Elizabeth Cline is a native of Varnell, Ga., who now lives in New York City. She wrote “Overdressed” after
a personal shopping spree made her realize she had way too many clothes.IF YOU GO• What: “Overdressed – The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion,” a discussion with author Elizabeth Cline; a Q&A session and book signing will follow.• When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday• Where: Dalton State College Goodroe Auditorium, 650 College Drive, Dalton, Ga.• Admission: Free• Phone: 706-272-2985Website: www.overdressedthebook.comWHAT IS SLOW FASHION?• Educate yourself about the life cycle of your clothes, from the source of the materials to where they were made.• Buy fewer clothes, and care for the clothes you have to prolong their life.• Alter clothes you have, “upcycle” items to fit your needs• Shop thrift, consignment and vintage stores. Swap with friends, and shop your own closet for forgotten gems.• When shopping, ask yourself if you will really wear the item. Avoid single-wear pieces you’ll likely never actually wear.
Ever gotten a clothing deal that was just too good to be true?
You know the kind, the shirt you didn’t really need but was too cheap to pass up. Maybe you wear it once, or maybe you forget about it. Maybe it doesn’t last past a couple of washes. But it was so cheap, it doesn’t really matter.
“The average American buys 68 garments and seven pairs of shoes every year,” says Elizabeth Cline, author of “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion.” “That adds up to about 100 items of clothing, and it’s not just limited to people with a lot of money … When an outfit costs about $20, we buy way more than we need.”
While buying more cheap clothes than necessary doesn’t seem like a dangerous thing to do in the United States, it has a worldwide ripple effect, she says. Besides leaving behind a huge carbon footprint and supporting unfair wages and working conditions for workers overseas, the problem hits closer to home, according to Cline.