Undress Group: Therapeutic Effect of the Women's Locker Room
Online groups for the exchange and sale of clothing, footwear and accessories appear regularly and, not surprisingly, eventually turn into a kind of social clubs, in which you can not only buy or sell something, but also speak out to a circle of understanding and friendly audience. We talked with one of the creators of the Undress group, Victoria Bazoeva, about the therapeutic effect of the women's locker room and how to maintain the ecology of the environment.
Space girls only
Undress we came up with two girlfriends simply because we had nowhere to put our things, bought in the heat of sales or did not fit in size. In the end, the moderators left me alone and sometimes curse the day when the idea of this community came to our mind. At first, there were ten people in the group, and now, after almost five years, already 22 thousand, and almost a hundred people are added to it every day, and almost a thousand of them arrive for approval. Everyday. This growth, I did not expect.
Undress was originally conceived as a very safe and comfortable girls only space: without bots, annoying online stores, without objectification, harassment, shaming, discussing looks, rudeness and other unpleasant things. For this - a strict ban immediately. Here you can put a photo with the thing on yourself and be more or less sure that unpleasant people do not look at it (we don’t take men into this community at all, but this is not a radfem, but an immanent feature of the women's dressing room). Here you will not become a shake for not the most successful selfie or advised to lose weight. It turned out even better than planned: the participants, on the contrary, often discourage each other not to sell the thing ("because it goes that way to you!") And leave compliments in the comments. And everything is so cool to help each other: if you ask the bridesmaid's dress for the day after tomorrow, they will probably offer you something.
Here you will not become a shake for not the most successful selfie or advised to lose weight
This "security" of the community from outsiders made him very indifferent. Personal experience associated with the thing really matters to the participants. When you post something, you can be sure that the story will be read and treated with respect. And so the posts in it very often - not just a listing of the properties of things, but the whole fate.
Every time I am genuinely amazed at how Hemingway posts are. About a wedding dress that did not come in handy, and then about wedding rings that were never used (in the comments, by the way, there were a lot of nice and kind girls who wrote cool encouraging words to this participant). Or, I remember, there was a girl with lingerie Agent Provocateur, which her husband gave her during pregnancy, but at first it did not fit in size, and then - "it turned out not to him." In general, not posts, but a whole life.
About the selection of things
It just so happened that both I and the other first members of the group worked for a long time in Afisha Mir, GQ, Cosmo Shopping and other glossies, and we all really wanted a group to appear, where not everything is published, but also not luxury. Exclusively, and only interesting and cool - for example, Marimekko raincoats, rare collaborations, perfect linen nouneym-pants for five hundred rubles, cool vintage or Opening Ceremony sandals.
We can say that this group was started because we lacked a community where, in principle, there are no uninteresting things to us. This immediately set a certain high standard of pre-moderation, and it is maintained to this day. Things are missing only those that I would have bought myself or would have been glad if they were worn by my friends. I have never specifically advertised the community, but its dynamic confirms that the approach works and things are bought very well all these years.
Things are missing only those that I would buy myself or would be glad if they were worn by my friends
In fact, in my free time I have been working as a very, very busy buyer for several years, looking at thousands of items every day. Besides the fact that I am now very well versed in designers, manufacturers, brands, collections and materials, I still relate all these things with demand, since I know perfectly well what is in demand in the community and what is not bought for a long time.
Of course, I receive accusations that I did not miss this or that thing, but this is the key feature of our group, and this is described in detail in the rules. Yes, we have our own little Berghain, maybe you should go to another club today. And yes, it happens that I have to ban toxic participants who do not read the rules or ask questions like "why do you have such rules?". This is a volunteer project, nobody earns money on it, and it works like a clock only if all these rules are complied with. In the end, they were worked out for several years and did not appear out of nowhere.
On conscious consumption
During the five years of the group’s existence, I noticed how easily people began to part with things - and immediately buy new ones in return. Or not to buy. It is very free: when you see that your thing that languishes in the closet for several seasons, someone really wants and already loves it in absentia. The concept of conscious consumption is very close to me, and it's nice to see how the group helps to keep things in demand.
I consider my main success to be the fact that I managed to grow a community, and not just another commission. And it is very pleasant to receive thanks from those who appreciated all this work. They are also very different, someone Undress helped free the wardrobe and start a new life, someone to sell the gifts of the former and free his own head, and someone took his beloved mother on vacation. Yes, and I myself had a wonderful story, as with the money raised from the sale of designer dresses bought in London in a strange frenzy (I hadn’t put them on even once in three years), the repair was made in the bathroom. Thanks to Undress, I myself generally want to buy less: on the New Year, I made a promise to try to hold out without buying clothes (except in some cases when things really are not enough - in our climate, wet winter boots leave little choice) for a whole year. Still great at it.
Undress is a difficult and permanent job. He taught me to look differently at any volunteer projects and bite my tongue when I want to advise or make a complaint to someone. He also taught people to say thanks more often or a small sincere compliment just like that.
Photo: PalomaWool
