The Mindful Fashion Experiment hits a bump
Words Emma Vidgen // @emma_vee
When I launched the Mindful Fashion Experiment, I wasn’t sure exactly how tough not shopping would be, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be hard. Ok, full disclosure, I reckon I might have even been a touch overconfident, “I can do this! I’m no slave to the mindless corporate trend machine! This will be easy! Anyone can!” But as is almost always the way, when you get a little bit cocky, life throws you a curveball. And so it served me the only thing I can think of that could potentially derail the whole project: I fell pregnant.
I guess on paper it shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise; we had been hoping to have a baby. But we’d also been trying more than six years, so the threat of me suddenly having a bolt-out-of-the-blue burst of fertility seemed kind of unlikely when I launched the project. In hindsight, there were a couple of things I did differently that I credit to my sudden success (that is a whole other mind-blowing story I’ll share with you down the track). But let’s just say despite all the lifestyle and spiritual changes I was making, I still didn’t really believe it could happen. You get like that after six years without a single run on the board.
So here we are, now hurtling towards four months pregnant, expanding at an increasingly rapid rate, and being stalked by maternity bra ads wherever I go on the web. When I tell people I’m pregnant, but can’t shop, the response is almost always the same. “But you can’t! You have to!” The truth is, I have no idea whether I can get through the next 10 months without shopping. But after a lot of soul-searching I figured all I can do is stay true to the project’s name – the Mindful Fashion Experiment. If I have to cave, well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. But for now, I’m going to keep trying not to shop and continue to document my adventures.
If nothing else, the challenges of adapting my wardrobe to my new body will keep things interesting. I am curious as to whether maternity wear is a total rort, or a very necessary design solution. But mostly I’m stressed about underwear because already these boobs have a mind of their own. If I do have to buy something, I promise I’ll fess up, and if I cave, I’ll be mindful and look for the most sustainable, ethical solution possible. Anyway, if you have any advice on how to get through this transition with no or minimal shopping I am all ears! Please let me know or give me ahoy on social.