Lately I've been thinking a lot about over-consumption.
When I left New York to go to Australia, I left a lot of my belongings behind because I couldn't possibly fit everything in two suitcases.
It was a jarring experience at first, but actually turned out to be refreshing. One of the only things on record that I actually bought there was my Tigerlily caftan. I floated around in my orange caftan like a big burst of sunny energy feeling no urge to shop, but rather getting those same endorphins from 7am ocean dips, rays of
sunshine, and a few fresh mango smoothies.
I thought maybe I'd kicked my unhealthy habit of feeling the urge to keep up with every trend and every new piece that hits shelves until my well sand-dermabrasioned feet hit the hard concrete of New York City once again.
As this blog clearly shows, I haven't. I do wonder if it is possible to live simply in a city where consumption is tempting you on every street corner. We don't have cars or flashy houses so in turn we only have ourselves to flaunt who we are, what we do, and what we have.
I found an interesting article on Fashion Tribes about the meaning of Alexander McQueen's last collection named "Plato's Atlantis". Some viewed his collection as an apocalyptic foreshadowing of our society; a society so consumed and obsessed with wealth, power, and possessions that it crumbles and forces us into an underwater existence.
As writer Lesley Scott points out, Atlantians began "valuing money over spirituality", became "faint and weak", and overwhelmed with "lawless ambition and power". I can't help but think of all of the negative articles lately on how there needs to be a "hierarchy" system within the blogosphere so that people can try to see who is actually "legitimate" enough to go to fashion shows. Heaven forbid there be a branch of the industry that isn't mean-spirited and catty.
So with all of this rambling, I say self-evolution is a complex process and maybe we all need to take a step back sometimes and re-evaluate what really makes us happy. I'm guilty as charged, but also optimistic about trying to replace some of my habits with more productive ones.
I also realize that my next post will probably be a musing on my latest purchase, so please don't judge my contradiction.
xoxo,
SG
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2 comments:
Love this post! It is difficult sometimes to step away from the "need" to acquire more stuff and just be content with what you already have. I think as a society this is something we desperately need to do. With things being the state they're in, it will probably won't be an option.
And that beach looks very familiar ;)
Great post.
-kARA
dreaminfashion.blogspot.com
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