FoundClothing

FC on MyZeroWaste.com

Nice post. Based in Glouchestershire, UK, MyZeroWaste.com offers all kinds of useful information about reusing, reducing, and recycling.

Ecofiend

The other day I biked down to the Co-Prosperity Sphere in Bridgeport to check out the arts and met the fellows from Ecofiend, a collaborative project that, among other things, lists Chicago-based green things. Check them out.

FoundClothing on Glamour.com

Glamour.com's Little Miss Fortune blog posted about FoundClothing earlier this week. The piece is titled "Savvy or Stupid: How Do We Feel About Fashion?" and there's a poll question you can answer. So far, 25% of respondents are all for trashion-finding; 50% are for it if nobody's around to watch them (and they would never admit to having found the clothes); and 25% are against.

FoundClothing on EcoSalon

Amy DuFault at Ecosalon, a website that gives you "fresh eco tips, news and fashion without all the fuss," recently interviewed me about this clothes-finding thing. Ecosalon has a really nice Twitter feed as well.

FC on TreeHugger.com, SinDinero.org

Didn't know about this one. Treehugger is run by the Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel is the only teevee channel you should watch, because the other ones will make you dumb.

SinDinero also blogged about this site, in Spanish.

Happy Buy Nothing Day

If you're a Chicagoist reader, you might have spotted my post on the Adbusters-endorsed Buy Nothing Day -- a "holiday" that counters the crowding and spending of Black Friday. Many people have responded to the post, and Adbusters linked to it on its website -- exciting. Surprise surprise, I won't be buying anything today, except maybe some groceries.

Meanwhile, the New York Times opines today that the Age of Consumption might be drawing to a close.

:(

A quote from the article: "The Obama administration needs to encourage the sort of saving that will put consumers on sounder financial footing and free up resources that could be directed at long overdue investments in transportation infrastructure, alternative energy, education, worker training and the like. This strategy would not only create jobs but would also cut America’s dependence on foreign saving and imports. That would help reduce the current account deficit and the heavy foreign borrowing such an imbalance entails."

Right on. Though it's hard to save anything when you've got no income or profits ...

UPDATE: Looks like not everyone in the NYC metro area read the NYT op-ed this morning, as a Long Island WalMart employee was trampled to death by crazed bargain hunters. A pregnant woman also got caught up in the melee. Important to remember that most people would be outraged by this, and maybe even the crowd responsible for this tragic incident would be outraged themselves once they had come down off their cheap Chinese import-fueled high, but that still doesn't make it any easier to accept that it happened in the first place. WTF.

This Gawker posting isn't so depressing -- it just features photos of shoppers Black Fridaying it up. So perplexing that people would put themselves through this sort of pushy-shovey experience. Even for an iWiiBox or Bratz doll, it just doesn't seem worth it.

FC on Daisy Green

The British fashion blog Daisy Green featured this-here site today, which is really nice of them. The article uses the word, "skip," which is Britainese for "dumpster." Skip sounds cooler than dumpster, no?

FC on OrganicCoupons.org

Made this Website's Top 100 Simple Living blogs list. There's a lot of great links in this list, so check it out.

FoundClothing on Chicago Public Radio

Thanks to Alexandra Salomon for her patience and hard work in doing this piece.

FC on MSN's Smart Spending Blog

This article, "12 'necessities' you can eliminate from your budget," mentions mah site.

Me in the PPG

Here's the article about me in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Thanks to Lamont Jones for being really cool. One thing is not quite right, though: "Two years ago, less than 10 percent of Ms. Apple's wardrobe consisted of found items. Now, they comprise more than half." Actually, about two years ago I'd say the percentage was 25-35%. Oh well.

This part's also problematic: "I'm not sitting in a Dumpster with banana peels on my head. I don't sit around in Dumpsters all day long, rooting around in them." Here, I was pretty much flat-out lying. Sorry, Mr. Jones! 

While typing "Pittsburgh," my pinkie accidentally hit the "z," making it "Pittzburgh." One thing I forgot to mention in my posting about my recent Johnstown trip is that Dave and I noticed lots of stuff with "z" on the end. As in, "coffeez," "dogz," etc.  I had forgotten all about this "gratuitous use of 'z'" phenom. Well, with that in mind, it's "Pittzburgh" from now on.

FoundClothing on Green-Blog.org

Whoah, my face is huge ... I didn't know the guys had posted this on March 1 -- just saw it. Green-Blog.org is now in the links section.

FC on Alternative Consumer

The Alternative Consumer provides "eco news, views and product reviews for busy folks looking to cultivate a greener, more sustainable lifestyle." Freeganism, fashion don'ts, and straight-up reports and links to environmental science-related news -- it's all there. And today, this site is there as well -- in a nice posting by Maureen.

I've put Alternative Consumer's little widgety button thingie in the right column, so you can always find their site.

FoundClothing on Green Daily

What a nice write-up by Beth Ledwohl. Green Daily is one of AOL's blogs ... cool!

More finds from me coming later today (Monday) ... three pink things.

FoundClothing on GroovyGreen.com

Check it out! This is a great site for learning about all things green and eco-friendly ... I'll put it in my links list for future reference.

Found Finding Partner

97.9 FM morning show host Jonathon Brandmeier is a really nice, thoughtful and respectful interviewer. If I owned a radio, or had the capacity to wake up at 6 a.m., I'd listen to his show. Anyway, he wants to hunt for trash clothes with me. In the springtime, I said. Apparently, he was serious. So that's something to look forward to ...

Thanks to Chicago Tonight ...

... and to WTTW reporter Christian Farr for the cool segment on me and this here Website. Yay!

For any CT viewers who are on flickr and are clicking here for the first time: Submit your own found clothing/accessories photos to the FoundClothing picture pool, and see your names in lights.

Thanks once again to Yi Shun and Jim for supplying this TV-less broad with glowbox access. Once again, we dined on tater tots and champagne. And some other things. It's a habit-forming combination, bubbly and potato-puffy. Today's tots were Whole Paycheck organic, unlike yesterday's Ore-Ida. WF's are better.

Well, This Is Nice

Citizendangerx sends some warm vibes from Seattle on this snowy, kinda crappy-mood day. Somebody buy my Lola Perazzo painting and send it to the guy -- he wants it. Also, I like money.

FoundClothing Press Hit ...

The Northwestern OTR writes a nice little blurb about my site today. Thanks, Willie El Gato Silvestre! You're a dulce corazon.

Susan Cagle's Report on FoundClothing

In 2006, then-Columbia journalism student Susan Cagle interviewed me about FoundClothing for a radio project, the results of which are downloadable ... where it says "radio project" ... in blue or purple, depending.

WiseBread Posts About FoundClothing

Justin Ryan of WiseBread informs me that he has posted about FoundClothing. Go check this blog out -- it's a personal finance and frugal living guide for those of us who aren't rich enough to blindly throw away perfectly useful designer clothing in the trash. Not that I'm upset at such people or anything.

While you're over there, scroll down and check out the most awesome photo of hot model-type girls wearing paper Abercrombie & Fitch shopping bags as dresses. That is taking trashion to a whole new, wonderful level. Once I saw a woman in NY who, for Halloween, made a hot party dress/costume entirely out of discarded subway cards. She was tiny and pulled it off.

Thanks, ABA!

A wonderful person at the American Bar Association has posted a link to FoundClothing in the blawg directory. And right now, FoundClothing's #1 on the "most popular" list -- beating out ... ahem ... my former Evidence Professor Peter Tillers' evidence blog, among others. Sorry, Professor! Maybe you should post some photos of "found clothing evidence"?

My other "blog," Stick Figures, True Stories -- which provides little snippets of my strange life in stick-figure format -- isn't even a "blawg," but comes in at #4 on the ABA's list. It beats out Home Office Lawyer, Simple Justice, and other, legitimate "blawgs" that, unlike my kooky little anecdotes, actually provide information that is useful to people.

Ay yi yi! What a week! So fun, though!

FoundClothing in Foreign Languages

Pudri, a German blog that features way too many Sarah Jessica Parker pictures for my tastes (she bugged the hell out of me even when I was six years old and she was on Square Pegs), has covered FoundClothing. So has Windy City, a Polish-language blog based in Chicago. I used to study Polish but can't translate the blog entry or comments.

ABA Journal Covers FoundClothing

The American Bar Association Journal wrote up a nice little item about me. Thanks to the writer, Martha Neil!

I think the ABA's coverage shows that, contrary to what some might think, there's room for many types of personalities in the legal profession. Sure, a partner at Bigwig, Corporate & Overworked LLC might think I am a total freak. But I think it's freakish that many lawyers must work 60-80 hours a week and become a slave to the BlackBerry, often at the expense of family time, personal interests and favorite activities.

I'm waxing ranty right now because last night I read a posting on a blog called La Source that went, "employers, lawyers in particular, tend to pass over those candidates who interview in ill fitting, Anne Taylor Loft suits that were picked up in a plastic bag on the side of the road- despite the fact that it was new(ish) when found."

First of all, my found Ann Taylor suit fits perfectly. I don't wear the stuff that doesn't fit. Geez.

Secondly, employers don't know that I have found the clothing unless I tell them.

Thirdly, I have gotten law jobs and internships after interviewing in found clothing.

And lastly, employers who wouldn't hire me because of my hobby are employers I wouldn't work for. If you can't tolerate my innocuous, environmentally conscious pastimes, then we don't belong together.

Here's a thought: Who would you rather hire -- a person who wears found clothing, or a person who has maxed out their credit cards on brand-new, brand-name clothing? I would take the recycler, because they're probably not going to be wasting office supplies or racking up huge expense accounts. But that's just me.

The Today Show

Greetings from New York City! I am in my old trash-finding grounds because this morning the Today Show ran a segment about FoundClothing and did an in-studio with me. It was fun! I met Maria Menounos -- my second "50 Most Beautiful People" person on my list of met famous people (Jeff Buckley was the other). Everybody at the show was really great, actually. Thanks to Kelly MacEvoy and the cool women who did my hair and make-up. And the cool guy who said, "it will be over just like that." And the other cool guys. Coolness all around. You can see the clip on their Website.

I didn't get to meet any superstars, but there was an Olympic swimmer who got her hair done one chair over.

Thanks also to my friends Jimmy Askew, Todd Eisenbud, Corey Huinker, Eli Kaploun, Seren Laibovitz, Trish Naudon-Thomas, Nicole, Ingrid Spangler, Valerie Germain, and Eva Young for coming to visit with me during my whirlwind trip. I have some great friends in New York! Most of them came to my goodbye party, my second goodbye party, and my two birthday parties earlier this year. When your friends keep buying you drinks even after you obnoxiously have two birthday parties, you know they're good friends. (OK, so the first party actually didn't happen so much because there was a huge blizzard and nobody could get to the party locale except me and my friend Dave ... but still, a lot of parties with repetitive themes has to get on people's nerves at some point).

Nevertheless, if I end up back in NY to be on TV again, I'm going to have another Coming Back party.

On the way back to Chicago I saw that my former professor, Justin Hughes, was on the same flight. He's a good reason to go to Cardozo Law School -- great professor who knows so much.