the future of fashion last week during my break at work i decided to go to westfarms mall- h & m in particular. i keep commenting on people's clothes and then they'll tell me- 'oh i got it at h & m for only $15!' or some other ridiculously low price for a great looking piece. i haven't gone to the mall or h & m for quite some time, so it made for an interesting and stimulating experience! i really don't like malls. i like to know what im shopping for, get in get out. i used to love to shop when i was younger, especially at westfarms. i could spend hours in that windowless merchandise castle drooling over the wealth i wanted to look like i had... thankfully i've grown older and less materialistic, more conscious of the choices i make and how they effect everyone else. while looking into the shops cleverly displayed with the same recycled looks from last summer, the artificial lighting and perfumes, the crowds of people....i can't help but wonder-- what are we doing here? why do we need to buy so many things???!! i begin to feel claustrophobic and don't want to be apart of this place! i press on, focused on my destination, h & m. and wow... walking in and seeing the cutest little pleated prairie girl style tunic top for only $13 made me want to quit purusha right then and there. i mean how can i compete?! these huge companies can deliver the trendiest looks at such a low price! i hold the shirt up, want it badly for a split second, then put it back on the rack. i cruise around the store and see someone else about to buy the same shirt. that makes me feel better about not getting it. -that and it's made in china. practically everything at h & m is made in china.. explains why it's all so inexpensive! i leave h & m with a shirt for patrick (he needs clothes more than i do!) and some little hair clips for myself. pat's shirt was $14, lovely, and made in china. shopping is such a strange experience these days because it is sooo easy to forget where the items for sale come from. i've been learning a lot about the food industry and how the modern day grocery store almost disconnects us from the reality of food. produce and other foods from all over the world are available to the consumer. papaya from polynesia, spinach from china, kiwis from italy. it's quite insane how fortunate we are if you think about it! the luxury of shopping the world in your own grocery store. but then, i remember... this papaya is not organic, it took much fuel to get it here, and it's most likely not very fresh if flown in from so far. would buying this help or hurt the planet? i'm not even going to go into animal products here because that is a huge issue and a problem the u.s. is going to have to deal with sooner or later... but back to the fashion industry. it's kinda like the food industry in that we can (and probably prefer to) forget how and where the garment was made. it looks pretty and it's cheap, buy it! most retailers have their clothing made in sweatshops by women that work 18 hour days in poorly ventilated factories for very little pay. that's the reality of it, and sometimes i would really like to forget that's how a lot of items i buy are made. i realize i need to be more conscious of this. this experience at the mall, like many 'negative' experiences, i will use as fuel to fire me up about purusha and what i want it to become. i think more and more people are getting fed up with quick fix solutions, with cheaply made items that don't last, with products that negatively effect the planet and its beings. purusha will never be like h & m, it will never fit in at westfarms mall. and i don't want it to. i want purusha to be the forerunner shop for the new consumer, the one that wants his or her every hard earned dollar to support something quality and healthy for all people. i feel beyond excited when i think about where purusha will take me in the future. i have a vision of a frank lloyd wright style building, effortlessly blending in with nature- with a shop in front lit up by sunlight, filled with consumers that love the planet as much as they love themselves and with employees that love purusha and make a great wage in a tea sipping environment :) behind the shop i picture 'the factory'... but it wouldn't be like any factory i've ever seen. seamstresses and silkscreeners, dyers and marketers, making a fair wage for the labor, showing my thankfulness for them with much respect, sensible hours, kindness, and health insurance of course :) i hope to impact others lives in a positive way~ and i want to dress them well too! these dreams of purusha keep me going when i feel like it's too much work. i've been busting my ass recently, but i know it's gonna be worth it ! thank you mainstream chain stores for helping me realize what i don't want!! ... to the future i look! “I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life.” - george f. burns