It’s Been a Minute but I’m Back With a Pitch
I'm fat and I (low-key) hate all my clothes; ergo, pitch!
I’m low-key thrilled to announce that my rather extended mental health leave is winding down, and I’m low-key starting to pitch again. Cautiously optimistic huzzah.
On the downside, I’ve gained weight in part due to meds that help with my insomnia, meds that, in turn, help with *everything else.* I’m not at all comfortable with the way I look or how my clothes fit me. Whomp, whomp.
I’m trying to lose weight — not just internalized fat phobia, folks, I have old-lady knees and I need to take some weight up off ’em — but I’ve also been looking for ways to wear leggings and pants with elasticized waist bands or really just a towel but #MakeItFashion.
But not shitty, planet-killing fashion. Because I just wrote about that here, and, oh, maybe I should write a post about how I pitched that report… Hmm… Okay… #ADHD
Anyway, the point is that I want to shop my closet and turn what I already have into something that expresses my personality and my vibezzzz — even if I’m not totally comfortable in my body at the moment.
Fortunately, TikTok exists, and every downside is actually a pitch waiting to happen!
If you learn nothing else from me, learn that when life is handing you lemons, it’s also handing you pitches.
I’ve gotten (low-key) obsessed following folks doing the #75hardstylechallenge on TikTok, as well as sustainable fashion stylists who are pioneering this sort of Nordic homeschool mom butmakeitfashion looks with homemade knit bags and clunky-ass shoes and not ironing shit. I love it! Especially because folks like Alberta Rose and readwritethrift Kate are of a bodily proportion with myself.
Soooo, I came up with this pitch, possibly while having a kombucha cocktail.
(If you learn nothing else from me, learn that kombucha makes a great mixer and works hangover-reducing magic.)
The Pitch
Hi [Name, possibly to be revealed if this pitch gets assigned],
Hope you're doing well and 2024 is treatin' you right so far :)
I thought I'd reach out to see if you would be interested in a story about sustainable personal stylists challenging trend-based fashion consumption.
Against the backdrop of fast fashion overproduction and "hauls" unboxed for social media, stylists like Alberta Rose and Jenna Flood are encouraging people to break the cycle of trend-based consumption, develop capsule wardrobes and shop their own closets for new looks.
This story would primarily focus on stylists and fashion educators working to change clients' relationships with clothes and addressing overconsumption by reducing the number of items — thrifted or otherwise — that clients buy while working with them.
Though covered by other outlets, I'll also touch on the problematic aspects of the thrifting trend, which some argue is gentrifying the secondhand market, and the more recent rise in "style bundles," curated boxes of looks handpicked at thrift stores by stylists based on clients' inspiration boards.
Why now? The #75hardstylechallenge that started in January is a great social media peg. Initiated by trend analyst and fashion writer Mandy Lee (a.k.a. @oldloserinbrooklyn), the 75-day challenge is not explicitly sustainability-focused, but it is about developing personal style by wearing what’s in your closet and not buying anything new or used until the challenge is up.
I envision this as a ~1,500-word reported piece with some personal elements woven in — especially if these sources offer me fashion advice!
Thrifting and mending were regular necessities in my home growing up, and recently writing this report on fast fashion has also made me pretty knowledgeable about garment industry production, consumption and the global second hand apparel market.
Maybe this could run in spring when people are cleaning out their closets/before #75hardstylechallenge is up? Let me know what you think!
Thanks,
--
Ruth Terry
Freelance writer