One of fashion’s biggest problems as an industry—if not the biggest—is its constant overproduction, now, more than ever, accelerated by the growth of social media, which fuels our desire never to repeat an outfit. Where does that leave us? Probably with more clothes than we ever possessed but yet, not enough.
For many of us, our closets are overflowing with iterations of the same trends, many of which we don’t even bother to wear once purchased but that’s not all. The aspirational celebrity culture, marketing tools and the design of everything online are such that we are rarely satisfied with what we have. The want for ‘more’ never ceases but the more we have, the less content we are.
The problem isn’t with buying, as much as it is with buying more, and more, and then some. The solutions may not be linear but there are practices that can help us all be more mindful—carefully curating what we really need in our wardrobes; choosing what we could rewear without getting bored; going for things (sans trends) that will last, and can be styled in different ways, and perhaps ones that can be exchanged with people who are willing to do so. Wherever you buy from, the first question should be whether it really means something to you.
We often hear about how clothes are a medium of expression, so think about how you’d want to truly express yourself. Surely a trend that will be dead within a month can’t be the answer, can it?