Me : Ooh, pretty shoes. I can image all the cool outfits I could be making with these. I want !
Consumerism : Yes, yes, yes. Go for it. You are too important to deny yourself anything. It’s alright to not stick to your carbon budget. Do what makes you happy. You can dispose it later if you change you mind in the future.
Mindfulness : Why do you want them ? Is it because you don’t have enough ? You know that it is not true. Is it for that fleeting sense of gratification after you acquire it ? From experience, you know that this sort of happiness leaves you and passes too quickly. You have 20 other pairs and if they haven’t give you what you are looking for, why are these different ? Is it possible to find that end state, that happiness, by other means ? Can you find sustainable happiness ? Can you fixate on the joy you currently have in your life in-spite of not having those shoes ? Can you borrow happiness from your current joyful existence ? If you think these shoes are necessary for personal growth, and this growth leads to happiness, can you short circuit this path and still find happiness ?The way you consume always reflects on what has been going on in your life ? Are you alright ?
Me : Okay, I see what you are saying. I will wait for this to pass and observe it like meditation teaches me to do. A major life change is happening. I am switching careers and moving to a colder climate. It has put me in an existential crisis of sort. I am reacting to it by buying stuff all over the place. I will slow down, take some deep breaths and let it pass.
Meditation and yoga are the best form of self care that I have discovered in the recent times. Mindfulness training is a muscle. It takes years of discipline and understanding to build but can atrophy real quickly. Mine are still weak. I realized that this month after I have started panic shopping. It’s for colder weather clothes. I am moving to New England for work. I will be working in climate science, which has been a passion of mine for years. I wanted my side job to be my full time job and it finally happened. The downside : the weather. I never lived in a place with 4 intense seasons or snow. I won’t be able to wear my blue dresses anymore because I will be working inside a tech plant with a strict safety dress code. Garments I call ‘winter coats’ in California aren’t even sufficiently warm during the spring out there. I have been spending a lot of my free time looking at how Meghan Markle used to dress when she lived in Canada during shoots and street style videos of Parisians ( 1 & 2 ) for style inspiration. I had my personal style figured down to the dot, and now realize that I will have to figure it out all over again. In reality, I don’t know what works and what doesn’t for the new weather :
- Will my wool coats get soaked up when it starts to snow ? If yes, are they usable at all ?
- Does it snow for most of the winter or is it a few times a week thing ?
- Will I need a hood or an umbrella to walk around ?
- Do folks own one puffer jacket for fall and one for winter ?
- What’s a parka ?
- Will I need a chunky knit ?
- If I wear a thick sweater, will I start sweating once inside ?
- Will I need to wear woolen pants or thermals ? Or does denim work ?
- Will the leather boots I own do fine when the side walks are filled with snow and salt ?
- What exactly are snow boots ? Will it have to be duck boots ? Can I wear rain boots with thick socks ?
- What about socks ? Do super socks exist that can handle snow weather ?
- How does layering work ? How many layers will I need ? Does it take more effort to step out of the house ? Will I be peeling off and putting on layers multiple times a day ?
- How much time will I spend outdoors ?
- If Uniqlo heat tech is my best option, should I buy my thermals second hand or first hand ?
- Will I need different lounge / sleep wear ?
- How do people get to work during a snow storm ? Do “regular” winter clothes work during storms ?
- Can I line dry my clothes indoors ?
- Will I bike/public transit to work ?
- Can I grow my own food in winter ? How does one compost in cold weather ?
- What kind of gloves do I need ?
- How many of each kind of garment do I need ?
- Will my closet size explode ? Will I need to downsize the amount of summer clothes I own ?
- Will I enjoy clothes as much anymore if its all puffer jackets and duck boots ?
All of this thinking is pointless, while I am in sunny California. I ain’t getting any answers while looking inside stores. Winter garments are expensive and resource intense. It might be wise to let it sink in, to take it slow and not make panic purchases. After years of getting annoyed by looking at collages of capsule wardrobes, I am suddenly glad that I can see inside the closets of folks who live in cold climates. I am glad that I can learn about how many of each kind of garment they have, in their minimalist closets. It’s a great starting point for me. I am looking forward to finding a second hand winter wardrobe over the course of Spring/Summer. In reality, it’s quite exciting. I get to try out a few new things and figure out zero waste living in a different location.
Congratulations! And also – I feel sorry for your beautiful home and patio… I look forward to hear from your new life and moving and I hope you can maybe make your blog public again? I miss the comment section.
In my town there’s cold but not snow, the public transportation is steadily loosing whatever quality it had and there’s no insulation in most houses and public places. Everyone that can cranks up their air con in the hot setting and wears a cardigan even inside (my place is old and not entirely renovated. I’m a cold person so I wear wool and puffers as lounge clothes. I will not wear a puffer outside for the life of me though). I use wool coats and one big cotton parka with insulation when it’t too windy/cold/I’ll be out for long.
Leather boots don’t stand the snow and salt that’s put onto streets I hear. And def you’ll need warmer socks. I layer one cotton for absorbency and one wool or tech for warmth. Yes the laundry load is crazy. As for pants jeans are vv cold. You can wear thermals underneath but I rather wear thermal or wool pants with a looser fit – it creates pockets of air for insulation. For your body, heathech or cotton and wool on top (as you can see I own my life to layers of cotton and wool 😂). I don’t wear nothing polyester with sleeves – if I do when I walk I overheat, sweat and then I’m wet (and stinky) and cold for the rest of the day.
Lastly – don’t forget gloves and scarves and even beanies. The really do keep you warm, your hands soft (cold wind is very drying) and the hoarse throat away. You can even cover your face with them on specially cold mornings so you have warmer air to breathe. And your style shows through it. When there’s a row of grey days ahead, a colorful scarf is very comforting.
Good luck!
Thank you ! I am quite terrified about the change. This might be the most important job I have held so far. Lets see how this goes.
I doubt this sort of blog will resonate with folks who used to read my old blog. That space was full of pretty clothes and outfits and shopping suggestions. This space feels more morbid with lot more climate science and sustainability – hence havent gone public. For example, I couldnt have written about environmental racism without a zillion people being offended on the old blog. Most activists don’t call it out because they are afraid of alienating people they love. On an anonymous blog, I can talk about it and get away. But on a well established blog, I will have a community to talk to. It has its pros and cons.
When I went to interview for the job, I wore my winter coat and was shivering to the bones. I have been terrified since. I have a sincere dislike for puffer jackets and duck boots and been mourning the death of my style since.
So my pants need to be big enough to go on top of thermals ? Coz I don’t think I can do that with my slim fit jeans.
Yes, I am thinking of buying red winter coat to wear on gray days. I might need the color therapy.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. 90% of the information you shared is new to me.
I’m happy to be of help! I’ve had grad mates that moved to my city from warmer climates that had no clue about winter dressing and they had a really bad time.
Yes slit fit likely won’t work. But maybe with the thin heattech leggings depending of how cold? I really never been in any extreme winter. But straight leg will do the trick.
I agree that anonymity works for the touchy topics. As do talking with our peers strengthens our points of view. But then aren’t we alienating others form our discussion? How will they change if we don’t talk to them? (We as in all who thinks about sustainability).
Atleast I move during the summer and will face a gradual transition.
Initially, I enjoyed writing to myself and at myself. But yes, I think its better for my mental health to exist in a community and not to dig myself into a hole. Hopefully, by summer, I can figure out a way to link the two blogs.