Shopping sustainably

It's time I get off the microtrend bandwagon.

I went to Gilles at The Grounds a little while ago with a friend for a break from studying. It’s a makers/preloved/vintage market held in one of the buildings at Wayville. I’ve never been there before so I was quite shocked to find out that the market was pretty huge, and it had a lot going on (they had food trucks too!) but what really got me excited were the seemingly never-ending rows of vintage/preloved clothing stalls!

Seeing all those people selling their clothes inspired me to do the same, especially since I’ll be moving houses soon and so have to get rid of what I no longer need in my closet. Yesterday, I began rummaging through my wardrobe and created a stay, sell and donate pile on the floor. 

While I was looking for clothes that I don’t like anymore, I realised just how many clothes I’ve got that I’ve barely worn – most of them I bought simply because it was on-trend at the time, or it was on sale which I now realise is not a great way to shop. Not sustainable and definitely not good for my bank account.

I would buy these clothes in the name of “self-care” when, really, I was just impulse buying. Sure, I still think retail therapy is fun and treating yourself to something nice once in a while is important but that doesn’t mean that I should be mass buying clothes. We’ve learnt from Rebecca Bloomwood, right? All I get at the end of the day is temporary serotonin followed aptly by buyers’ remorse because I realised that the clothes I bought only looked good in the changing room. 

So, I’ve made a pact with myself to only buy clothes that I need and are timeless. I have two separate lists on my notes app – one is a wish list for unique items that I would have to save up for (ie: the Heaven Doc Martens or Margiela Tabis) and the other, a list of basics and versatile pieces that would hopefully transcend trends and last me till the day I have to start attending PTA meetings. Basically, the goal is to lessen over consumption by building a wardrobe filled with clothing that could be easily mixed and matched with for any occasion.