SwoC Day 1

It's almost an hour in to my work day- a day that would normally be filled with stolen moments trolling my favorite online clothing retailers. But today is different! Today's the first day of my month of Style without Consuming (I felt the need to come up with a shiny label for this project).

This morning, instead of opening up my email and clicking on all the sale links sent to me by Gap, Old Navy, Anthropologie, Ralph Lauren, Bluefly, Banana Republic, Smart Bargains, eLuxury, etc., I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and clicked the "unsubscribe" link. The first time I did it, it was a bit painful. What will I do without knowing what cute clothes I can get for a deal today? But after a little wince, I was over it. Admittedly, I have not unsubscribed to the Racked newsletter or Daily Candy. I'm justifying by saying that they both provide great information on things other than clothing sales, and anyway, my friends rely on me to tell them what sample sale they need to hit after work. I'm not saying I won't unsubscribe later if the temptation is too much, but I'm not ready to do it yet.

I went to make myself a morning cup of coffee, and was complimented by a coworker on my outfit- primarily made up of my new khaki safari dress from Rogan Gregory's line for Target. I thought for a moment about how much I wanted to go buy the version in black as well. After all, it's made from organic cotton so would I really be breaking the rules...? Yes. I would. I reminded myself of the various black, summer, work-appropriate dresses hanging in my closet and surrendered the fantasy.

Back at my desk, an email from Nylon magazine popped up with a link for one of the SoCal surfer girl labels, mentioning some sort of "design for humanity" launch. I took the bate and clicked the link, but instead of going to shop the products I scanned the blurb about how the line would benefit Surfrider Foundation, and had an idea...! With the money I'll be saving from not buying new clothes, I should make a donation to one of the many good environmentally-focused organizations out there. Now I was feeling empowered. I even got ahead of myself and thought that maybe I should extend SwoC to a 6-month gig. Maybe I will....