Overdressed: mindful fashion over fleeting trends

The National Post reviews Elizabeth Cline's new book on cheap fashion and the personal and social determinants of following the fashion "Joneses." 

Photo: ThingThree/Flickr.com

In “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion,” Cline focuses on the break-neck production cycle of the fashion industry, looking at how the industry increases its economies of scope and scale to drive prices down and profits up.

While she talks to experts in factories in China and the United States and draws on statistics, Cline also draws from personal experience. She describes her own epiphany after a KMart shopping session that ended with buying seven pairs of shoes because they were seven dollars each, how at her shopping height she was purchasing one item per week; how all of the above ended up in the back of her closet, barely used. The book looks at the evolution of American spending on clothing and discusses a mindful approach to dressing.

To read the National Post review, click here.