Day 2 of Wunder Under Challenge - Cheating Already?
I don't know if any of you read the Lululemon blog posts but I usually skim them. The point of the latest one puzzles me. It is a Wunder Under Challenge - the blog author was inspired by a couple of websites, one of which is theuniformproject.com where a woman is going to wear the same dress seven days a week (she has seven identical dresses to rotate) as an exercise in sustainable fashion. I assume the point is by owning/purchasing/wearing fewer clothes you will have a smaller carbon footprint. The blog author is going to rotate between two pairs of Wunder Crops and Pants for a month for all her exercise and street wear:"Starting Jan. 1, 2010, I am challenging myself to dress for street and sweat with only two bottoms to choose from for the entire month. I will be alternating between the Wunder Under Pant and the Wunder Under Crop (washing in cold water and hanging to dry in between each wear). Each day you will see how one bottom takes me through my day AND for a daily athletic activity."
I can't say I think wearing only two pairs of pants for a month will actually save anything. I have to think you would accelerate the wear and tear on the pants such that you'd need new pairs much sooner than if you rotated them with several other pairs in your closet. Let's take an analogy to bras, according to herroom.com you should have an everyday bra wardrobe of 3-6 to get you through the week. The reason for this is to let the bra have a day of rest between wearings as body heat tends to relax fabric, it needs time to return to it's original shape, and it lets the bra air out and feel fresher the next time you put it on. All these conditions can be applied to stretchy exercise wear. Additionally, I've read on Lululemon's website or Facebook site that their clothing is not designed to be worn every day although I can't find the link. So, although I think it is a worthy goal to purchase only as many clothes as you will wear on a regular basis, I think limiting yourself to two pairs of pants for a month is too restrictive. She is also washing on a daily basis rather than doing one big load on a weekly basis. Additionally, looking at the photo posted above, did she already cheat? The pants on the left don't look like Wunder Unders. Perhaps since it was cold she layered a pair of sweats over them and considered them a "jacket" for her legs but the challenge did say Wunder Unders Only. ;-)
