TED Talk--7 Pairs of Underwear

My husband must mention TED at least twice a day, and if we are with friends, he must mention TED ten times. Sometimes I wonder what he does all day! If you haven't heard of TED, these are a collection of riveting videotaped speeches, all shorter than 18 minutes, by some of the worlds greatest thinkers.

A friend recently sent me a TED speech given by designer Jessi Arrington. She only buys used clothing, and clearly has a complete ball searching for things to wear. I appreciate her shopping philosophy, which includes not wanting to spend a fortune and only buying what she is truly excited about. I too, believe it makes sense to buy used clothing and to meditate on the idea of "conscious consumption."

My only reservation about Jessi's talk is that I think it is a lot easier to find wild, outrageous, colorful clothing, and to throw together wacky ensembles, than it is to find affordable used classic chic clothing that I love. While I love shopping at consignment stores, I do not share Jessi's enthusiasm for mining thrift stores. If I arrived in Palm Springs with 7 pairs of underwear in my suitcase, I might have to run around semi-naked for at least a couple of days before I scored some cool clothes!

On a related note, here is an eye-opening article on our history of shopping habits. Author Elizabeth Cline writes: "As clothes have become cheaper, our clothing consumption has gone through the roof. In 1930, the average American woman owned an average of nine outfits. Today, we each buy more than 60 pieces of new clothing on average per year. Our closets are larger and more stuffed than ever, as we've traded quality and style for low prices and trend-chasing. In the face of these irresistible deals, our total spending on clothing has actually increased, from $7.82 billion spent on apparel in 1950 to $375 billion today."