fashion blogging
Did you know blogs about women’s fashion are one of the most popular of all blogs? No, I didn’t either, but I am surprised. Fashion, in this case, is specifically about what you wear. It is considered a means of self expression. Fashion dictates what is popular and can change very quickly. Current estimates claim 80 billion pieces of clothing are in circulation. This is an increase of 400% from 2 decades ago.
Image Pixabay
Apparently one in three young women, the biggest consumers of fashion, consider a garment worn once or twice is old and is thrown out. Local figures for Australia suggest every piece of new clothing is worn seven times before it is thrown out or sent to charity shops. I don’t think this is sustainable.
Image Pixabay
The reason I was dwelling on fashion and how it impacts on our lives is simple. Planning for going away soon, I looked up the predicted temperatures at our destination and then considered what was hanging in my wardrobe. I need more light weight shirts. A while ago I narrowed and shortened the sleeves on a summer shirt I’d never worn because the sleeves were so puffy! I added a pocket from one of the cut off sleeves for keys or a phone when I go walking. Now I wear that shirt frequently.
So when I saw another shirt hanging in the wardrobe which would work well with other pieces I’d already decided to take, I took it out and put it on to work out why I hadn’t worn it. In fact, it still had the tags attached. Same problem as the other shirt, puffy sleeves. Was that a fashion last year? So, the second shirt got the same treatment; narrowed sleeves and hemmed the newly cut sleeves at elbow length. Also added a pocket using one of the cut off sleeves. Wash, iron, all sorted.
Although I immediately think of the French when I think of fashion, one theme which dominates French fashion bloggers is the concept of a capsule wardrobe. Lots of individual pieces which can be mixed with each other, so limited colour palettes and all can mix and match. The other theme common in French blogs is to buy the best quality possible and pay attention to the maintenance of each piece. The French, probably the most attractively dressed women in the world, buy few clothes, but buy quality.
Image Pexel
Obviously, with my approach to caring for clothes, mending, altering and maintaining plus buying less of everything but good quality, I will never be a fashion blogger! But perhaps the average French woman would approve.
traveling plans
So writing about planning trips leads on nicely from writing about planning and organizing the clothes I want to take when we travel next. After two years of only traveling within our own state, we are making plans for a few holidays. We have friends who have several overseas trips booked, too, probably trying to make up for lost time!
We live in Perth, the most isolated capital city in the world. Our nearest popular destination is Bali, about three and a half hours from here. Lucky us! We love Bali and have missed our annual trip very much. We are booked to go later in the year. The next closest overseas destination for us is Singapore about 5 hours travel time from Perth. It is also a favourite! Then the next closest destination overseas is probably Auckland ( 6 hours), in New Zealand, but I have never been there.
Beautiful Bali.
So getting to popular European destinations involves long haul flights for us, taking about 24 hours to get to London (18 hours non stop available again now from Perth) It takes a lot of planning and a lot of stamina to fly to Europe. We traveled extensively within Asia as we lived there and we really enjoyed exploring various countries, some geographically similar but all with distinct cultures. And we’re really looking forward to going back to Bali!
other things
Last week I wrote about using up leftover artisan bread to make bruschetta. We really liked it and looked at other recipes, particularly from Italian bloggers. Roma tomatoes were recommended, we so used them to make the next lot. Wash, chop into small cubes, put in a sieve over a bowl and leave to drip. After a while I agitated the sieve to release more liquid, then continued as before; mix tomatoes, red onion, basil, red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic and leave at room temperature for half and hour. It was a very hot day so I then put the mixture in the fridge for half an hour, too. Next I toasted thickish slices of bread I’d rubbed with garlic, drizzled with olive oil and then spooned on the tomato mix. Splash of balsamic vinegar. Our new favourite lunch.
Fresh, ripe tomatoes with red onion, basil, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar plus a splash of balsamic vinegar and lunch is done. Delicious!
What a fascinating post. I had no idea that Perth is the most isolated capital in the world. I totally agree with you about clothing and fashion, it is not at all sustainable. I have not bought an item of clothing for a while now, I have enough. It is a very long time since I have bought anything new too, so many of my clothes are secondhand but even then I seek out clothing that is good quality and will wear well and last me a long time. I have items in my wardrobe that are over twenty years old and still look ok. I can recommend a podcast called Wardrobe Crisis, if you listen to them it is well worth a listen.
Hello!
Do you think people are changing their approach to clothing? I am still surprised at the number of mass produced and therefore basically disposable clothing shops there are in shopping centres. There’s also the concern about children and women working to produce these cheap pieces. Their pay rates, work conditions and exposure to exploration is enormously concerning. I hope things will change.
I keep seeing photos of snowdrops! Do you grow them?