The Great American Apparel Diet

Last week's Seattle Times featured an article by Amy Martinez and Melissa Allison in the Retail Report about a new movement called "The Great American Apparel Diet." What?
That's right, due to the recent financial downturn, many women are joining this group and pledging to abstain from any apparel buying for one year.
Eeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! A whole year? Yes. A whole year.
Like one member said, "I have enough clothes to last a lifetime." Which is probably true of most of us. But who'd want to wear the same things for a lifetime?
I went through my closet and tried to decide how long this wardrobe would last. Counting all the parts and pieces and all the possible combinations, I calculated approximately 47, 664, 533 different outfits. I never have been very good at math, but I do know I have enough clothes to last a lifetime. That is, if I wouldn't mind being sartorially stuck in 2009 until I die.
The rules of the Apparel Diet say that one is allowed to trade, to sew, to renovate, to buy used, AND, best of all, SHOES ARE ALLOWED. Well, ok, things are looking up now.
So here's the question: could you do this? would you do this? would you even want to? It's a definite challenge. As for me, I think the idea is interesting. I think I might be willing to cut back. But I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it.
For one thing, I've been poor before and I don't remember it as being all that much fun. I've gone for months without anything new, and I didn't feel challenged, I just felt depressed. I've sewn (high school), bought used (Discovery Shop), traded (college), and just plain done without. Did I feel proud of myself? No. I felt deprived.
I also remember working at Nordstrom and having so many clothes to wear it would take me at least 45 minutes every morning just to decide what to put on. And lots of stuff was still hanging in the closet with the tags still on. And lots of things hanging there I didn't really even like, I just bought them because they were new, they were in, they were hanging on the rack and I had to have them. I would pretty much turn my paycheck over to the company store every two weeks. Who cared if I couldn't pay the rent? I looked cute!
I've always loved to shop. Some people get sensory overload in a mall, they hate the bright lights, the noise, the cosmetic salespeople accosting them. I, however, can enter a mall and instantly feel my pulse lower, my breathing slow, my mind say "aaaah....I'm home again." When I was a young mom and my kids were making me crazy, my idea of a perfect afternoon was to get a sitter and go wander through the mall (yes, even the Yakima mall). I couldn't afford anything, I just wanted to be there to breathe that electrified mall air. Ohmmmmm. I know. Pretty sad.
So could I go for a year without buying? No. I could maybe compromise, cut down a little. But how's this economy going to improve unless we get out there and do our part to keep these poor retailers in business? I consider it my duty to shop. And shop I will. I never was much for diets anyway.