The Great American Apparel Diet

It’s been a few months…

Debbie Y — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:43:22 +0000

I am still here and still on the diet. My one year of dieting ends at the end of this month: Dec 31, 2011. So far I only messed up once when I bought a vintage black dressed. I also bought a couple of tops but I used a gift card for that. I bought underwear but I think that was allowed right? I did not buy any shoes except for my tennis shoes. I have been “shopping” at clothing stores but haven’t bought anything else. Instead, I am making a list of what I need to round out my wardrobe.

I am looking forward to the diet ending in a few weeks. I have some money saved for a small shopping spree but need to be careful to only buy items I love and can coordinate with other pieces. It will be nice to finally get something new to wear.

Good luck to those of you who are still on the diet!

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My other motivation…

Allison T — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:09:23 +0000

When I joined TGAAD I was motivated by a number of factors that I mentioned in my little introductory post, including wanting to save a bit of money and spend less wastefully. What I didn’t mention was that we were actually trying to conceive as well and I didn’t want to buy too many things in case I wouldn’t be fitting into them within the next year or so. Since finishing TGAAD in the summer I’ve been careful only to buy clothes that I could still wear throughout pregnancy such as cardigans, flowy tops and a button up dress.

I’m so glad now that I went through TGAAD because I’m now 4 months along in my pregnancy (not showing too much yet), and still have some relatively new things to wear. I had to buy a pair each of maternity pants and jeans this past week as well as a stretchy pencil skirt but that’s about all for now. I also bought a belly band so I can wear my pre-maternity jeans, pants and skirts for as long they will allow me to wear them. The belly band is such a great investment as I’ve read that a lot of women end up buying two rounds of maternity clothes, some for 2nd trimester and some more the 3rd trimester. We were planning to take trip out to Hawaii in January so hopefully I’ll be able to pick up a few flowy summer dresses that will take me to the end of the pregnancy in the spring as well as post pregnancy.

Looking back, I guess I’ve been pretty lucky since I haven’t put on too much weight since I finished university nearly 10 years ago. As a result, I haven’t had to buy new clothes due to fluctuations in my weight until recently and have a nice collection of investment pieces that I hope to fit into again someday. Hopefully after going through TGAAD this past year, I’ve developed the willpower to buy only what I need for the rest of my pregnancy with an eye out for items I could still wear post pregnancy as well.

UPDATE (Dec. 11): I think I’m going to have to impose TGAAD rules until I get closer to my 3rd trimester at least. I didn’t realize that I’d grow out of my clothes so quickly (first time mom’s mistake!). I’m already beginning to outgrow a pair of pants I bought few weeks ago. It’s not so much that I’m gaining that much weight yet but my pelvic bone structure seems to be changing. And I believed them when they told me to just buy maternity pants in my normal size! Good thing I still have the tags on and haven’t washed them yet.

I think I should be able to wear most of the tops and dresses I’ve got both through and post maternity though and I have to admit, I’ve been indulging… And the stretchy jeans and skirt I bought will be staples in my wardrobe. Here’s to hoping I can get through the winter with only one or two minor additions to the closet and can pick up some billowy summer dresses in Hawaii that will take me through my third trimester.

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party season

Hazel — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:10:28 +0000

being good so far.. a lot of the time I hardly think about it.. but party season is upon us and it’s is getting harder.. so having to dig deep into being creative.

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Days go by.

Susie Hanna — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:01:04 +0000

Well hello there. Why yes, thanks for asking, I am most definitely still on this diet, and I’m most definitely still going strong

It seems that for most of you, your diet was up September 1st. Congrats to all the successful dieters! And congrats to the not so successful dieters, just by signing up for the challenge makes you a champ in my books!

Im actually a little bit surprised that there aren’t many post from the remaining dieters (perhaps im the only one left?)

I just want to say that I feel quite empowered by this diet. It has given me the willpower I never thought I had against all things clothing, shoes and accessories. I feel very much in control of my consumeristic (is that even a word??) behavior. I am much more aware of spending and tracking my money. I’ve already been able to save the same amount that I spent on clothing last year. I’m not even sure how I’m going to react when I’m actually ‘allowed’ to shop. Pherhaps I’ll just try to go as long as possible.

How has this diet left YOU feeling?

PS :: Sally: Thank you for this experiment and also to your team/collective of people that got this challenge off the ground and at our fingertips, you’re a champ ::

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My year was up before I knew it!

Patricia — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:32:20 +0000

Once I’d gotten out of the habit of buying clothes, it was easier than I expected to maintain. I gave myself permission to buy a new bathing suit after I moved to a building with a pool. Now that the diet is over, I’m replacing bras and underwear that I’d kept wearing, but don’t particularly like. I thought about shopping for an outfit or two, but I honestly don’t want anything!

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T minus Two

Scarlett — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:41:00 +0000

I had TWO slip ups this year, I will admit.

I bought, on two separate trips, two skirts, and a pair of jeans. I bought these while shopping with friends/family.

But, I acquired a sewing machine this year, and was able to play with my wardrobe in ways I never would have pushed myself to do if I hadn’t joined the Diet.

BUT this year I think I spent more liberally on “stuff” to make up for not spending on clothes (mostly accessories for the apartment, but also several more pairs of shoes than I usually would have gotten in a year). I don’t know if this was my subconscious “self-correcting” my total shopping urges, or what.

The end of this Diet for me will be the beginning of a new type of year altogether, actually. My fiance and I will spend a year apart for work, and will see (and marry) each other only once a season.

I will probably start buying clothes again in Sept, but will put myself on a stricter “stuff” diet. Maybe I’ll start a wish-fund, where I keep track of and put the dollar amount of things I want to buy into a savings account instead, as a nest egg for upcoming married life… I unsubscribed from all of the groupon-type sites I had been addicted to after I noticed that had spent more than $150 in one month on them, so I am hoping that will help me save more.

Good luck to everyone re-entering the shopping world in two days, renewing their diet-vows, or just reexamining their spending/fashion/green habits at the end of this year!!!

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Three little words (made somewhere else)

Sally Bjornsen — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:00:21 +0000

Love this article. Lifted from a blog out of Arkansas.

Posted Tuesday, August 23, 2011, on the Town Crier Blog

Three little words (made somewhere else)

I found a bargain the other day.

I was so proud. It was a nice pantsuit. The original price was $79 but, of course, I didn’t pay that.

It had been marked down twice and I was prepared to pay the markdown price of $20.

Then as I walked toward the checkout, a lady heading for the door handed me a 30 percent off coupon good for that shopping day only.

“Thanks,” I said, pleased.

My final price was $14.71 including tax.

The saleslady gave me the nice hangers and wrapped plastic covering over the suit.

When I got home, I decided to try the outfit on once again to make sure it fit properly.

Then I noticed the tag inside the collar. Made in Vietnam.

Here we go again, I thought. Everything we Americans purchase seems to be made in a foreign country.

It’s hard to find anything Made in America.

If you don’t believe me, just take a look around your house. You’ll find those decorative vases and statues weren’t made in the USA, and that goes for a lot of furniture, housewares, cookware, footware, purses, shoes and lingerie. Also hand lotions, creams, soaps. And multitudes of other items.

My Mikasa crystal table clock was Made in Austria.

The same day I bought the pantsuit, I also bought a pair of Dr. Sholl’s “Are you gellin’?” shoes. Those are the shoes with the gel-pac insoles.

As I read the enclosed description about the soft cushioning foam and shock absorbing features, I also read that the shoes were manufactured for Brown Shoe Company. Then the last three little words said, “Made in China.”

Who would have thought that Dr. Scholl’s shoes would be Made in China?

I started looking around my house and in my closet.

A brown leather suede vest was Made in India.

A Sag Harbor two-piece capris set was Made in Indonesia. So were several other Worthington blouses.

My favorite Gloria Vanderbilt jeans were Made in Egypt.

The pajamas I wore to bed last night were Made in Cambodia.

Some Vassarette lingerie was Made in China.

My JC Penney wash clothes were Made in Pakistan.

I don’t know where my Dell computer was manufactured, but the Dell ink cartridges come from Mexico or the Phillippines.

My beautiful bird calendar was printed in Korea.

My land phones and answering machine were Made in China.

My porcelain on steel skillet was Made in Spain.

A red, white and blue Beanie Baby elephant sports a tag that reads handmade in China. The tag notes that others in the collection are made in Canada, Europe and Japan.

Eureka! A Stuart Hall TECH subject notebook displayed a tiny American flag on the back cardboard cover. Made in the USA was written so small that I almost overlooked it. Stuart Hall Inc, is located in Kansas City, Mo., USA.

My plastic pencil box was also Made in the USA in Madison, Wis.

The other day I bought two small 4×6 inch American flags stapled to two round flag pole dowels. Cost was $1 for the two flags. They were Made in the USA.

My AVON body lotion is Made in the USA.

Dial soap for men was Made in the USA, also.

Energizer lithium batteries I recently purchased are Made in the U.S.A. in St. Louis, Mo.

My scented jar candle was made in Mayfield, Ky., USA.

My point in all this?

Just this: About 25 years ago I listened to a man rant when a factory in his hometown closed down. The manufacturers gave numerous reasons why the shutdown was necessary. Many locals lost their jobs when the company closed its doors. The ranting man was adamant that the real reason for the closing was that the plant would be moved overseas to take advantage of cheap labor.

That’s exactly what happened and that business continues to operate from overseas locations today.

Numerous manufacturers have followed suit by outsourcing their products overseas.

Now here in America we are in an unemployment crisis. All around us we see able bodied men and women who cannot find work. They are filing bankruptcy and losing their homes all over America. And savings, pension funds and stocks have plummeted.

I can’t pretend to know the reason why or what could stimulate a turnaround.

But it stands to reason that more jobs would be available if businesses created more jobs within our borders.

Or if Americans bought more Made in the USA products.

The first step is to read the labels.

It might be an eye-opener.

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Thank you, Sally!

Grace — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 04:07:45 +0000

It’s been almost eight months since I decided to stop mindlessly buying clothes. But for Sally and many others of you, it’s been almost TWO YEARS.

I stumbled upon this site a few days after I decided to start my Year (Almost) Without Shopping, and found out that I was not the first one to come up with this idea, and I was not alone.

The rules of The Great American Apparel Diet are a lot tougher than my rules, but we have a lot in common: try before you buy, quality not quantity, don’t buy anything on sale that you wouldn’t buy at full price — all this after, the non-shopping year is over, of course. I allowed myself that 40th birthday allowance, but Sally says shoes are allowed. No way I’d put in that clause, or I’d have myself a huuuge collection of shoes by now. (That pair of sandals I bought before BlogHer will have to come out my end-of-year savings.)

In the early weeks of my Year (Almost) Without Shopping, TGAAD was a big part of keeping me on track. On more than one occasion, I followed my old habit of wandering over to the mall when I had an extra hour between appointments or before picking the kids up from school. Those after-Christmas sales were mighty tempting. It sounds cheesy, but I really did think about those 300 other non-shoppers at TGAAD, many of whom have blogged their accomplishments — and slip-ups — and that was enough to keep me from buying something I didn’t need. Either that or I’m just really competitive, and the idea that if all these other shopaholics could kick their habit, then so could I.

On the rare occasion that I go “window shopping”, I still get that OMG, I NEED THAT, MY LIFE WILL BE SO MUCH BETTER IF I HAVE THAT urge. But I am able to recognize it for what it is, and — for the most part — resist it.

So thank you, Sally, for creating The Great American Apparel Diet and inspiring (soon to be former) shopaholics like me.

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And the Second Year Winds Down

Sally Bjornsen — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:11:17 +0000

Hello all, Sally here,

Two years ago I was in the beginning stages of launching this blog. Wow time flies! At the time I was dead set on stopping the crazy consumerism that occupied my thoughts and actions. I officially started my own diet on Sept. 1, 2009 and ended it on, August 31, 2010. I was in Alaska on a very remote island when my diet officially ended. No, I didn’t spend my first day off the diet eyeing cheesy, souvenir sweatshirts.

My original plan for TGAAD was to conduct a one year experiment for myself. I put it out there to my friends and family and opened it up to anyone who wanted to join me. I had no idea the nerve we would hit with the public and the press. In that first year we received tons of national and international press and recruited over 250 women from around the world to give up shopping for one year.

After nine months it quickly became apparent that one year would turn into two and that stopping the diet would mean that many women would be left without a “net.” So we continued along, attracting one hundred more women for the second year (thanks to Brian Williams and the New York Times).

As our second year draws to a close (15 days) I am gearing up to officially end my role as moderator and administrator of the blog. That means no new people will be joining our group. You can continue to blog but I will not be adding new people to the list of contributors.

It has been a great run, I have made great friends, read some heart wrenching, hilarious and insightful blog posts from women on every continent. Who knew shopping could be such a hot topic around the world.

So feel free to blog your heads off until you’re done with the diet. We will still be reading and watching your progress. I will weigh in on occasion but will be likely drumming up a new idea to launch into the world. When I do I will be sure to let you all know.

Your diet guru

Sally

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1st attempt

Diane M — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 03:56:27 +0000

My year of clothes dieting was over July 31st, so tonight, 5 days later, my husband asked me what we were going to do for fun. I suggested we go out and walk around the outdoor mall, thinking I could start scoping out the clothes scene and plan for my 1st post-diet purchase. We drove around trying to find a parking spot, passing Banana Republic, Macy’s, Dillards, Ann Taylor…and in the end, I decided that I wasn’t even interested in the exercise of shopping, as I had originally thought. It didn’t even sound fun…so, we ended up dining instead! I may try a lower level of commitment first…thrifting, just for the sport of it all.

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