Meet
Jeanine and Vera, two fashion professionals who decided to reset their fashion
behaviour and stop shopping for a year. They write letters to each other on a
blog called Fashion Reset,
where they share their struggles, thoughts and successes. These girls get
creative with fashion in an alternative way, and after a lot of digital
penpalling, we finally managed to meet over coffee to talk about fashion, style
and some “deep stuff”.
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| Let’s do it: 525.948 minutes without new shoes! Collage by Vera Van het Hof |
Please tell us something about
yourself; who are Jeanine and Vera?
J: I’m Jeanine, a
34-year-old designer who graduated from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute. I
design accessories for private label collections and work on my own label that
is to be launched this year.
V: I’m Vera, a 35-year-old freelance copywriter and stylist. I give branding
advice for companies, but have also recently done styling for a music video, so
my work is really diverse. Me and Jeanine met each other at a clothes swapping
event called Ellie’sKledingkast,
where we worked in the same team as stylists.
You started a one-year shopping sabbatical together in January 2013. Why? What
were the main reasons for you to stop shopping?
J:
A few people I met were doing the Free Fashion Challenge and they told me that
not shopping hadn’t been that much of a struggle for them. It made me wonder
how it would be for myself. I wrote on my facebook that I was thinking about
taking the challenge and not shopping for a year, and Vera reacted with panic.
(laughs)
V: I was like “what are you thinking?!”
J: Yes, and I then told you to join me.
V:
It made me really curious. First I thought “no way”, but then I started
thinking that if I could buy second hand, maybe I could actually do it. The
thought became more serious, and I got an idea that if we did it together, we
could also write about it to each other.
J: So, two weeks before the New Year we got together and set rules for our
non-shopping challenge. We also made a list of must-have items for last minute
shopping spree.
What were
the items on that list?
J: For me it was mainly the basics: socks, underwear and a few tops...I
was actually so focussed on finding good quality socks that in the end I
completely forgot to buy any bras. (laugh)
V: I bought socks and underwear, too, but I also had a last minute panic and
made a 200€ order to Topshop. I got myself leggings with a super trendy space
print that you can probably wear only once and a stupid pair of shoes which I
didn’t really even like. I basically made all the worst shopping mistakes the
night before the challenge started.
Have you
also worn those clothes?
V: Some of them, yes. Despite the panic, I was still thinking
practically and also ordered cardigans and things like that, but the silly
impulse buys that I threw in – like the leggings – I haven’t worn once.
J: One of my friends gave me a good tip to put some of the things you buy
before the challenge aside until the time you need them. I still have some
things in store that I haven’t worn, and when you need them it will feel like
you really have something new.
That’s a smart tip. How did you come up with the idea to write each other
letters on a blog?
J: We wanted to get something extra out of the challenge. We both also
wanted to do something with our talents, so the Fashion Reset-blog became a
channel for us to do those creative things that we have dreamed of doing.
V:
The non-shopping challenge also makes you wonder about things about yourself.
Why do you feel the need to have something new? It’s nice to record your
thoughts somewhere, especially since fashion
is everywhere and it means a lot more than just…fabric.
