Fast Fashion: The Downfall of Personal Style
2020 was an interesting time in both fashion history and my personal style evolution. We had endless micro trends, bright colors, and time to try out new clothing combinations. In a lot of ways, those COVID years helped a lot of us shape who we choose to present as. I spent that time in my life figuring out how certain clothes made me feel and how to dress to feel the way I wanted to.
It was great – I could try things out without anxiety, because I was just in my room. It was just for me. And seeing as I wasn’t spending any money in other aspects of my life, 16 year old me thought buying clothes was the least I could do for myself. I got into a cycle of constantly having packages delivered. Always trying the newest microtrends from TikTok. I had worked since I was 14 and wasn’t paying bills, so I thought, why not cheer myself up while there was nothing else to do. Besides, I would think as I filled in my card details, “there are so many new trends I want to keep up with.”
But then lockdown ended, and I had to pack to go to college. I brought the clothes I thought I was going to love for the rest of my life. The clothes that were so ‘in’ they would always be cool.
Within 6 months, I hated almost everything I owned.
Looking back, I made some choices with my wardrobe that make me cringe. A lot. But that’s beside the point!
The point is, I realized how stupid fast fashion and micro trends are. That day I made a vow to myself. I would no longer buy things just because they were ‘in.’Instead, I would focus on buying things that wouldn’t be just a pile of thread and a label two years down the line. I don’t think it’s just me. Over the past few years, I’ve noticed an uptick in the amount of people who feel the same way. People who hate that the quality of clothes seems to be declining and being replaced with a system where people are constantly buying things.
Quality over quantity has become my mantra and I’m so happy about it. After over two years of my new priorities, my tips are as follows.
1. Don’t be ashamed to buy some clothes brand new. For so long, I was exclusively a thrift girly. I felt like I would look like a poser if I went to the mall. Glad to say I no longer care what people think about my shopping habits. I’ve learned that mixing good quality new clothes with vintage and thrifted pieces will help things last – and also is just more realistic for some things.
A subsection of this tip is to not be afraid to shop at stores you would normally go to with your mum. I have found some of the best basics and pieces to layer at the mall somewhere like H&M or Zara.
2. Stop trying to be someone else through your clothes. I spent so long shopping for the person I thought I wanted to be, but strangely enough, the second I started buying clothes I felt good in, people started asking where my clothes were from and telling me how good I looked.
3. DON’T BUY SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE ITS ON SALE. If you don’t love it in the store, you won’t like it in your closet when you get home. That’s meant to be the honeymoon phase of buying clothes – of buying anything. So if it isn’t love at first sight, do not buy it. Trust me.
Cover photo: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/329888741475111936/