Are You Making the Right Fashion Choices? – Slow Fashion in Prague

“Why don’t you write a post about how ridiculously some people dress in Prague?” a friend suggested to me months ago when I was fishing for inspiration for the blog. How can I write about something that I never give a second thought to? Socks and sandals? Outdoor-wear for a casual day in the city? A professional cyclist outfit even when we’re only gonna ride around the block? You can put those into a huge box of things that a natural-born Praguer pays no attention to. 

New Yorkers are known to be hardly surprised by anything. Well, we Praguers don’t even realize that there is anything to be surprised by. You will just give less and less of a crap about what other people wear as you go native in Prague. If you gave any to start with…

So I can’t pretend to be interested in fashion police offenses. However, there is a related, fundamental question that I would like to address. How much thought do we put into where we get our clothes, shoes, and accessories from? 

Why should I concern myself with what I buy and where I shop?

A couple of years ago, I was frequently bored at my job. And every now and then found some time to scroll down the offers of online fashion stores. I always found a couple of things that I had to have. After the initial enthusiasm, I rarely kept anything that I ordered but I was stuck in this thrilling loop of shopping and returning. And I had no idea that there was a reason to question my behavior. 

Inevitably, I stumbled upon some articles and documentaries about how clothes are produced in the global fashion brands and it got my attention. 

This video will give you the idea in 5 min:

Once I had a better understanding of what’s hiding behind the price tag, that nothing is just fantastically cheap, that the cost is always compensated somewhere and someone pays for it, then it became impossible for me to just go back to my happy mindless shopping. It made me feel guilty as hell. I dug deeper for alternatives and this is what I found:

“Slow fashion is about returning to a personal relationship with fashion. One where trends and seasons don’t matter, but where your ethics and aesthetics seamlessly unite, and you can escape the stress of constant consumption, focusing on the style that truly appeals to you.”

Emilia Wik, Head Designer at BYEM

What are the benefits of conscious, intentional, and holistic fashion choices?

Slow fashion. There is this whole movement that allows us to support local businesses, support fair wages and working conditions, support animal welfare, lower our carbon footprint, reduce waste, save water, lower our exposure to chemicals… To name some of the holistic benefits. That makes a lot of sense from the ethical point of view. But it doesn’t stop there. It can get much more personal – like in my case.

Online shopping sprees never made me feel happy or better about myself. Sure, I was excited for a couple of days about having something new in my closet. But soon it got old and I needed something fresh to feel shiny again. Besides, even if some piece of clothing from Zara or H&M became one of my favorites, the quality was so poor that it rarely lasted more than one season.

As I started to shift my focus to shop only when I really needed something specific and from stores that care about the ethical and the sustainable, it made me much calmer. It was quite liberating to let go of the fashion-websites-scrolling obsession and to spend that time on projects that were more meaningful to me. Such as writing. On top of it, I saved a lot of money. I then had the opportunity to spend them on something much more rewarding. Like traveling, or language courses.

“Slow fashion is about consuming and creating fashion consciously and with integrity. It connects social and environmental awareness and responsibility with the pleasure of wearing beautiful, well-made, and lasting clothing.”

Kat Collings, Editor in Chief at Who What Wear

Can I switch to slow fashion just like that?

Well, to make this switch isn’t easy-peasy. At least not for me. And no, I don’t always make the 100% best choices. Along the way, I had to realize a couple of things. The first one is the understanding that it is essential to be informed and thus be aware of what I am doing and that I have a choice.

The second thing is that the choice doesn’t always have to be perfect. It’s not all or nothing. Yeah, as I mentioned, I used to feel guilty as hell if I didn’t research the shit out of a product that I was about to buy, to make sure that I’m not harming anyone in the process (since I feel privileged enough to do so). But then I realized that a small step is better than no step. And striving for perfection is always doomed to fail. 

So nowadays, when I feel that I haven’t chosen the most ethical option to the best of my knowledge and conscience, I just say to myself, Hey I know what I’m doing here, I take the responsibility and I will not beat myself up over it because I’m trying my best with the resources I’m given. 

So where can I get more information about slow fashion in Prague? 

If you still feel iffy about this hipster, trendy sounding term slow fashion, don’t worry, because that’s exactly how I felt. However, if you got this far through the post, then I can only assume that you are at least a little bit curious. So here’s what’s coming your way:

For the next week, I’m preparing an interview with the owner of Etik Butik in Prague, Olga Garajová. She will reveal what she thinks about the Prague fashion style, tell us about her own journey to slow fashion and give us tips on how a person can pursue her passion and turn it into a successful business.

After that, you can look forward to getting a Prague guide for sustainable and ethical shopping with my personal picks and recommendations. 

“I don’t judge anyone for what they are wearing. Because you don’t know where they are on their journey. And maybe the fast-fashion piece they are wearing comes from a clothes-swap or a second-hand store.”

Olga Garajová, owner of Etik Butik

Thank you for reading, stay tuned, subscribe below and see you soon! And if you would like to know how to get your veggies in a sustainable way, read this post.