For as long as I can remember, money has burned a hole in my pocket the moment I cross the threshold of a clothes shop. As a teenager, I would pore over catalogues and fashion magazines, dreaming of the day my shopping budget would exceed my meagre pocket money allowance.
Since then, my relationship with fashion since has been beset with ups and downs. A fruitless day trying on clothes that didn't fit my body would send me into a spiral of self-loathing. But, one good run of outfits would make me feel like I'd reinvented my personality.
With every new trend came an opportunity for reinvention — something of a salve for my insecure and unsure teenage self. Staying "on-trend" felt like running a race with no finish line; it simply never ended.
During my teens, I didn't give much thought to my fast fashion habit. As long as the clothes were trendy and cheap, that was good enough for me. Gradually a sense of guilt and reality crept in, however, along with an awareness of the human rights abuses and poor working conditions endured by workers in the garment industry, along with the damage it's wreaking on our planet. If your style is a big part of your identity, how do you continue to love clothes without hurting other people and having a catastrophic impact on the planet?
Fast fashion culture encourages people to buy cheap clothes on a regular, nigh-on never-ending basis. It's a business model that's proved hugely profitable and incredibly easy now with online shopping giants like ASOS, Boohoo, and Missguided making swift impulse buys under a minute the norm, but deeply destructive to the environment. Total greenhouse gas emissions from textile production stand at around 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2e — or carbon dioxide equivalent — per annum. That figure, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is "more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping combined."
Even when presented with those facts, it can still be difficult to break a habit that has, for many of us, been with us most of our lives. Journalist Lauren Bravo — author of How to Break Up with Fast Fashion — had a relationship with fashion that started much the same as mine. "I've always loved clothes ever since I was a child. I used to dress my Barbies in dresses made of tin foil and I was always drawing little fashion designs," Bravo told me.
She grew up buying clothes from second-hand shops and vintage stores, but when she hit her twenties, she felt the draw of fast fashion brands like ASOS and found herself constantly scrolling during every scrap of spare time. "I felt like I was just on the perpetual treadmill of trends kind of running towards the horizon that I never reached," she said.
When she turned 30, Bravo realised she no longer had the energy for fast fashion and that something needed to change. As a fashion journalist, she was confronted with the truth of the garment industry and she felt she could no longer ignore it.
"I was feeling guiltier and more anxious about the planet, watching documentaries about the true cost, and realizing that when we buy clothes that are very cheap, it's because somebody somewhere has paid the price."
Bravo went cold turkey on fast fashion and promised herself she'd go an entire calendar year without buying anything new. And, you know what? She stuck to that promise. Not only that, she wrote a book about her experience of completely overhauling the way she shops so that others can do the same. So, how can clothes-obsessed humans quit the fast fashion treadmill once and for all?
Fight the clothing fatigue
I've always been a "wardrobe full of clothes, but not a stitch to wear" type of woman. But the truth of the matter is: I have a wardrobe full of clothes that are perfectly wearable, I'm just bored of all of them. So, how do you fight the clothing fatigue and the urge to go out and buy loads of new clothes? While researching her book, Bravo spoke to fashion psychologist Dr. Dion Terrelonge, who said, "Once you've been exposed to something novel a few times, you get bored of it. And that happens with clothing." Psychologists call this "habituation".
"One of the best things you can do is rediscovering the old fashioned dress-up session."
"One of the best things you can do is rediscovering the old fashioned dress-up session," Bravo advises. Now, that might sound adolescent to those of us (myself included) who haven't had a dress-up box for several decades. Bravo recommends taking an evening to get all your clothes out, including the ones shoved in the back of drawers, the ones you haven't ironed in years.
"Get them all out and actually spend a bit of time putting together different combinations, layering things up, trying things on, because quite often we only wear about 10 percent of our wardrobe, on a day-to-day basis, we're wearing the same few outfits again and again," she said. Dig out old clothes and try to pair them with other items that are a bit newer. Bravo recommended trying styling tricks like putting polo necks underneath summery dresses.
Hit the charity shops
Bravo is a big fan of buying from charity shops and second-hand clothing stores. An east London dweller who volunteers at a charity shop in Finsbury Park, she's keenly aware that location is key when it comes to the kind of stock you get through the door.
"Every kind of different type of charity shop has a certain appeal — some charity shops will have more barely worn high street clothes if that's what you're looking for. That can be a really good way for people who are a bit squeamish about second-hand to ease themselves in," she said. "Other charity shops, particularly in areas that have lots of elderly residents will often have a lot of really good vintage and that's where you'll be able to find those really brilliant kind of '70s and '80s Marks and Spencer dresses."
It's important to remember that charity shops aren't supposed to be used in the same way as the likes of fast fashion giants like Zara or H&M. "You have to spend a little bit more time. I always say to go through every single rail twice, which sounds quite laborious. First time around, you a bit of a sweep, you don't really pay attention to everything. I always find if I do a second sweep, I'll find things I didn't notice first time around," said Bravo.
Bravo recommended having a bit of imagination when it comes to items you find in charity shops. Be prepared to alter things. That doesn't necessarily mean buying a sewing machine and becoming a seamstress. "If you're prepared to, take a hem up a couple of inches, or even take it along to the dry cleaner or a tailor and have it done for you if you can't do it yourself," said Bravo. "I buy a lot of vintage maxi dresses and I take them up and make them mid calf-length."
"Cut out shoulder pads, or anything that makes it look really dated," she said. "Make friends with the people who work in the charity shop because sometimes they will let you come in the back room if there's something specific you're looking for, they might put aside things for you. I'm not making any promises, it's definitely worth getting friendly with them."
If you have a bit more time on your hands, try popping into your local charity shop twice weekly to keep your eye out for any nice finds.
Find sustainable Instagram sellers
A lot of sustainable clothing brands can be quite cost prohibitive. There is the argument, of course, that those clothes will last you a lot longer than fast-fashion items, but if you're on a tight budget, it might not be an option.
"Buy second-hand online. eBay and Depop are particularly good for finding stuff that is barely worn or even unworn, completely brand new with tags," said Bravo. "If somebody else has cast it off and you're adopting it instead, then that's still a very sustainable way to shop."
On Instagram, you can find brands and creators who are making clothing from deadstock fabric, which is basically old material that hasn’t been able to sell. "There's a brilliant woman in the book that I mentioned called Lofty Frocks on Instagram who makes all of her dresses out of old big huge bed sheets and things like that. It's all reclaimed fabric, and none of her dresses cost more than 100 pounds," said Bravo.
"There's a brilliant woman called Mary Benson who makes amazing clothes out of deadstock fabric and they are a little bit more pricey but again they're not astronomically expensive," she added.
"It is worth seeking out on Instagram these independent makers who are just kind of doing stuff in their bedrooms because you can get really great, really great stuff that way."
Make, do, and mend
Broken zip? Hole in your favourite dress? Fret ye not, it can be saved. Bravo told me she thinks we need to get back into the habit of "make, do, and mend" when it comes to damaged clothes.
"For our mother's and grandmother's generation, if something broke, they would have fixed it. It would have been completely unheard of to throw it in the bin and go out and buy another one," she said. "If you're busy or if you've got kids, you're not always going to feel you've got time to sit down and start darning in the evening," said Bravo. "A dry cleaners will often be able to fix stuff for a tenner or less. If you're very pushed for time, there are apps that will let you can book an appointment, they will come and pick up your thing, take it away repair it and bring it back for you."
In her book, Bravo wrote that the Japanese art of sashiko, or visible mending, is a huge hit with sewists and quilters. "If something is ripped or has a hole, they mend it in a way that they is obvious, you can see that it's been stitched up. Then it kind of becomes part of the garment and part of its history, Bravo told me. "If you're romantically minded there are lots of ways mending can make you love your clothes more."
Change your mindset on outfit repeating
I used to worry about posting too many photos of the same outfit on my Instagram grid. Bravo advocates changing your thinking on outfit repeating. "We need a collective mindset shift, we almost need an amnesty where everybody gets together at the same time and says, 'Right that's it, let's start repeating our outfits and nobody is allowed to judge anybody else for it.'"
Bravo told me she thinks we need just one or two people to lead by example to create a culture shift. If we could see a Hollywood star wearing the same dress on the red carpet for the entire awards season, that would be very powerful to see, she said. Saturday Night Live star Tiffany Haddish made a statement like this at the 2018 Oscars. Or if a TV presenter started outfit-repeating on television, that might be a catalyst for change.
Beg, steal or borrow
Not all of us can live with a capsule wardrobe of 10 items. If you love clothes or you have an event you have to go to, try a clothes rental. They can be pricey, so it's not necessarily an option that'll suit everyone, said Bravo.
"On a more kind of DIY level, swapping clothes with friends is something we need to do a lot more of. I love lending out clothes, I just don't think everybody should going and buying a new dress for every wedding when we've all got these outfits languishing in our wardrobes that we could just be passing around in circles," she added. There are also formal clothes swap events that you can attend locally that are sometimes free to attend, or might require a small entrance fee.
Salvage stained clothes
No matter how hard I try, I somehow always end up spilling food and drink on my clothes. Bravo is the same. "Half my clothes have food stains on them," she told me. But you don't have to throw a piece out after every dreaded coffee, red wine, or Napoletana sauce incident. Taking the time to learn which products can clear up different types of stains will help you get more wear out of stained items. "My favorite one is for anything oil based, if you put talcum powder or dry shampoo on it then leave it for as long as you can, it'll soak up the oil," said Bravo. "I have saved many dresses that way."
"We are too quick to declare things ruined when they're really not."
If you can't get the stain out, ask yourself if people will spot it. "I would also say people don't really notice. The dress I wore for my book launch event on Thursday, I bought it vintage online and it arrived and it had a stain on the front, but it was a floral pattern. I just wore it anyway. And honestly I don't think people actually were paying that much attention," she said. "We are too quick to declare things ruined when they're really not. ... Try as hard as you can to salvage stuff."
However you decide to reduce your fast fashion consumption, try to find a strategy that will work for you long-term. Cold turkey might not work for everyone, so find a way that feels right and stick with it. Good luck!
How to Break Up with Fast Fashion by Lauren Bravo (£12.99, Headline Home) is out now.
Topics Social Good Sustainability
