The dress of dreams and how it broke my heart

Taking a chance on fast fashion.

For a celebratory night out my partner and I had planned dinner and ice cream by the beach (despite it being 7 degrees that night). I had a 6 hour shift at work that day which followed three eight hour days and preceded a seven hour day the next. In need of a little pick me up I was determined for some reason to spend at least $60 on a dress (a big step for me because I never spend more than thirty dollars on a piece of clothing) so I headed up to Zara, whose ethics I found were surprisingly good, earning them an A on the baptist world aid fashion report.

Surrounded by beautiful clothes that actually came in my size and are made and sourced reasonably ethically, I let go of that fear of spending money, brought on by the finding of a beautiful dress that made me feel prettier than I ever had when I put it on. I was so used to going into stores like that, picking a beautiful dress off the rack and then feeling like a potato when I’d tried to squeeze it over my hips or thighs. This dress slid on and made me feel so nice, and strangely, so not dorky.

I shop at thrift stores so much that I feel as though I must look like some kind of colour blind paper bag. This dress changed my own views of myself as someone not capable of wearing conventionally beautiful things. I also bought a pair of funky shoes to wear with the dress as all I had with me were my second hand docs, which are literally falling apart at the seams.

While the shoes were a little too big, I felt amazing in the Zara dress. I was fancy, fine and elegant – and I still feel that way every time I put it on. 

And while I’m smiling and laughing in these images I was not doing so when I stumbled across an article about Zara’s exploitation of independent artists like Tuesday Bassen.

Imagine working up the courage to spend ninety dollars on a dress, researching the ethics of the brand and finally finding something beautiful that fit you, only to find this out the very next day after you took a chance on a fast fashion retailer.

I was devastated that my money had just gone to a company that, had I known this, I would not have supported. I considered taking the dress and shoes back, but having already worn them and knowing retail as I do they’d probably never make it back to the shelves and may be thrown out or shredded. I didn’t want to contribute to this wasteful cycle and instead began thinking of ways I could make this a positive experience.

So here I am, writing this blog post! It is so important for us to speak up about actions of injustice, which has been a prevalent theme in the media recently with the Black Lives Matter hashtag circulating in full force. And while there’s a lot of existing discussion on the topic of Zara’s theft and the ridiculous  statement they came out with in response, I wanted to write about this issue in regards to fast fashion as an industry and why its so important to shop ethically.

Not only is fast fashion the second most polluting industry in the world, but there is almost always going to be someone being exploited, materials being unethically sourced or   money that will go to someone who really doesn’t need any more.

The only way we can avoid giving to companies like this is to be proactive about these issues and to know where our money is going. We can do this by shopping at charity stores, up cycling, re using, investing in good quality pieces from brands we trust and shopping handmade.

I’m a firm believer that small actions can cause a huge ripple. So often people think that their actions won’t make a difference so they keep on spending at chain stores and continue to use single use items etc. guilt free and with the justification of “who cares? I’m just one person, my choices won’t change anything.” That’s the kind of mentality that stands in the way of change.

Change starts with a single action, a single thought, a single voice that joins with others. I may sound like some cheesy motivational speaker but when it comes to what I care about, isn’t that better than not speaking up at all?

Until next time

K xx

(All photos by Jake Taylor)