| Recorded at | March 03, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Event | TEDActive 2011 |
| Duration (min:sec) | 05:03 |
| Video Type | TED Stage Talk |
| Words per minute | 180.99 medium |
| Readability (FK) | 68.17 very easy |
| Speaker | Jessi Arrington |
| Description | designer; based in Brooklyn, New York, United States |
Official TED page for this talk
Synopsis
Designer Jessi Arrington packed nothing for TEDActive but 7 pairs of undies, buying the rest of her clothes in thrift stores around LA. It's a meditation on conscious consumption -- wrapped in a rainbow of color and creativity.
| 1 | 00:15 | I'm Jessi, and this is my suitcase. | ||
| 2 | 00:18 | But before I show you what I've got inside, I'm going to make a very public confession, and that is, I'm outfit-obsessed. | ||
| 3 | 00:28 | I love finding, wearing, and more recently, photographing and blogging a different, colorful, crazy outfit for every single occasion. | ||
| 4 | 00:39 | But I don't buy anything new. | ||
| 5 | 00:41 | I get all my clothes secondhand from flea markets and thrift stores. | ||
| 6 | 00:46 | Aww, thank you. | ||
| 7 | 00:49 | Secondhand shopping allows me to reduce the impact my wardrobe has on the environment and on my wallet. | ||
| 8 | 00:57 | I get to meet all kinds of great people; my dollars usually go to a good cause; I look pretty unique; and it makes shopping like my own personal treasure hunt. | ||
| 9 | 01:07 | I mean, what am I going to find today? | ||
| 10 | 01:09 | Is it going to be my size? | ||
| 11 | 01:11 | Will I like the color? | ||
| 12 | 01:13 | Will it be under $20? | ||
| 13 | 01:16 | If all the answers are yes, I feel as though I've won. | ||
| 14 | 01:20 | I want to get back to my suitcase and tell you what I packed for this exciting week here at TED. | ||
| 15 | 01:27 | I mean, what does somebody with all these outfits bring with her? | ||
| 16 | 01:31 | So I'm going to show you exactly what I brought. | ||
| 17 | 01:34 | I brought seven pairs of underpants and that's it. | ||
| 18 | 01:40 | Exactly one week's worth of undies is all I put in my suitcase. | ||
| 19 | 01:45 | I was betting that I'd be able to find everything else I could possible want to wear once I got here to Palm Springs. | ||
| 20 | 01:53 | And since you don't know me as the woman walking around TED in her underwear -- (Laughter) that means I found a few things. | ||
| 21 | 02:01 | And I'd really love to show you my week's worth of outfits right now. | ||
| 22 | 02:04 | Does that sound good? | ||
| 23 | 02:06 | (Applause) | ||
| 24 | 02:08 | So as I do this, I'm also going to tell you a few of the life lessons that, believe it or not, I have picked up in these adventures wearing nothing new. | ||
| 25 | 02:18 | So let's start with Sunday. | ||
| 26 | 02:20 | I call this "Shiny Tiger." | ||
| 27 | 02:22 | You do not have to spend a lot of money to look great. | ||
| 28 | 02:26 | You can almost always look phenomenal for under $50. | ||
| 29 | 02:29 | This whole outfit, including the jacket, cost me $55, and it was the most expensive thing that I wore the entire week. | ||
| 30 | 02:37 | Monday: Color is powerful. | ||
| 31 | 02:40 | It is almost physiologically impossible to be in a bad mood when you're wearing bright red pants. | ||
| 32 | 02:46 | (Laughter) | ||
| 33 | 02:48 | If you are happy, you are going to attract other happy people to you. | ||
| 34 | 02:54 | Tuesday: | ||
| 35 | 02:56 | Fitting in is way overrated. | ||
| 36 | 02:59 | I've spent a whole lot of my life trying to be myself and at the same time fit in. | ||
| 37 | 03:05 | Just be who you are. | ||
| 38 | 03:07 | If you are surrounding yourself with the right people, they will not only get it, they will appreciate it. | ||
| 39 | 03:14 | Wednesday: | ||
| 40 | 03:16 | Embrace your inner child. | ||
| 41 | 03:18 | Sometimes people tell me that I look like I'm playing dress-up, or that I remind them of their seven-year-old. | ||
| 42 | 03:26 | I like to smile and say, "Thank you." | ||
| 43 | 03:30 | Thursday: | ||
| 44 | 03:32 | Confidence is key. | ||
| 45 | 03:34 | If you think you look good in something, you almost certainly do. | ||
| 46 | 03:38 | And if you don't think you look good in something, you're also probably right. | ||
| 47 | 03:42 | I grew up with a mom who taught me this day-in and day-out. | ||
| 48 | 03:46 | But it wasn't until I turned 30 that I really got what this meant. | ||
| 49 | 03:50 | And I'm going to break it down for you for just a second. | ||
| 50 | 03:53 | If you believe you're a beautiful person inside and out, there is no look that you can't pull off. | ||
| 51 | 04:02 | So there is no excuse for any of us here in this audience. | ||
| 52 | 04:04 | We should be able to rock anything we want to rock. | ||
| 53 | 04:07 | Thank you. | ||
| 54 | 04:09 | (Applause) | ||
| 55 | 04:12 | Friday: A universal truth -- five words for you: Gold sequins go with everything. | ||
| 56 | 04:20 | And finally, Saturday: Developing your own unique personal style is a really great way to tell the world something about you without having to say a word. | ||
| 57 | 04:30 | It's been proven to me time and time again as people have walked up to me this week simply because of what I'm wearing, and we've had great conversations. | ||
| 58 | 04:38 | So obviously this is not all going to fit back in my tiny suitcase. | ||
| 59 | 04:42 | So before I go home to Brooklyn, I'm going to donate everything back. | ||
| 60 | 04:46 | Because the lesson I'm trying to learn myself this week is that it's okay to let go. | ||
| 61 | 04:52 | I don't need to get emotionally attached to these things because around the corner, there is always going to be another crazy, colorful, shiny outfit just waiting for me, if I put a little love in my heart and look. | ||
| 62 | 05:06 | Thank you very much. | ||
| 63 | 05:08 | (Applause) | ||
| 64 | 05:11 | Thank you. | ||
| 65 | 05:13 | (Applause) |