If that’s not an ominous title I don’t know what is! :) But it’s all for good reason… there’s some good stuff to share in this week’s Weekly Rundown.
I can’t stop thinking about this article I read the other day talking about how several major retailers like Gap, and J.Crew are putting more of their business focus on growing the ‘Factory’ sections of their brand, while simultaneously closing down dozens of their regular stores. Basically people are tired of paying $60-80 for an item and are demanding cheaper. It’s hard for me not to get sad about this. I think the big reason we (consumers) want cheaper clothing is so we can buy more. Why can’t we just be satisfied with two really nice sweaters, why do we need eight cheap ones, etc.? I think it goes back to that mindset of apparel being a disposable commodity. We want to refresh our closet all too regularly. The article does have a positive note. It says that part of the reason why millennial shoppers are not willing to drop a lot of dough on clothes is because they are more focused on technology and experiences like travel and dining out. Here, here!
I shared this post with my husband immediately after I read it – one of the big takeaways for me was just how easy it is to overheat teflon pans and consume toxic fumes! Do you cook with teflon-coated pants? If not, what’s your alternative?
And if you’re still in the mood to cook, I made this Chicken tortilla-less soup for dinner this week and it was amazing. Kevin and I started jumped on the Whole30 bandwagon and are currently a week in. So far it’s been… interesting. I feel like we have been eating really delicious food, but we are cooking through our food budget very quickly. :/
I’ve been following this gal on Instagram for awhile now and her posts always inspire me, and leave me thinking deep. They leave me wanting to strive for the greater, deeper, the more meaningful. Now I am reading her blog, and in this post I love how she talks about wanting to live a surrendered life, not a comfortable one. Amen, me too. Life IS short.
We used to use teflon but made the switch to a cast iron pan last year because of the same concerns with over-heating our pans. I was really unsure about how it was going to deliver and it did take a bit of work initially to build up a good seasoning (coating) on the pan but once we got over that learning curve it’s honestly been the best thing ever! It cooks really well and I use it for everything, even delicate foods like omelettes and fish fillets slide right out.
Thanks Judy, this is so good to know. I am anxious to get my hands on a good cast iron pan now!
Oh boy! Teflon pans really are awful, I have a large and a small cast iron, plus a copper bottom pan, that I cook with and have had for the past 13 years. Treat them right and you will never buy another pan! (but yikes, I didn’t know about all of that, that’s awful!)
I read that story the other day! I thought it was interesting but maybe not quite on the money. Many people, myself included would buy a good sweater for $60. For wool that doesn’t pill after the second wearing? That would be a great deal! But most millenials don’t have a ton of extra cash thanks to rising living costs, student loans that are crazy in amounts and wages that are far lower than they were before 2007. If we buy a $60 sweater, we’d like it to be better quality than the $20 sweater because that’s a lot of money! Gap and Jcrew both built their reps on being good quality stores and that really hasn’t been so lately. About 3 years ago I started trying to buy better quality items than the Old Navy I could afford before and I saved up and bought a $110 cashmere sweater. I was so excited… Until a hole appeared in the sleeve on the second wearing and the entire sleeve unraveled and feel apart within a month. It’s like, why pay more when I can buy an ON sweater than might not look great after year but, at least I’m not spending over a hundred on a sweater that doesn’t last a month. I know many people have a lot of similar complaints about those two stores and I really feel that’s the problem. (look up the reveiws for jcrew’s tippi sweater – it’s kind of understandable.). I think most of us who are out our early 20s and have a fairly good idea of what we like are happy to bypass F21 and its loud music and would very happily pay $60 or whatever for what those two brands use to be know for – good clothing. I also think the constant sales have really hurt them, by having 30%- 50% off every week they’ve trained their customer to belive that the clothes are only worth sale price and that they’ll be cheated by not by at full price. Companies that don’t offer sales all of the times don’t struggle with this. (haha, not including the whole jcpenny thing, that went badly!).
I hoped I didn’t make any huge errors, I’m typing on phone and hitting. Every. Single. Button. Blah!
That’s amazing Katie that you’ve used the same pans for 13 year, mega kudos to you. I have amazing bakeware/cookie sheets that I’ve used for years and years and love, but my pans not so much. I am looking into iron cookware!
Yes, I know exactly what you were talking about with Pennies, I remember that, they decided to have low everyday prices, and drop the sale charade, and it flopped! Everyone wants to feel like they are getting a deal. I get it, we do have to make our money last/stretch. But I see your point how all those ‘sales’ are hurting the images of stores like Gap and J.Crew. I also agree the quality has declined greatly! Especially at the Gap, I worked there in high school, and of course adored their clothing. The more recent times I have been in there the quality (and styles mostly) have been extremely lackluster. :( There is a shifting marketplace and it will be interesting to see what happens. On a side note, have you checked out Everlane’s cashmere? I haven’t purchased any for myself yet, but others seem to be giving it rave reviews!
I have noticed the growth in the “factory” segments of brands as well. I’m interested to see how this plays out. I do see a reluctant buy-in from others my own age (millennial here) about buying less but better. I personally think it should always be about balance — and remembering that when it comes to matters like these there’s never ever really a point of ‘arrival’. It’s about continually choosing to do better with the resources you have available. Baby steps! I remember when ‘bought in’ to eating whole and natural foods. I wanted to throw EVERYTHING away and start from scratch. That was overwhelming in so many ways, and just wasn’t the right way to go. Adopting small changes everyday over a long period of time is way more sustainable than overhauling your life.
Also, we cook with stainless steel + butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. or cast iron in our house. I haven’t cooked with non-stick since college. We’ve been cooking in cast iron more and more — well seasoned it acts just like non-stick! — but still stainless + some sort of fat or oil for plenty of recipes.
Laura, what a well thought out comment, excellent points! I think I definitely get a little hung up on reaching the “arrival” point, but I should I also be realistic I suppose. For me the ‘buying less’ part is mostly budget imposed, but I also do feel overwhelmed if I am facing too many options in my closet. When I want to ‘buy more’ I often hit the thrift stores.
Good to know about seasoned cast iron! Do you have a favorite brand or place to get your pots? I feel some blog post inspiration coming on for you… ;)
Get yourself a cast iron skillet, learn how to season and care for it, and you will not miss the teflon! Seriously, cast iron is to teflon as timeless Everlane cashmere is to cheap trendy Forever21. It will last forever, and only get better and better the more you use it.
Love this analogy! Spot on!
Thank you Anna, what a great point! I just need to figure out which cast iron to get now! :)
I think the warehouse trend is a bit more complicated. Basically, I see two things happening: 1. companies like J. Crew are undercutting themselves and if people can get the same thing for less, why wouldn’t they? and 2. the quality of the original brand is going down, so it’s no longer worth the money.
If J. Crew could maintain the quality they used to have across all of their items, I think people would buy in again. As it is, I think they’ve allowed things like t-shirts and other less formal items to suffer in quality.
Thanks for linking to the nonstick pans post. Props goes to Elizabeth Stilwell at thenotepasser.com for the content!
Yes! To your first point, so true. The article mentioned that too. People expect those steep discounts now, and don’t want to pay full price.
To your second point, my experience shows the same thing. I have bought J.Crew items off and on since high school (a long time ago now!) and the quality has definitely deteriorated, especially among their wool sweaters. :(
I panicked when I read about the pans because we just bought a brand new full set of pots & pans at Costco. Fortunately, I just looked them up and they’re PFOA-free! Phew. (For reference, they’re the Circulon Hard Anodized set from Costco).
I love reading your take on this clothing bit and agree with you 100%. I’m so sick of purchasing clothes that are so poor in quality. Even the higher end retailers have lowered their quality standards. I feel that I’m now forced into buying cheaper clothes or spending a ridiculous amount on a t-shirt that doesn’t pill in three washes. :( AND I’m really happy to know that you loved my Chicken Tortilla Soup. :)
Hi Michelle! I’m so honored to have you comment here! Your soup iS SO good, I made it twice! Super tasty, it’s going into our regular rotation.
YES. There is such a crisis in the apparel industry. If you want a good t-shirt, try Everlane! High quality, ethically made, and it’s hard to beat $15. I am going on 1.5 years with mine and no pilling yet!