Although fashion has so much to do with individual expression and personality, it always amazes me how impersonal the fashion industry has become. Perhaps due to sheer size, but likely due to many other factors and cultural shifts as well, the fast fashion industry dehumanizes our clothing, allowing us to forget that there were actual hands that made the pieces hanging in our closets, not just unattended machines in a warehouse somewhere. 

Dehumanizing anything, as I'm continually reminded by participating in Dressember, is a dangerous action. Nonetheless, we do it, almost everyday. From the clothes we buy, to the foods we consume, to the way we ignore the person standing next to us in line, preferring our phone over immediate interaction, dehumanization has become so ingrained in our culture that we forget about it.

Sure, I love the self-expression involved in fashion. I love finding pieces that make me feel beautiful or, more often, practically fit into my everyday life. But when I ignore the countless other people involved in aiding in my self-expression, I can't feel beautiful, not truly.