Why focus on the camel coat?

Growing up, the highest quality coat I owned was probably a charcoal grey pea coat that my mom bought for me during a Black Friday sale during the late 2000s. The coat hung in my closet for years before I wore it. The color felt too mature for me, and by the time I cut off the tags, my body had changed so the fit was no longer flattering. I kept the coat until my last year of college, even though I hated the way it looked.

Throughout college, I bought two similar coats in hopes of replacing the one above. One was a light grey duster jacket from Forever 21, which I purchased for about $30 and wore for about three years. The other one was a navy collarless coat from Uniqlo that I purchased for $42 but only wore for a year.

I had considered the cut, color, and cost when purchasing these items, but had failed to consider the fabric composition and quality. As a result, both of these coats were eventually retired from my closet when they pilled to the point of no repair. I’ve learned that I’m better off wearing what I already own while saving up for the item I actually want, as opposed to settling for a more affordable substitute of a lower quality.

I’ve always loved coats, even if I didn’t love the coats I owned. I knew that a classic camel coat was one of the first investments I wanted to save up for after moving to NYC.

Closet Stats

I own three classic camel coats that I love for different reasons, and don’t plan to purchase any more… ideally forever! A few stats that jumped out to me when examining these coats in relation to the rest of my inventory:

• I paid nearly full price for all of these coats, as compared to the average discount on retail I paid across all of my outerwear pieces (38% off) or across my entire wardrobe (27% off).
• Of the five clothing items in my wardrobe I’ve purchased on vacation, three of them (60%) were outerwear pieces. One of those three was a camel coat.
• There is a clear positive correlation between the year of purchase and the quality of fabric composition. The first coat I purchased in 2017 was made from 80% wool and 20% synthetic fibers; the second coat I purchased in 2019 was made from a wool/cashmere blend from deadstock fabric; and the third coat I purchased in 2020 was made from 100% cashmere.

Though both classics, I’ve noticed that camel coats have far more staying power in my closet than white tees for example. The oldest camel coat I’ve owned has been in my wardrobe for nearly three years, whereas the oldest white tee-shirt has only been in my wardrobe for a mere two months (working on making this number much higher in the white tee category).

I’ve also realized through writing this post and recently assessing my wardrobe that I’m prone to collecting three-of-a-kind in my favorite categories. Case in point: I own three camel coats, three black leather jackets, three silk slip skirts… and so on. I love uncovering insights like this from analyzing my wardrobe data, as it enables me to break my subconscious purchasing habits.

THE Closet Heroes

• The Cashmere Camel Coat from The Curated | Added June 2020 | Purchased on Facebook Sample Sale | This coat is by far the most luxurious coat in my wardrobe, and I plan to wear it as much as possible for as long as possible to minimize my cost per wear. From an ESG standpoint, I appreciate that the coat is created from leftover ERDOS fabric and that the company’s mission is to reduce waste by delivering sustainable, slow fashion staples.

• Long Camel Coat (no longer available) from Livia Arena | Added August 2019 | Purchased in Melbourne, Australia | I saw this coat on display in the Livia Arena store when I was having a “shopping day” around Melbourne. Though there are definitely some purchases I’ve made on vacation I now regret, this is not one of them. The business student in me particularly loves that Livia Arena produces their garments in the same location as their storefront in order to reduce carbon waste while speeding up their time to market. Livia Arena’s business model reminds me of the famous (or infamous) Zara supply-chain case study, but with a sustainable twist.

• Joe Coat (available pre-loved) from Sezane | Added November 2017 | Tailored to shorten sleeves | Purchased in Sezane’s NYC store | I remember looking at this coat for weeks online before going in-store to Sezane for the first time to try it on. As silly as it may sound, this coat will always hold a special place in my heart as I can still recall the excitement I felt when I bought it.

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Why focus on the basic tee?

Tees are ubiquitous in our closets. As such, it’s very easy to overlook the environmental impact of this seemingly innocuous closet staple. I’ve seen various stats that attempt to quantify the impact of the basic tee’s lifecycle. While some stats are easier than others to quantify (e.g. it takes 2,700 liters of water to grow the cotton required to produce a single tee), other stats are harder to nail down (e.g. water/energy waste from washing/drying the tee between wears).

I found this article on the subject particularly interesting.

How can we do better?

Although some fashion companies across the sustainability spectrum from Patagonia to H&M are incorporating recycled fibers into production, the technology and incentives to efficiently mass produce recycled garments don’t yet exist.

I think we need to shift our mentality to view tees as investment pieces rather than as replaceable basics. I’ve definitely been guilty of ruining a few white tees from being lazy when separating my laundry, knowing I could just buy a cheap replacement. (Don’t do this!)

Since demand drives supply, I believe one of the best ways to decrease the amount of textile waste in landfills attributed to tees is to reduce the number of shirts we produce to begin with. One action item I’ve thought about recently is engaging the organizations to which we belong. For example, my company gives out about about two free shirts per year for one-day charity events to thousands of employees and participants. How often do people wear these shirts after the event? Personally, I never rewear them.

Finding new technologies and applications for recycling fabric waste is great, but reducing the amount of resources we consume is even better. The philosophy of consuming less is one I’ve been translating into my buying habits.

CLOSET STATS

I currently own 5 white tees, in 3 distinct styles (as of August 2020). Since I began tracking my wardrobe data in 2017, I’ve retired 11 white tees in 9 distinct styles, which adds up to $167 wasted. I found it very difficult to resell my tees online, and eventually ended up donating the fabric in hopes it would be recycled. Sadly, I know there’s a non-zero chance they’ll end up in the landfill regardless. This is why I’ve focused on bringing fewer tees into my life.

I took a closer look at the tees I’ve retired from my wardrobe inventory since 2017, and analyzed the reasons they lacked longevity in my closet. From this exercise, I was able to clearly articulate my style requirements for this staple.

Definition of a Perfect White Tee (for me)

• Cropped length. My ideal tee-shirt length is about 20″. Figuring this out has helped me avoid buying tops that don’t meet this criteria. When I shop online, I’ll check for the dimensions before purchasing a tee (or any item really) and if they aren’t listed, I won’t buy it.
• No bra lines. This one is definitely a dealbreaker for me, and one of the main reasons I won’t buy a tee shirt, particularly a white one.
• Crew neckline. I’ve owned tees with necklines too high, too low, and too stylized for my taste.

Here are some photos of some of the eleven tees I’ve retired for failing to meet one or more of the requirements above.

The Closet Heroes

These are the 3 styles of tees I have in my wardrobe today.

• Women’s U-Neck Crew Short-Sleeve Tee from Uniqlo | $14.90 (purchased in-store, bought one on sale for $9.90) | Own 2 | Added August 2020 | I purchased this in-store, so I didn’t know the length until I looked it up for this post. The tee is 23″ inches, which is the same length as the Madewell Northside Tee I retired. The difference comes down to the fabric, as this is a very thick tee so it has more structure. I exclusively wear these tucked, as opposed to the Girlfriend Collective tees.

• White Gia Crop Tee from Girlfriend Collective I $38 (purchased online, bought both with reward credit discount) | Own 1 | Added July 2020 | I own two of these: one in a size small and one in a size medium, which are 19″ and 19.5″ long respectively. I exclusively wear these untucked as the length is just a bit too short for tucking. I love that the fabric is 70% cupro, a sustainable fabric made out of cotton waste.

• Margo Tee from Leset | $58 (purchased online, full-price) | Own 1 | Added July 2020 | Length is perfect at 20″ for wearing tucked or untucked, which makes this the most versatile white tee I own. The fabric has a nice weight to it, which makes it drape nicely.

If I had to pick only one to keep, it would be the Margo Tee from Leset for its versatility, and ideally, its longevity in my closet.