So Tired

Here’s a picture of me taken at 7am on Monday. I am on the commuter train from Kitchener and I am wearing head-to-toe sweats in public. These details are offered up as proof that I am not the same person I was two years ago. Old Rhonda would not go out dressed so casually. Nor would she allow her pre 10 am self be documented,

I also bought these sweats in Kitchener, but am deeply conflicted by it. 2019 Rhonda would brag about the deal she got on new purchases. Now she sees cheap clothing as problematic — for workers rights, for the environment, for everything,

They are comfy and I do like the colour combination.

We are all struggling to find our place in the new world. I think we’re going to have to go through a lot of difficult conversations about the role fashion and accessories plays in our sense of identity. The good news is that just as I am now open to sweats, I will find a way to enjoy fashion without feeling guilty about it.

In the meantime, I will try to buy less and when I do I will endeavour to purchase second hand (easy for my frugal tendancies) or to support local makers (a little harder for my penny pinching ways). And I will wear the things I have until they are unrepairable. If i do have to deacquisition, I’ll aim to sell or swap to keep them in circulation (although honestly my adventures with trying to sell clothes on Poshmark has been exhausting) rather than going to donation centres that just ship the excess to other countries.

Thanks for indulging this rant. I have no answers. We’re all still processing our place in the world and sometimes it helps to catalog my confusion here.