it in a scarf or bandana or hat, wear the same practical shoes and
bag daily, etc. But this is very definately a statement of who I am
and what I believe and the way I construct the outfits is definately
a creative outlet for me. At the very least, it expresses that
I walk a lot and don't work in a "professional" or
"business" environment.
So
how do we escape? Can we? If we all ran around in little brown
dresses would we simply have replaced mass consumerism with
standardization? Would that be any less oppressive? Would it be any
more sustainable? Your thoughts?
Thanks
for doing your project. We need people like you to push the
boundaries and question the norms.
Thank
You,
L How to make undies out of Tshirts, and especially to utilize the Tshirt design while doing so. S Messages - July 2006 Hi
Alex, Alex I |