Leading a “Slow” Lifestyle
Visual by Vivian Chambers, Dress by Lydia Smollen (!!!)
My name is Lydia; I’m a recent American high school graduate, en route to Florence, Italy to pursue my undergraduate’s degree at Polimoda for Fashion Design. I, as countless others before me have done, seek to somehow find a stable career among the competitive mess that is the fashion industry. Before I had begun to look towards Europe for opportunities, I had the same plan as every other midwestern girl who liked to play dress-up—New York. The Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons were my dream Universities from primary school on; both had been featured at various points on Project Runway, so I knew that I had to get there. (A funny perspective, knowing now that the show is a death sentence.) Since then my interest has developed, incorporating sustainability and slow fashion practices into my work wherever I can.
While my mother has a successful career in design, I have always taken discomfort in the dynamic between her and my father monetarily. I’ve always felt that there’s a rift between the two of them regarding finances; (I felt this most powerfully when they were separated). I’m an incredibly independent person—taking assistance from anybody for even the smallest thing is a feat for me. My paternal extended family is primarily engineers, doctors, and lawyers who see a degree in fashion as an “MRS degree.” Over the years as university became closer and closer to reality, I found myself shunning my other goals and passions outside of fashion in order to try and fight my way to the top. This is a very common mindset in America, we believe that through hard work and determination anybody can achieve their dreams. But is “the dream” truly a dream if all you do is work?
When lockdown started, I found myself with no schoolwork to do, I couldn’t get a job, and I felt absolutely no motivation. So, I watched hours of Youtube everyday, playing some stupid game on my phone to occupy my hands. Due to my upcoming move to Europe, I was watching a lot of Damon Dominique and Shayna of The Purple Palace. While they both live in France and not Italy, I still found their content very helpful in terms of mentally preparing myself. I saw them both living in their small apartments but still enjoying and feeling grateful for everything that they have. This really hit me when Shayna said, “Even though I’m not rich in money, I feel rich.” Her attitude, living as an art student in an expensive city was contentedness, something that one cannot afford in the United States under the same conditions. France has an average of a 39.6-hour work week with 30 days off every year. In the states, the average is 44 hours per week, with many saying that they work 50 hours per week. In addition to that massive jump, Americans on average only receive 10 days paid holiday per year, and this is not legally mandated. A lot of Americans also live off of multiple part-time jobs, receiving even less time off. The mentality of the “American Dream” is what has enabled employers to milk so much out of their employees. The employees have blind faith in the idea that with enough time and effort they can reach immense success. However economic inequality is increasing in the United States; according to the Pew Research Center, the wealth gap has more than doubled from 1989 (2016). While there has been a rise in economic inequality in France and globally, the extent of the rift is smaller and the culture does not create the same expectation. In my home life, my father is the one who makes most of the money; however, I never see him, and I have not seen him in even a semi-relaxed state since primary school. My mom, on the other hand, works from home and works a shorter workweek, thus, I have had more opportunities to connect with her than my father. While I appreciate what my dad can contribute to the family, I never want to find myself in a place where I am neglecting relationships for work. I’m not even going to ponder having children in the future now, but I do know that I want to have as many dogs as possible, which is basically having children, and that means that I need to have time available for them. Under Shayna’s recommendation, I am learning to see money as a tool, but not as the goal. My goal instead has shifted to being fulfilled, which to me means having a positive impact on my environment and voicing myself through creation.
While I have grown up in an upper-middle-class household, both of my parents lived in far less comfortable situations. My mom was raised by a single mother, and my father grew up in an eight-person family on government salaries, moving around regularly. My mother learned to cope through creativity, while my father developed a fear of scarcity. Being their child, both of these rubbed off on me. I do not have a particular fear of scarcity, but I am constantly being warned of my career path, which began at a very early age. I’ve been told to pursue engineering, business, and countless other paths. While I understand that the intentions of those telling me this were good, it showed me that creativity is not to be valued as money is.
I had to find a way to make this work. I tried looking into other paths, but nothing had the ability to make me feel as accomplished as fashion does. I have this innate need to work in the physical realm—in fact, this essay began handwritten. Algebra makes practically no sense to me, however, I actually enjoy geometry and trigonometry. I find it very difficult to think without physical space for my thinking. Now, knowing that I have a very spacial mind, one might think that engineering is a good option, however, I cannot follow a rulebook to save my life, and not doing so in an engineering environment might end some lives. So I turned my mind to thinking about how I could “make it in fashion”. This mindset being working nonstop, becoming commercial, and denying myself time to pursue any recreational passions. The climate of fashion schools in the United States only encouraged this. Throughout nearly every conversation I had with a counselor at these universities I was told to focus on the technical aspects of my portfolio and received support for my commercial concepts, my interview at Polimoda was the first time that the commerciality of my portfolio had been questioned.
The saving grace of my portfolio was my prom dress, a relatively simple silhouette based on the Chemise a la Reine and other undergarments of 18th century France. What made this garment special was the lack of modern fastening contraptions and the way that I manipulated the colors. Using a sheer cotton voile I hand-dyed panels in a rainbow of colors and placed another layer of voile on top that was left undyed. This created a dreamy blurred and pastelized effect. This critique was the first crack in my thinking. I continued to dwell on this for several months and I feel that Shayna of the Purple Palace is able to sum it up, “Imagine if I was only counting on my art; that would be so sad in a way because then I would be thinking, when I’m making something, I would be thinking ‘would this potentially interest somebody to buy?’” While fashion is a part of me that I am monetizing, I need to leave space for complete creative freedom, and in order to have that space, I need time. If I were to put every last ounce of myself into fashion I would burnout incredibly quickly. This is evidenced by how long creative directors tend to last under LVMH and Kering. Having to churn out at least 6 consumable ready-to-wear collections every year is draining. I particularly admire brands such as Marine Serre that only put out two collections a year. This links back to my pursuit of slow and sustainable fashion, working to produce a large number of mediocre collections, and contributing to unreasonably fast trend cycles would be a waste of time and materials. What I will struggle with here is having extra recreational time, which is something that I am learning to utilize better.
School has always been a huge motivator for me; I have always hated the summers because I feel so useless and unfulfilled. Clearly, the lockdown was not something that was easy for me to adjust to. Even days where I had read, danced and drawn felt unproductive because I was unable to see things produced for myself and for my enjoyment as worthwhile. Damon Dominique made this mindset apparent to me, “This type of day, in the United States, we would not feel productive at all. Here in France, it would be seen as very productive, because I read my book or I made a painting.” In the states we do not see self-motivated activities as productive because we are not earning money from it in some way. In reality, participating in such activities is productive. You learn about yourself and grow, you learn about the world and grow, and you allow yourself to digest your experiences. According to an article by Ann Macdonald for Harvard Health publishing, eating slower allows the body to process everything; most people find themselves more satiated and impressed by a meal when they have had time to mentally and physically process their food. This applies to life generally as well—if we do not allow ourselves time to process stressful experiences, such as a busy workweek, we will not be able to learn, grow, and move on from it. Changing my outlook on productivity has left me feeling a lot more fulfilled in lockdown and at the end appreciative of the opportunity that I have received to spend time on myself.
It is important to take a step back every once in a while and assess what you really want in life, and what will make you feel fulfilled. Finding fulfillment is a sustainable goal; it should not be a feeling that only lasts for a day. It is always okay to reflect and redirect yourself.
Works Cited:
Dominique, Damon, director. LET'S TALK ABOUT Valuing Creativity over Profit, Not Giving a f*Ck, Art School 🍷w @The Purple Palace, Damon Dominique, 19 June 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfW4bHkwB_M.
“'French Work Week': Do They Really Work Less?” BBC News, BBC, 29 Oct. 2015, www.bbc.com/news/34667552.
Klee, Shayna, director. A Week in My Life | Artist Living in Paris, France VLOG, The Purple Palace, 10 July 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dXDM2Rcsbg.
Klee, Shayna, director. HOW I MOVED TO PARIS AT 19 BY MYSELF! 🇫🇷 Art & Chat Episode 2, The Purple Palace, 20 May 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=68tCvY8geVA&t=133s.
Klee, Shayna, director. Performance by Damon Dominique, BEING AMERICAN IN FRANCE Ft. Damon Dominique 🇫🇷 (French/English Subs), The Purple Palace, 30 May 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mM1416aP7U.
MacDonald, Ann. “Why Eating Slowly May Help You Feel Full Faster.” Harvard Health Blog, 6 Mar. 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-eating-slowly-may-help-you-feel-full-faster-20101019605.
Schaeffer, Katherine. “6 Facts about Economic Inequality in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 31 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/6-facts-about-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s/.
Ward, Marguerite. “A Brief History of the 8-Hour Workday, Which Changed How Americans Work.” CNBC, CNBC, 5 May 2017, www.cnbc.com/2017/05/03/how-the-8-hour-workday-changed-how-americans-work.html#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Bureau%20of,work%2050%20hours%20per%20week.
“Work-Life Balance.” Business Culture, 12 Nov. 2019, businessculture.org/western-europe/business-culture-in-france/work-life-balance-in-france/.