The Dress Retro challenge

 Last September, I posted about the Take the JUMP challenge created by a UK-based group to help people "protect our earth and live life with joy." That post focused on the reason I wasn't taking it: because one of the "six shifts" the challenge required was giving up your car, and for me—and most other Americans—that simply wasn't feasible. But in the months since, I've been thinking more about one of the other five "shifts" involved in the challenge: "Dress Retro." This means getting most of your clothes secondhand and pledging to buy no more than three new items of clothing in any one year. When I first analyzed the challenge, I assumed that for us, this particular shift would be difficult but not impossible. But yesterday, I realized it might actually be a lot more doable than I assumed. In fact, depending on how you calculate, I might be doing it already.

I made this discovery while taking a study about online shopping. It asked about what kinds of items I'd bought online in the past year, so I started going through email receipts to check. And to my surprise, I found that a very limited number of those online purchases were wearable items:

• One secondhand sundress from eBay.
• One pair of blue jeans from Everlane.
  
• One bra and one package of undies from Hanes.
• One much-needed pair of winter boots from Woman Within. (I had actually bought quite a few more pairs of boots and shoes over the course of the year, but all the others got returned because they didn't fit. This was the only pair that I kept.)

There were also a couple of items bought as gifts: a Critical Role t-shirt for a nephew and two pairs of Darn Tough socks for Brian. But I assumed those wouldn't count toward the three-item limit imposed by the Dress Retro shift.

The thing is, when I consulted the rules, I found that most of the other items wouldn't count either. The limit "doesn’t include socks, underwear or shoes," presumably because these items are impractical to buy secondhand. And secondhand pieces, like my sundress, get a free pass as well. So according to the rules of the challenge, the only new garment I bought online last year was one pair of jeans. 

Okay, but what about items bought in stores? I went through my records for the past year and found that nearly all the in-store clothing purchases I'd made were also exempt under the rules. Some were secondhand (like my new fall coat); others were footwear, underwear, or socks. The only items that could be counted were:

• One dress I bought from a vendor at the farmers' market, which I almost immediately got rid of. (The vendor wouldn't allow me to try it on, even over my other clothes, since she said she wouldn't be able to sell it if it had been worn. I took a gamble on it anyway, but when I got it home I found that it was absolutely unwearable. Lesson learned.)
• One $4 shirt from Ocean State Job Lot. (I didn't need it, and I felt a little bad about buying what was obviously a fast fashion item. But it was just so cute—and so cheap.)
  
• One pair of sleep shorts from Walmart. (This was something I definitely did need, since my much-repaired old pair was no longer wearable. And I'd had no luck finding any secondhand.)
  
  

These three items plus the new pair of jeans put me just over the three-item limit. However, you could argue that the sleep shorts should really qualify as underwear, since they're comparable to boxer shorts and definitely not suitable for wearing outside the house. If you allow that reasoning, then I actually was within the limit last year. But even if you don't, I came pretty close to meeting this goal without even trying. So if I actually make a conscious effort this year, I should be able to do it in a walk.

Thus, I hereby announce that I am officially taking the Dress Retro challenge for 2023. I have not purchased any new clothing (barring my new pair of boots, which is allowed) in the first three months of this year, and I intend to buy no more than three new pieces in the nine months remaining. To be honest, I rather suspect I'll be able to get by with no more than one new garment if I really put my mind to it, but I'll set the bar low for now. If I clear it easily, I can always raise it next year.