Thoughts on Shopping

A “buy local/buy good stuff/buy from real people” unmanifesto

This site represents the basis for a community of women who bike with style and who support each other. I’m filling the toolkit over time with a few things I hope will help.

1) It’s a blog that I hope brings you value and builds the community of women riding bikes in the Spokane region (and elsewhere).

Read, enjoy, comment, and share your stories. I love riding my bike and writing; the blog is a natural extension of my life.

2) It represents a specific set of values and philosophy because at the end of the day how you spend your dollars will always represent a decision about your priorities. My approach (which got more than a little help from my thrifty Depression-era parents):

  • It’s entirely possible to take care of many of your style and comfort needs with a trip to a local thrift shop and a little ingenuity. Living well does not require excessive consumerism.
  • Know where and how things are made before you spend your hard-earned money on them. This doesn’t reward impulse shopping–it rewards homework and mindful decision-making.
  • Be willing to pay more for something well-made that will last longer. Your cost per wearing is far lower than if you buy cheap crap that wears out quickly, and that extra cost most likely also represents a living wage for the person who made your purchase and better quality materials that will hold up to repeated wearings.
  • If you buy something you don’t think looks absolutely great on you, down the road you’ll pass over it every time you go to the closet. Save your money for the cute stuff and the classics. Since you’ll wear them more, you want good quality, and if you buy fewer things you can afford better ones; see bullet point above.

3) I include links to purchase products via Amazon, for which I receive a teeny tiny commission.

Some of the items I’ve found may be available in your local bike or recreational clothing store; if so you have access to some retailers with a sense of bike style.

I think you should buy local whenever possible, but if you can’t find it locally you can see if I have it in my Amazon Associates store. Your purchase through the Amazon link on my site helps support our mutual quest.

I only feature items I think are useful and/or beautiful that will help you bike in style and comfort. For more on my philosophy and the values I bring to product and partner selection, see Shopping for a Better World.

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