purchasing well-made goods + my thoughts on denim therapy

i giggle at the fact that i am about to write an entire blog post about jeans. but truly, if there's a fiber that defines the every day around here, it's denim. also, i am a firm believer in finding something that i love & sharing it with you, my dear readers.

since beginning my #dressinhappinessdaily project (see here for more details), i have found that i feel my best in pieces that are made well. sometimes this is reflected in the price & other times i strike gold at the thrift shop. 

as my personal get dressed project progressed, i found that jeans from old navy & target just were cutting it. they didn't fit well for my body shape & they often sagged after only an hour or so of wear. so i traded in my poor fitting, inexpensive denim for a couple of well-made, pricier pairs of jeans (i personally love j.crew & 7 for all mankind).

about a year ago, my friend told me about denim therapy, a company that repairs denim. you mail in your piece, they repair it for a fraction of what it would cost to replace your beloved denim & then ship it back to you.  i tried it out & was hooked. 

just recently i sent in my two pairs of jeans that were ripped & worn from years of wear.

the repair is faint & will last for many more wears to come. 

more importantly, it's a remedy to our culture of buy & toss consumerism. i can't tell you how many articles of clothing i've gotten rid of because of a rip or hole. i believe such companies, like denim therapy,  point us to a solution that our parents or grandparents lived by - wear & use your possessions until they are threadbare or broken & then take them to a skilled craftsmen who can stitch a patch or repair the damage so that that well-loved piece can surely last several lifetimes. 

i hope to continue breaking my habit of cheap consumerism for a practice of contentment & well-made goods. 

just a note - denim therapy didn't ask me to write this post. but like my friend who shared her wealth of knowledge, i thought i'd share my love for denim therapy, a company that is surely making a difference in our purchasing practices.

have you used denim therapy? how are you shifting your habits from cheap goods to well-made pieces? please share!

love,

natalie

p.s. i must add - it takes several weeks for denim therapy to receive your package, fix your belongings & ship them back. don't expect a quick turnaround time. i quickly learned this & thought i would pass along the information.