I have an insatiable desire for beautiful clothes

Like a lot of women, I love getting dressed. I love leggings and huge sweaters. I love miniskirts and lacy underthings. Shift dresses are a weakness. I've never met a cream sweater I didn't like. I absolutely adore an afternoon of shopping, especially when I'm spending someone else's money.

The problem is, my frivolous desire for cute cardigans is perpetuating a system that oppresses people, keeping them in poverty. That'll kill any buzz I get from a new pair of shoes, and fast. I feel overwhelmingly sad that when I think "this is so cheap! 2 camis for $15?! heck yes!" I forget that someone made those camisoles, and they probably did it in unsafe conditions, in a factory that has no union for threat of violence, while working overtime. And this woman or man (or child, in an alarming number of cases) probably isn't taking home a wage at the end of the day that is going to begin to meet his or her family's needs.

So, what to do?

Well, I could become a sour person who boycotts the entire clothing industry and demands that her family and friends do the same. Alternately, I could explain that "any job is a good job to those people" and scoop up armloads of camisoles and run on my merry way.

I'm sure you can tell what I think of those options, both of which I have attempted to exercise in the past, to little benefit.The former effort failed almost before it started because I hate being unpleasant and I am acutely attuned to deprivation, no matter how small. The latter failed because the evidence is not in favour of that position, if you ask me.

So, I am attempting to adopt a third way. This third way is a multi-faceted approach. In some cases, I am contemplating a full boycott of certain brands and even countries. I am committing myself to buying locally whenever possible. I am buying second-hand and vintage clothes more and more. And I am trying to simply buy less. I am a student, so my budget already provides many constraints. However, with the plethora of cheap clothes available, and all of the sales lately, I have been tempted to buy a lot of things that I cannot account for the origins of.

This is to be the chronicle of my wee adventure. I hope it will provide useful information about secondhand and vintage shopping in Montreal, tips for caring for clothes, and information about the textile industry and what can be done to improve the lives of people who work in it.