FASHION REALLY ISN'T that different from, say, food. Like that rancid carton of milk stinking up the fridge, a trend eventually expires and needs to be discarded, or so says Irene Tjokro, 27, of San Bruno.
About every four months, the fashionista tackles her closet and dresser drawers with the same resolve as she would her refrigerator and cupboards.
"If I'm not wearing it, I'm getting rid of it," she says.
Of course, as soon the stale styles are tossed, Tjokro searches for wearable replacements. The self-professed bargain shopper scans the racks of low-cost retailers such as Forever 21 and H&M at least once a week for cheap, yet chic garments to add to her 600-plus piece collection.
"I guess you could say I buy a lot of disposable clothing. I'll go to H&M and buy a cheap shirt that I can wear about three or four times and then get rid of," she says.
Tjokro's "shop and toss" habits aren't all that uncommon. The increasing affordability of clothing has rendered it disposable. For a minimal chunk of change, style-savvy shoppers can load up on trendy clothing that's meant to be worn only for a short time and then chucked without the guilt of blowing an entire paycheck.
What makes the garb so inexpensive is the combination of overseas manufacturing and the competition among retailers to furnish the latest fashions first. Approximately 60 percent of H&M's manufacturing occurs in Asia and the rest in Europe, says Lisa Sandberg, director of communications at H&M.
Known as the "IKEA of fashion" for its Swedish roots and mix-and- match fashion aesthetic, H&M is one of the top low-cost retailers to deliver trend-watching shoppers the latest looks almost as quickly as they appear on the runway. To put things into perspective, the time it takes the garment to be designed, manufactured and then sent to stores can be as little as two weeks, says Sandberg.
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