Friday, June 5, 2009

El Fin.

With our class ending and the compact challenge coming to an end, I have realized how much I have learned over this past quarter about fashion and consumption. Throughout the whole quarter, I didn’t really realize how much I was learning, but looking back on these past 10 weeks, it’s evident that I have learned much more than I expected to. Fashion is so much more than buying trendy clothes and accessories. In Fashion-ology, Kawamura states that “this book has provided a different approach to fashion and has attempted to show how individuals and institutions within a fashion system interact with one another, how designers, fashion professionals and consumers play their role, and how together they make fashion happen and sustain the culture of fashion,” (Kawamura, 105). I feel that this passage sums up all that we have learned in class. I have come to realize that there are so many influences about who creates fashion and what becomes the “in- thing.” Anything can be an inspiration and if the right person sees it and creates something from that inspiration, it could become the next best thing. Fashion creates different cultures and for this class, I feel as though green fashion and the green culture played a large part in what we learned especially with the compact challenge.



The compact challenge has made me realize how much I consume and how much I "waste" my money. To be honest, when I first heard that we were supposed to not buy things, I was unsure if I could do this. (And I did fail once, but just once.) However, when I would go into stores, instead of just buying things that I liked, I actually thought about the compact challenge and if I really needed that particular item of clothing. The answer was always, "NO, I DO NOT NEED IT!!!!" And so I wouldn't buy it. So in that sense I think I learned to have a little more self control and therefore saved a lot of money. I now think about things that I could re-use or recycle to make something new and innovative. I also try and think of ways that I can be green and more sustainable. No matter what I hope to continue to save money, be green, and think more about how what I buy really affects so many others.

-Jasmine Lim (Blog #6)

Sources:
“Conclusion” in Fashion-ology by Yuniya Kawamura
Image of light bulb: http://www.rubiconproject.com/blog/culture/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/go-green.jpg
Image of people: http://www.digital-web.com/images/articles/redqueen_fashion_large.jpg

No comments: