Thinking About the Future of Fashion (5)

This modest series follows my own thoughts on clothing.
Even though I write it in a small way, it seems to be seen by many people, which makes me happy, but I also feel a little embarrassed, wondering if it's okay to post things like 'It was 300 yen!' like an auntie from Osaka (a stereotype).

However, now that nearly half of my clothes are second-hand, I want to convey that mixing second-hand and new clothes doesn't look cheap at all; rather, it increases the chances of wearing high-quality items, and it's fun to go on a journey of finding your own individuality and preferences combined with what suits you. I will continue to write about the changes, hesitations, and worries I have regarding clothes.

Now, looking back at the series, this episode caught my eye.

It was about two years ago, when I started incorporating second-hand clothes in earnest.
It seems my ability to choose 'what I really wear' (including online purchasing power) was weaker than it is now, and in fact, I have let go of almost all the second-hand clothes posted here...!
The only ones I still have are the black blouse from ELLE and the gray dress from KEITH.
I ended up letting them go because items with unusual colors were hard to match, they were difficult to wear for commuting by bicycle, they didn't fit well and looked dowdy, or they no longer suited me because my hairstyle changed (from semi-long to short).

I really liked the black wool-blend skirt that I also use as the cover photo and had no intention of letting it go, but I actually bought a 100% black wool knit skirt second-hand this autumn, and although the length and atmosphere are slightly different, I recently let it go, thinking, 'I don't need two skirts of the same color for the same season.'
Also, the biggest reason was that I felt the new one had better material and suited me better. The material is 100% wool, the lining is 100% cupro, and although I don't know what era it is from, it is Karl Lagerfeld. It was about 2,000 yen.

There is a new second-hand item I bought at almost the same time as this skirt.
Corduroy pants. They are slightly high-waisted and suitable for my wavy body type. The ridges are a bit wide, so they have a strong casual atmosphere, but the color is a deep navy (or rather, bellflower navy?) and calm, and since they are not baggy like current trends, they can be worn with anything depending on what you match them with. (Personally, pants are hard for me to pull off in terms of Personal Design.)
They were 300 to 400 yen.

The other day, they looked great when I paired them with a thin, relatively slim-fitting knit. I was a little chilly at work, so I had a cardigan draped over my shoulders, and the light blue served as an accent color.
I wear a lot of basic Summer (Personal Color) clothes like gray and navy throughout the year, but having a few beautiful colors like light blue is useful because it prevents things from looking too plain. I feel that it is just right to basically stick to basic colors and incorporate a few items that I like.

Come to think of it, the one I'm wearing with the skirt above is also a slightly dull blue knit.
I bought that when I was living in NZ in 2019, and it's a somewhat unusual knit made from the fur of possums (a pest in NZ) that were exterminated. As a memory and souvenir, I often buy things on my travels that can be worn and contain the essence of that place. In fact, as I write this, I am wearing an Icelandic wool cardigan I bought in Iceland in 2013. Haha

By the way, there was one problem with these corduroy pants.
I've written several times that choosing second-hand clothes is good for the environment as well as your wallet, but what often troubles me is the scent of laundry detergent and fabric softener. There are quite a few clothes that I can finally wear after 1-2 weeks of washing them over and over, soaking them in magnesium chloride, and drying them in the sun... These were no exception, and in fact, if I get close and smell them, I can still smell that scent. Ingredients that continue to smell this intensely must not be good for the human body, let alone the environment...
I have no way of knowing if the person using them didn't notice, or if they put in a double dose thinking, 'I want to make them extra clean before letting them go!', but since it really doesn't come out, honestly... it's quite annoying... I wish this could be dealt with.

I'm sure there are many people who will be organizing their clothes toward the end of the year, but please don't throw them away immediately; let's reuse them by giving them to someone (selling them), sending them to resource recycling or donations, or using them as rags!
If you have the capacity, I would be grateful if you could also be a little mindful of the scent when letting them go. I think there are many people besides me who would be happy.