All Sukin Products are Vegan

I normally don't think too much about shampoo and conditioner for my hair. I just use whatever is in the shower. However, after I became vegan, I wanted a hair product that was certified vegan. I had heard about the #nopoo (no shampoo) movement, but when I tried this for a few weeks realised that my hair became dirty, oily, and thick, so I had to find vegan shampoo.

Thankfully Chemist Warehouse had Sukin shampoo, which I have been using for a few months now. Recently I learned that it is best to use both shampoo and conditioner, so today I purchased a Sukin conditioner as well. I also learned on the Sukin website that all Sukin products are vegan. Not only are all Sukin products vegan but they are also carbon neutral and do not contain a number of other "nasties" as well.

I will also point out that I have no idea whether this conditioner is a female product or not. I figure it doesn't matter too much but I may be wrong.

Tarocash Vegan Non-Wool Men's Business Suits in Australia?

I normally buy men's business suits in Myer, but after I became vegan I found that I could not shop there because just about every single suit there has wool in it. If there were any polyester suits there, they would look really cheap and poor, so I couldn't buy a suit there.

I searched the internet and noticed that Tarocash has stores all around Australia and, according to their websites, their suits are made of a blend if polyester, viscose, and elastane, which are vegan fabrics.

The Tarocash website is very helpful because you are able to buy products online, and the product listings are detailed enough that you can determine what sort of fabrics they use. I was checking the website in early January, which is fortunate because there were many discounts offered on the website.

I never buy suits (or any clothing) online because it's too risky. I like to try it on in person to see if it fits, and I like to see the fabrics with my own eyes.

I identified the nearest Tarocash on their website and visited their store.

What I found was that the salespeople in Tarocash are a lot more persistent than in, say, Myer. They will come up to you, ask you to try a suit, and then suggest some for you. In Myer they mostly just leave you alone. I actually welcomed a bit of persistence from the salespeople because I wanted someone to guide me. My advice is to keep asking many questions and to try on different suits so that you are sure you are getting what you want.

The suits at Tarocash are made of a polyester blend, and polyester is usually looked down upon by wool suit purists, but there are many different textures of suits at Tarocash and many of them look very nice. All the suits I saw did not have wool in them.

One of the benefits of a non-wool suit is that they tend to be significantly cheaper, and they are not necessarily worse in terms of quality. You really need to touch and see the suits for yourself.

I ended up buying a grey suit for $150 as it was on sale. Clothes are usually cheap after the Christmas holidays, and post-holiday discounts usually last throughout January.

My advice is to expect to spend around $200 to $300, go to your local Tarocash during January, and let the staff there help you with size.

Even though the suits that I saw in Tarocash did not have wool in them, there is no vegan certification on them, so I am not fully certain if they are vegan or not. If Tarocash could clarify, that would be helpful.

Is fashion important? Yes and no

I used to not care about fashion. I would just wear whatever was in the wardrobe, and some of what I wore was not pleasant. My friend gave me some constructive criticism and persuaded me to buy some expensive fashionable clothing. I purchased jeans for $200 and shirts for $150. I noticed that many people seemed to treat me with more respect and complimented me on my looks. However, I did some experimentation. I went to Target and purchased $25 jeans and $30 shirts and found that people still seemed to react positively and gave compliments. And looking in the mirror, I do find that the cheap clothes do look good.

So the main lesson from all this is that, yes, people are superficial and will judge you based on your appearance, but throwing more and more money into fashion has diminishing returns. Your average person can tell if you are wearing 10-year-old rags, but if you get cheap clothes that match the latest fashion fads, most people are satisfied. Only fashion-obsessed people will judge you negatively, but shelling out hundreds of dollars on an item of clothing just to pander to these people, in my opinion, fails the cost-benefit test.

When keep up with modern fashion, I tend to just copy what the average person is wearing and I tend to go for the cheapest of whatever it is I am looking for. As always, I believe it is best to do a Google search of something before you buy it so you don't get ripped off.

Blue jeans and black shoes

Purchased black shoes recently to wear with my jeans and realised thst the contrast between black shoes and blue jeans looks weird. Luckily I have black jeans that I will wear with this shoes from now on.

French Cuffs

What are French cuffs? Here is what WiseGeek has to say:

French cuffs refer to cuffs on traditionally a man’s dress shirt that are longer and folded back over the wrist. Instead of being secured by buttons, the cuff is secured by cuff links and lends a dressy look. French cuffs were first developed in the 19th century, and were connected with wealthier folk. Up to that time, most commercially made shirts were sewn in one size only and usually featured a row of buttons, so people could attach the cuff at the appropriate length, and fold back any extra length. The desire to have fancier cufflinks attaching the shirt, and a more fitted shirt led to the French cuffs style, probably first worn only by those who could afford cufflinks.

I purchased two Van Heusen business shirts from Myer, each one for about $50. The problem is that I purchased them and was completely ignorant that I was buying French cuff shirts. This means that I will need to buy cufflinks, which I think is bad because it means I will have to pay even more money and it will make me look, in my opinion, excessively formal, which is something I try to avoid at work.

When I am at work I do not wear a tie or a jacket. I don't wear a tie not only because I am lazy but also because it is uncomfortable on my neck. I sometimes wear a jacket but I tend not to, mainly because it's wearing a jacket makes me feel heavy and less mobile. I wear my jacket only on cold days. Wearing cufflinks without a tie or a jacket I think may go against some law of fashion because you are mixing elements of casualness with elements of formality.

I may have to not wear my French cuff shirts and leave them for some special occasion like a wedding. This is yet another purchasing mistake I have made. I really should be careful about bulk buying lots of the same item (like buying two of the same shirts) because then if I make a mistake I will lose more money. I should also research more before I buy something. If in doubt, don't buy. Transport costs or general search costs are negligible, so take your time and research!

Update: I am thinking of buying some silk knots and wearing these French cuff shirts. The shirts that I currently have are so old. I have seen some people wear cufflinks and they look good.