sequin pants.

{found via pinterest from riches for rags}

i just cleaned out my closet again. the need for a clean-out hit me as i put away all of my clean laundry a week or two ago. i looked at all of my clothes and started thinking - do i really wear that? do i really need that? more than ever before i want to pare down again and again and again until i'm left with the things i really love that i also actually wear.

i only miss one pair of pants that i gave away last year when i marie kondo-ed my closet. i don't miss them because i wore them often, but just because i loved them.

i've started thinking even more seriously about the amount of stuff we have, and how much time i spend cleaning things up on a daily basis. i've started thinking about our plan to eventually live in a tiny house. about our plan to travel much more when our kids get a little older.

i've started thinking: if i only have a tiny closet inside a tiny house, what do i want in it? ie: what can i just go ahead and get rid of now?

and i've realized that many of the things i want to keep don't really make sense in a "wear neutrals," "wear things that always go together" type of world. because near the top of my list of keepers? two pairs of sequin pants.

yep. two pairs.
{much to the dismay of my husband.}

i'm a big fan of both of them, and the funny thing is - other people are too. i get more positive comments about those pants than i do about any other piece i wear. the latest example happened on christmas eve. a guy briefly interrupted my conversation with a friend in a coffee shop to tell me that he liked my christmas-y pants.
that doesn't ever happen in jeans.

many of my other favorites are not-exactly-neutral things. like my bright yellow shoes from the now-defunct shoemint. but they fit so well, and i'm so in love with them that i'll probably throw out traditional black pumps before i'll do away with them. {come to think of it, i never wear my plain black pumps anymore...}

sure i have basics, but they aren't my favorite pieces. they aren't like the french blue jumpsuit that i have. the one that i loved so much i had it altered to fit while both kids were stuck in a double stroller for far longer than they wanted to be. {don't worry - i paid them in chicken nuggets afterwards.}

i really do enjoy clothes. i love the stories behind them, and how they can change your whole outlook on any given day.

but just like anything else - they can take away more than they add if you don't keep them in their proper place.

i've been really convicted lately about how much i have. because when i compare how much i have to how much i actually need?
the difference is staggering.

plus there's that whole question of who makes my clothes, and how much they get paid, and where are the materials sourced from?

the questions that have me seeking out alternatives to my old favorites. i'm an extremely loyal person, and i don't like seeking out alternatives. i don't like abandoning my old stand-bys. but at the end of the day if i say i believe something i have to decide if i really believe it, and act according to those beliefs.

it's that whole "actions speak louder than words" thing.

for instance - i haven't shopped at anthropologie or j. crew in months and months because no matter how much i love their clothes they cannot track their supply chain. they have not made themselves transparent as companies.

anthropologie is my favorite store. my absolute favorite. but i cannot bring myself to shop there until they can tell me who makes the clothes that they sell for a huge profit.

granted it's easier for me to say that right now when i have a back-log of anthro clothes that's probably a mile long. but still. i cannot bring myself to buy any more. {i cannot even walk in there because i know how much harder it'd be to refrain from buying anything.}

in the midst of my researching, and generally not being able to get this whole "you should care about the people behind your clothes" thing out of my head - i've discovered a site called project just. they've done a lot of research into this topic, and are a really helpful resource. granted, they need funding so you can only see a few store pages a month unless you pay for more, but it's something i'm considering paying for because i can't shake my conscience on this issue.

because people are people. if people work in deplorable conditions to make the clothes i put on my back then i can no longer feel okay wearing them. and since many companies choose ignorance when it comes to their supply chain the likelihood of those types of conditions goes through the roof.

far too often money speaks louder than conscience.

but i digress. because i don't really need more clothes anyway.

xoxo