Why I started Closet Consumption...

I've always had an interest in fashion, consumption, celebrity and shopping theory.  When I completed my Masters by research in 2003/4, I looked heavily at shopping theory.  I finished my Masters, kept working as a curator but still kept up my reading into the fashion and shopping theory.  While reading I started thinking about my own personal consumption in fashion and what my impact was on the environment and most importantly on the rag trade itself.

A few years ago, I made a pledge to myself to try and make most of my clothes.  It's not a super hard task considering I come from a family of bootmakers, pattern makers etc.  I have been sewing for nearly all my life so I decided to call upon those skills again.

After a very inspirational article about Buy Nothing New Month (which started it's movement in Australia!), I  wrote about my consumption and the way that I was trying to make changes in a post over here.  The ideas of not buying cheaply and poorly made items have been with me for quite some time and it's a practice that I try to adhere to.

Peter over on his blog Male Pattern Boldness discussed the issues around cheap clothing and consumption in a post here.  He had been reading the book Overdressed:  The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline and inspired by the post I downloaded a kindle version.  I haven't read the whole thing but  it really does give some home truths about the way we shop now and how people don't value quality as much as they used to.

So, from this crazy train of thought, I decided to create this blog domain to document my own consumption in the fashion world.  I will be documenting what I have been wearing, in terms of where it has come from, costs and who manufactured it and how many times I have been wearing it.  I will also research more the backgrounds of my favourite labels and the issues around consumption.

This really is my own research.  I am interested in tracking my own consumption with potentially using the information to inform my own art practice and writing.  I don't want Closet Consumption to be preachy but more an investigation.

I'd love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to leave comments!