Category: Dress for Less

A couple of Fairfield moms have decided enough is enough when it comes to buying clothes, so they recently joined The Great American Apparel Diet to take on the challenge of not buying any new apparel for an entire year. The Great American Apparel Diet originated in Seattle, and has gone nationwide thanks to a little press.

Cathy Curley, one of the Fairfield moms and new members (see her profile and posts at www.thegreatamericanappareldiet.com/author/catherine/), says she decided to join because, although she’s already frugal, she wanted to do something more tangible to take control of her family’s finances.

“Some of the women who are on this diet have closets full of new items with tags still attached—it’s tough for these women to go on a clothing diet,” she says. “Though I’m not like that, I joined so I could feel that being frugal is more of a choice than an imposed prison sentence, and this is a good way to connect with others to have my voice heard.”

There is some flexibility (meaning loopholes!) on this diet: shoes, accessories, and of course, undergarments are not considered apparel, and you can still buy for family members. Some members have held clothing swaps, or joined threadsup.com (more on the service in another upcoming post),

To join the apparel diet revolution and save quite a few bucks along the way, log on to: http://www.thegreatamericanappareldiet.com/rules-for-participation/