Have you ever gone through your closet and realized that half the stuff you own is no longer things you either like to wear or can wear often?
Some of it is simply due to time. As we mature and our lives make transitions from high school to university to our first or second full time jobs, our fashion tastes evolve and mature with us. School is different from work, the dress requirements are different and certain style preferences just don't work in any place but outside of where you spend 40-50 hours of your life every week.
But let's be honest, some of it is because the fashion industry tells you so.
Fashion changes more than you do. And rarely are these transformations ever gradual. One moment, the loose, flow-y boho chic look is all the rage and the next it's a 90s party with neon crop tops (no jokes, that's what the last few years have felt like to me!) And in some ways, these fast and furious style trend changes are by design.
While we all 'need' clothes, we don't generally need more than a standard top, pants and shoes for everyday life. And yet, there are so many different iterations of those three basic things. From skirts to skorts to pants the shorts, t-shirts, sweaters, tank-tops and button-ups, jackets, blazers and capes, heels, sneakers and boots; the list of different kinds of clothing that's available for us to wear and match is endless.
But everyone does not need every iteration of clothing there is, which means that for the most part, clothing is no longer a necessity but a desire, a way in which you present yourself. That's what the fashion industry preys on and that's what they're geared towards. They want to tell us which top and which skirt with what pattern, cut, fit and colour is "fashionable" and looks good and will therefore make you all those things to other people.
But of course, a year later they tell you that old style is ugly and out-of-date and that this new kind of top and skirt in this new patter, cut, fut and colour is the real fashionable look.
And our own insecurities of looking frumpy and unattractive does the rest.
That's the dangers of trying to keep up with fashion. It changes so much and so often, it causes a non-stop cycle of purchases in order to keep you up to date. While you're getting poorer trying to stay on top, fashion is getting richer off your money and henceforth encourages them to maintain the cycle of changing fashion.
So what can you do as a consumer and someone that cannot walk around naked?
Find a style that works for you and your life and stick with it.
Rather than following the trends (and being eternally behind) pick a cut, colour and pattern that you think exudes you and your personality and then find different ways to express it. So instead on focusing on fashion, you're really focusing on yourself and how you feel or look in they style you wear. Rather than focus on individual pieces, instead you are able to focus on the bigger picture.
So how does picking a set style help you save money?
It means that when you go out shopping (or as is becoming more common, you do online window shopping), you know the look you want, the pieces you need and it will keep your eyes from wandering towards the other pretty, raging fashion stuff that you may never be able to wear outside of a particular occasion that may only come around once or twice a year. I'm a terrible impulse shopper and can't tell you how much money I wasted on pretty, current pieces that I didn't need simply because they looked cute or attractive or both.
Knowing your style also makes you more aware of what's in your closet, meaning there's less duplicates of the things you'd wear less frequently and more of what you'd wear regularly. Being aware of your closet will also help you be able to better mix and match your life. Basically it'll make your closet far more usable and efficient and therefore may require you to need less in order to do more.
Also, once you hammer down your style, you can really begin to focus on investment closet pieces - higher quality but more expensive items that are made to be long lasting because it is something you will wear for several years regularly. I mean, Louboutin heels won't be an extravagant purchase if it is comfortable and something you will wear constantly and will last you a long time.
But what if a trend comes out that you really, really like it?
There's nothing wrong with incorporating that new style into your existing closet. Just make sure it is something you would love to wear long term and is not just an impulse thing for you. Maybe start off with something from a fast fashion outlet (like Forever21 or H&M) and if you find you're wearing it down to the thread, consider getting something that will last you much longer then.
But this only works if you commit to a style of clothing. And only by committing to a look can you leave the never-ending cycle of fashion consumerism.
While we all 'need' clothes, we don't generally need more than a standard top, pants and shoes for everyday life. And yet, there are so many different iterations of those three basic things. From skirts to skorts to pants the shorts, t-shirts, sweaters, tank-tops and button-ups, jackets, blazers and capes, heels, sneakers and boots; the list of different kinds of clothing that's available for us to wear and match is endless.
But everyone does not need every iteration of clothing there is, which means that for the most part, clothing is no longer a necessity but a desire, a way in which you present yourself. That's what the fashion industry preys on and that's what they're geared towards. They want to tell us which top and which skirt with what pattern, cut, fit and colour is "fashionable" and looks good and will therefore make you all those things to other people.
But of course, a year later they tell you that old style is ugly and out-of-date and that this new kind of top and skirt in this new patter, cut, fut and colour is the real fashionable look.
And our own insecurities of looking frumpy and unattractive does the rest.
That's the dangers of trying to keep up with fashion. It changes so much and so often, it causes a non-stop cycle of purchases in order to keep you up to date. While you're getting poorer trying to stay on top, fashion is getting richer off your money and henceforth encourages them to maintain the cycle of changing fashion.
So what can you do as a consumer and someone that cannot walk around naked?
Find a style that works for you and your life and stick with it.
Rather than following the trends (and being eternally behind) pick a cut, colour and pattern that you think exudes you and your personality and then find different ways to express it. So instead on focusing on fashion, you're really focusing on yourself and how you feel or look in they style you wear. Rather than focus on individual pieces, instead you are able to focus on the bigger picture.
So how does picking a set style help you save money?
It means that when you go out shopping (or as is becoming more common, you do online window shopping), you know the look you want, the pieces you need and it will keep your eyes from wandering towards the other pretty, raging fashion stuff that you may never be able to wear outside of a particular occasion that may only come around once or twice a year. I'm a terrible impulse shopper and can't tell you how much money I wasted on pretty, current pieces that I didn't need simply because they looked cute or attractive or both.
Knowing your style also makes you more aware of what's in your closet, meaning there's less duplicates of the things you'd wear less frequently and more of what you'd wear regularly. Being aware of your closet will also help you be able to better mix and match your life. Basically it'll make your closet far more usable and efficient and therefore may require you to need less in order to do more.
Also, once you hammer down your style, you can really begin to focus on investment closet pieces - higher quality but more expensive items that are made to be long lasting because it is something you will wear for several years regularly. I mean, Louboutin heels won't be an extravagant purchase if it is comfortable and something you will wear constantly and will last you a long time.
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| Don't think this is a look that works for most people who work in offices though... |
There's nothing wrong with incorporating that new style into your existing closet. Just make sure it is something you would love to wear long term and is not just an impulse thing for you. Maybe start off with something from a fast fashion outlet (like Forever21 or H&M) and if you find you're wearing it down to the thread, consider getting something that will last you much longer then.
But this only works if you commit to a style of clothing. And only by committing to a look can you leave the never-ending cycle of fashion consumerism.
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