Today kicked off the New York Fashion week shows. Every year I follow, and every year I have the same thoughts:

1. I wish I could afford that.
2. I wish it was socially acceptable to wear something like that in public.
3. I am so inspired.

While I can’t do much about the first two, I can most certainly do something with the third. My favorite thing to do is to draw inspiration from these shows and figure out how these looks can be interpreted and applied to fit my own everyday life.

And looks like these two from the Assembly New York SS16 collection can absolutely be duplicated. I love it. I’ve always been a fan of chambrays and denims. The more the better. Me = Major Canadian tuxedo proponent.

In terms of personal shopping, a new question has entered the criteria: Can I feel good about buying this garment?

And by “feel good” I mean, is the answer to the following question a YES:
Is my action of purchasing and consuming this product going to better the current situation?

The current situation can mean many things. Was it produced ethically? Under fair working conditions? Does the company strive to uphold ecological standards?

This is unfortunately fairly hard to come by these days. And because of this, I have turned to shopping thrift and secondhand.

Did you know that if the average life of clothes could be extended by just nine months it could reduce not just water, but carbon waste and footprints by 20-30%?

Did you know that Americans send 10.5 million tons of clothing to landfills every year?

Whoa.

Spotlight: thredUP.

I bought this chambray top by Bella Dahl, a brand often worn by the likes of Heidi Klum, Jessica Alba, and Olivia Palermo, as seen above. The fabric is so soft and incredible, and I wear it with everything.

The original retail price is $158.00, but I snagged this gem for just $32.99. Score for this bargain shopper.

But the main feel-good factor is that it’s secondhand, like everything on thredUP. Meaning a longer life for this article of clothing and one less to go into the landfill. Score for the economically conscious-me.

As a shopper, I like how everything is carefully curated and thoroughly inspected for quality. You know exactly what you’re getting. Not only do I shop the site, but I also send in my clothes to resell or recycle. They make it extremely easy to do – they send you a bag to fill for free, and it costs you nothing to ship it to them. (And all of their packaging materials are made from recycled materials.)

I am happy to say I have discovered a way to buy “new (to me)” clothes while doing something to positively impact the environment. It might seem like a tiny change, but imagine if a ton of us made more tiny changes?