Cline does discuss other problems too: quality shortfalls, pre-1980’s vintage shortages and the ensuing price jacking, copyright suits (primarily surrounding Forever 21), waste management and all its problematic variables.

By the time Cline has outlined all the problems with most popular retailers, discussed the fact that vintage or thrift pre-1980’s may soon be priced out of the average consumer’s hands and talked about sewing or re-purposing existing clothes as being perhaps the only way out of this crisis, I was ready to throw my Kindle across the room.Īs you might imagine, the sweatshop/cheap labor statistics and problems that are inherent with the fast fashion industry (defined as stores containing highly affordable, trend-drive inventory that can change at least once every two weeks) and retailers beyond it take up a majority of the real estate in this book. But, lest you think you escape Cline’s critical eye because you shop at department stores or more middle-of-the-road retailers like J.Crew, Madewell or Gap, she smashes the likes of them and the consumer perception of their “code of conducts” too. There’s a thoroughly critical account of the Missoni for Target mayhem and the fact that people lost their minds over what were essentially cheaply-made replicas of higher quality goods. The brands that Cline mentions occupy a large majority of space in my closet: Target, Forever 21, H&M. And why would I want to? There’s no defense of our current retail experience or the increasingly competitive and fashion-obsessed consumer that continues to drive it.

There is really no defending my shopping habits against her arguments of quality, waste and labor. I’m part of the cycle that Cline talks about and I admit that I felt uncomfortable (and ashamed) all the way through the book. More than that, I’m passing on my shopping habits to even more consumers through my blog. So let’s begin, shall we?Īs to the scathing part-I admit that this book indicts me 100%. The editing is sloppy and I caught typos throughout, but I did read this on Kindle-perhaps the editing gap is there? Anyway, those don’t have anything to do with the content, all of which is scathing, fascinating and frustrating in equal parts.

The writing is familiar and casual, but with that comes a set of additional problems. I finished it in several hours over the weekend. The warped view of what “affordable” clothing means to our generation? Check. The hanging on to every rapidly changing trend? Check. The casual pop-ins to H&M to buy an accessory or a $5 tanktop? Check.

There’s a lot in this book I could have written myself.

Overdressed the shockingly high cost