to be loved is to have changed: on clothes
this post is a bit of a ramble, but can i say i have been loving being a low top doc marten guy. i dont know, they just makes me feel so refined. i exclusively wear my docs with a very oversized pair of jeans and it makes for such a relaxed, yet sophisticated look. i walk around toronto in my very and im just giving a more modern look to the early 2010s tumblr crowd:
needless to say, i love my docs. for the past few weeks ive been walking alot, and especially when i go to work; so i try to wear my docs and can break them in as i walk around toronto. i want to say ive done, on the low end, almost 250 000 steps in them. two pairs of sports socks or thick uniqlo thermal socks are my go to. i slap those babies on and try to survive the first few minutes of stiffness as they warm up. after they start to meld to my feet and get warm, they get so comfortable, not to mention my feet actually feel really well supported as opposed to my worn down superstars. the only downside with having leather shoes is the stench if you're in them for super long. ive gone through the timbs cycle, so this is the same story. i try not to wear them on days when i have to sit in a lecture late at night. but if there are days when im alone for most of the day, or quickly going on a walk? best believe im wearing those puppies.
as a casual and sort of preppier shoe, i have been loving them, and, i have been loving the experience of breaking these in. something about making these shoes mine, wearing them each day, and seeing how far i can go with them has made my subjectively boring life (as of recent) quite fun.
i am a lover of well worn things. a belt with holes poked in and creases in the leather around where it latches. jeans with pocket imprints of ones wallet. shirts with the collar too loose to go outside with but still intact as a home shirt. when we truly take care of the things we own, we imbue them with this sort of essence of ourselves that isnt present in newly bought things. i love hand me downs from my relatives and from loved ones in general. knowing my dad wore the same jackets when he first came here makes me feel as though im stepping in the same path he once did. fiddling with the same clipper lighter my grandfather used 15 years ago makes me feel like hes still here alongside me. wearing the sweater my friend gave me back in 12th grade, even though we dont talk anymore, makes me remember her and the memories we made. i relate this post back with a previous one on possessions and belongings, where i essentially said that our belongings are the story of us. to put wear on something is to impart our story onto it.
we can attribute our belongings, and especially our clothes, to the garfield i found off pinterest that i referenced when writing this post.
we live in a uniquely buy buy buy (the word is consumerist) society, i wont get philosophical, but almost everything around us is built with the intent for us to spend money; subtle product placements, viral clothing trends, cheap clothing, whatever else. these have simply ruined the way we care for our things.
now more than ever, everything has become replaceable, and the concept of planned obsolescence seeps into every single little thing we buy. you poke a whole in your shirt? oh just buy a new one, old navy has this one with a nice pattern on it for 20 dollars. the back glass of your phone cracked? either buy a new phone or pay 800 dollars for a replacement. you spilled water on your notebook? walmart has a cheap 4 pack of notebooks on sale.
i want to say that ive become smarter in the way i buy clothes. maybe i havent been the smartest, but my shopping has gone down as opposed to when i used to work in a retail store by the name of marshalls. my closet is still pretty filled with old sweaters i no longer wear, and maybe 5 of the same well worn white shirt that i wear underneath hoodies, but apart from those, i have been going pretty simplistic and minimal. maybe its a different story for guys just because our clothing tends to take up alot more physical space as opposed to womens clothing, so for us, the less the better. my clothing shopping has been limited to buying one small essential at a time, a hoodie maybe if its really cold and i need one for the winter, or new shoes when mine are worn down to the sole, stuff like that... and slowly building up an okay wardrobe.
i cant excuse buying whatever sustainable crap is being pushed on us nowadays. i am only a human, what can possibly motivate me to buy a 60 dollar shirt made from bamboo fabric? even sustainable clothing can be subject to planned obsolescence, and lets be real, im not a pilgrim, i shouldnt dress like one. i find it absolutely ridiculous how these things have become marketing ploys to warrant our society need to not feel guilt for mass consumption.
a pair of 25$ discounted vans jeans lasted me 7 years, and they still havent hit the end of their life. i wear them less often now since ive bought this new pair from ragged jeans, but the point still stands! ive rubbed a hole into the crotch area three times now, and each time my mom has fixed them. if you take care of the things you have, then they will last! you dont replace your kidney if it doesnt work, you take medicine in hopes to fix it. you dont sell your car if the transmission breaks. you dont just drop the course after failing a test, you work to get better makes. why dont we treat our possessions, and especially our clothing the same way?
recently i have been getting into hand-stitching. its not anything fancy but i managed to secure the handles on my twice tote bag and i felt very proud of myself. i followed a youtube tutorial that told me to go in and out, then in and out, then loop at the end, cut the cord, and burn the excess thread (it was synthetic). the final product does the job, and ive been spamming the tote bag since. when im not so busy, i want my mom to teach me how to alter another pair of jeans i have that are now way too wide.
anyways, this whole post was essentially just to say take care of your clothes. make them tell a story about your life. your clothes will get to a point where people will be able to tell that they are well worn (this is different to being worn out). once you get to this point, i promise you become such a cool person in my eyes. at the end of the day, dont buy the first trendy thing youll wear once then throw out, dont buy fleece (for the love of god avoid fleece with all your might), dont replace what shouldnt be replaced, and be smart about what you buy, and last but not least, wear your clothes. we are meant to wear clothes and not preserve them in our closets until we go out. me personally? i am going to keep wearing the shit out of these docs for the foreseeable future.
anyways, good night.