Romance Lost
Before the days social media dictated much of the fashion forecast and micro-trends ran rampant, we were all primarily introduced to the incoming season’s styles via sweetly-scented pages of fashion magazines. It was something of a romantic and sacred event to sit down with a magazine (or three) and allow the new “it” pieces and outfit ideas to be introduced to us page by glossy page.
These days our introduction to what’s in is far less romantic, as we’re constantly inundated with “haul” videos, influencer shopping guides, and Amazon live events, all urging us to buy into the latest niche microtrend. What was once a joyful event of looking forward to how to style our clothes for changing weather has turned into more of a hectic hamster wheel of ads and LTK links telling us to buy everything now. Right now. Hurry, or you’ll miss it.
And in the same way the volume of content urging us to buy more has dramatically increased, the quality of the pieces we’re being urged to buy has dramatically decreased. The constant microtrends are fueled by fast fashion companies paying influencers to tell us what to buy. The majority of these pieces are made as inexpensively as possible so they can be sold as inexpensively as possible and as quickly as possible before the trend is no longer relevant. These clothes are specifically created to be impulse buys with an expiration date.
So, living in a culture fueled by hyper-consumption and curated aspirational imagery, how do we resist the urge to impulse buy new clothes every time the seasons change? The key is learning how to invest in your wardrobe. For this I have two simple rules of three: The Three Outfit Rule and the Three-Year Investment Rule
The Three Outfit Rule
If you can’t think of three different ways it can be worn, it’s probably not worth the money. A closet full of clothes with limited potential for being restyled is only going to leave you feeling like you have nothing to wear and need to buy more.
The Three-Year Investment Rule
Before buying a new piece, consider whether it's something you can wear for the next three years. Once the current trends have cycled through, is it something that can be re-styled and re-worn? Is it something you’ll want to keep for three years?
If deep down you know it’s going to end up in the donation pile in three months, it’s not a good investment.
Investing In Relationships with Our Clothes
Following these rules of thumb tends to eliminate the issue of impulse buys altogether because finding pieces that meet these benchmarks takes a second thought or two. Additionally, when you frame your clothing purchases with these guidelines, the pieces that do pass the test are pieces you’ll be able to count on and re-wear for years and seasons to come.
Investing in our wardrobes doesn’t have to mean spending a lot of money. It can be as simple as a mindset change shifted toward wanting to have long love affairs with the clothes we buy.
Eliminating the hurried urge to buy more allows us to enjoy each transition of a new season again, fall back in love with clothes we already have, and dream up ways to make them feel fresh for another year.
Let’s bring the romance back to getting dressed this season.
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