Last night a group of us went to the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center for Kramer's 25th birthday. I suppose he wanted to go all out and make it a classy affair. I believe we succeeded.  Addison and I got ready at Kati's apartment.  In the midst of attempting to make ourselves look glamorous, Kati mentioned (or perhaps I asked her...) that she had clothes she didn't need anymore and was thinking of donating.  Since she was aware of my clothes project, she generously gave me the clothes she didn't want anymore. Because I haven't bought anything for the past month, and will not for the next 11 months, receiving used clothes (especially from the Kati's lavish closet) was overly exciting. I think that when I'm done with this project that I might only just buy used clothes. It's much better for the environment too!

Overall, the classy night out was heaps of fun. I also can firmly say that going to the orchestra and sitting in the 2nd row (only due to the fact that we were students being placed in unoccupied seats) was definitely one of the top 10 best things I've ever experienced in my life. They played Mozart symphonies and we were so close you could see the facial expressions of all the musicians. The 25 year old violin soloist was so phenomenal, I even got emotional watching and hearing him play.  It was experiences like going to the orchestra that made me so grateful that God gave me the ability to hear and see, which is something I take for granted daily.

Tonight, in the midst of writing a paper for class I clumsly knocked my laptop over and well...

First Day of Spring!

First day in a long time of absolute gorgeous weather. Of course, Sarah and I decided to take advantage of such a beautiful day.  We both had a few errands to run and instead of driving, we decided to ride bikes to every place we had to go.  Sarah wanted to get sunglasses so we biked to Ross.  I'll admit, I definitely look through their clothes and saw a few sundresses that were super cheap. But, I refrained myself from reaching a point where I would feel new clothes withdraw and managed to walk away unscathed (how dramatic..). Currently, I've been trying to remove myself from the temptation to buy new clothes (or not even place myself in any such situation). Hopefully as this project further progresses, I'll have developed the ability to window shop and not feel a thing.

Though it took us a while to get places, it definitely made us feel a little bit greener for the day.

In fact, I was so green that I even biked through the drive through ATM to get money (Also because I had to since there was no other ATM in the building).

Happy 2 weeks! I went to upstate NY for an awards ceremony this weekend. I told some people there about this project and even the people I deemed to be already living a simplistic life thought that going without new clothes for 1 year is going to be challenging.  I remain optimistic...but perhaps it's because it's only been 2 weeks (which I know for sure I have gone that long without buying clothes without even realizing it).

Jenn came to visit me after work today. She's not buying any new clothes for 1 year either and her outfit was still super hip. She dressed in layers and it was unique with how she put her outfit together. It gave me more ideas to figure out how to make new outfits with the clothes I already have.

I tried to see if she wanted to trade clothes with me sometime. Since we both won't have new clothes for a year, I thought it would be advantageous to switch some of our outfits with each other when we start to get tired with what we have. I hope she'll want to because I always admire what she wears.

It's been one week since I started this project!

Though I'm striving to live a simplistic life, I still think it's important to support small businesses or even help "fuel the economy" during these economic times. Granted, not splurging on clothes has definitely helped in my savings department, (and it's always good to save) I've been racking my brain to come up with ways to help the economy and still stay true to living a simple life. Suggestions?

I had to purchase a new agenda beacuse the one I had was in the purse that was stolen. After a long search with minimal patience, I had to go for my last resort...Walmart. Man oh man do I really dislike Walmart (I thought I hated Walmart, but apparently not enough to step foot in there..which I shamefully did).  I won't go  too deeply into the reasons for why I think the Walmart Corporation is unethical, but instead I will provide a picture I slyly snapped while during my 1.5 minute visit into their store.

Perhaps you're wondering why I'm talking about Walmart in my no new clothes project.  These shirts are $1 at Walmart. One Dollar.  At first instinct, I wanted to look through them, cause c'mon they're a dollar. Then I remembered my mission. I don't need to buy things because they're cheap. I'll just end up accumulating things I'll eventually throw out.

The 4th day. Living the 4th (haha).  It's definitely been a breeze so far, but of course it's only the beginning. The weekends are usually the most opportune time to go to the mall and buy unnecessary things, especially when you're bored.  Luckily, I booked my weekend solid.  The challenge will come when summer and fall clothes come out. No buying new bathing suits is included.

Tonight was Curran's grand opening.  It was the first day since this project started that I had to pick out a non-work outfit to wear.  I really made more of an effort to dig out the stuff I never wear and give them another shot.  So I pulled this little number together:

I found these jeans from 3 years ago that I probably had only worn a handful of times. For a while I gave up on them because I didn't like how they fit. But now that I'm not buying any new clothes, it's helping me to consciously make better choices before I purchase things.

I've owned these chucks for 8 years. I'd say I've worn them pretty heavily.  Earlier this year I wanted to buy a new pair because the ones I own are so old! But age doesn't matter if they're still lookin good. 


As I mentioned in my first post, part of this project is to remind myself of my experience in the Philippines.  When I was volunteering in a pre school, there was a morning session for 2-3 year olds, then afternoon session for 4-5 year olds. Some of the children in the morning session had an older sibling in the afternoon session.  Many of the times (if not all the time) after the children in the morning were finished with their session, they would go home and give the shirt they were wearing to their older sibling for them to wear in the afternoon. These families were too poor to buy one shirt for each of their children that the children would have to share one shirt. 

This whole project so far has been giving me chances to reflect on how lucky I am to have what I have and to see what I can easily live without.

As I was getting dressed this morning, I realized there was a tiny hole in my long sleeve shirt.  I'm going to have to learn how to sew in order to fix my clothes instead of buying new clothes.

I told the people I work with about this project of mine.  My boss had the great idea of borrowing and lending clothes, that way I'll be able to change up my waredrobe and still not buy any new clothes. I'll have to find some volunteers first.

The month of February was quite an awful one, especially the end of it. I was in a car accident (not my fault, but still insanely annoying). Then my boyfriend's car got broken into and my purse was stolen from it. That is the extremely short version.

Just when I was about to give up on all hope, I received a lovely letter from a great friend (by the way, hand writing letters and sending them snail mail is magnificent in the midst of technology). In the end of the letter, she had told me how she and her friend had decided to make pledge to refrain from buying any and all new clothes for a whole year. I instantly fell in love with the idea. I suppose I've recently been craving more simplicity in my life, especially when it came to the material things.

After spending 7 months of my life in the Philippines, and living/working with/serving the poor, I was sure that when I came back I would no doubt live simply (especially after seeing the people I was surrounded by were so impoverished) perhaps to live in solidarity with the poor people I had befriended. I was certain I would constantly be grateful for what I had, desire less, and remember how little they had but yet how free and happy they were.

Unfortunately, being back in the United States for more than 2 years eventually diminshed all thoughts. I reverted back to the spending habits I once had prior to my Filipino immersion. I would constantly try to justify buying clothes by telling myself how cheap things were and how satisfied I felt because I would get a good deal. The justifications became a gateway drug into spending more, and frequently at that. I know I'm making myself out to sound that I'm a shopaholic, but truth be told, I probably spend no more than the average person.

This no new clothes pledge gave me something tangible to accomplish, thus inherently helping me work towards my goal of living a simpler life, and hopefully allowing me to remember my experience in the Philippines and the things I learned from my time there that I ended up forgetting.

I love shopping and keeping up with the latest indie trends. This certainly is going to be a great challenge. But I'm sticking to what I got for 1 year. Wish me luck!