Why I Gave up Fast Fashion
Do you walk into your closet and feel like you have nothing to wear? This use to be a daily occurrence for me, despite having a very full large walk-in closet. Crazy right? One day I got totally fed up with it and decided to make a change. It was one of the best things I have done.
So why did I do it? like I said I was sick of feeling like I had nothing to wear but it was more than that. Getting dressed every morning took twenty minutes or longer and when I had an event to attend it was even worse, that was simply no longer acceptable. I also was overwhelmed with the amount of clothing, shoes, and accessories I had. Seriously, I had over fifty pairs of shoes and at least twenty of those were still new in their boxes!
Clearly, I was doing something wrong. Why did I have so much stuff taking up space, that I didn’t even use?
Shortly after this realization watched the true cost movie. It was truly eye opening and I knew I didn’t want to be contributing to the problems associated with fast fashion. So I decided to make a change.
How I Started My Journey Giving Up Fast Fashion
So, I committed to no longer supporting fast fashion companies. I also decided that I wanted to try a minimalist approach to fashion as well. This journey started in 2015 and have not looked back since.
I started by getting rid of all the clothes that I was not using and that didn’t fit into my new wardrobe. I decided to only keep black, white, gray, denim and a few colored items that I loved and made me happy.
I washed everything and then put them into piles. One pile for selling on Poshmark, one pile for high-end resale shops, one pile for lower end resale shops, and one pile for recycling, repurposing or donating.
As a result, my wardrobe is comprised of:
- Two pairs of jeans
- One jean jacket
- Two long sleeve black t-shirts
- One long sleeve white t-shirt
- Three short sleeve white t-shirts
- Three short sleeve black t-shirts
- One short sleeve army green t-shirt
- Three pairs of black leggings
- One button-down white shirt
- One black high waisted skirt
- One white cocktail dress
- One black midi dress
- One black jumpsuit
- One pair of multi-color heels
- One pair of yellow flats
- One pair of black flats
- One pair of black ankle boots
- One pair of yellow rain boots
- One pair of silver tennis shoes
At the end of my closet clean up, I had made over three thousand dollars from selling my clothes. I not only made money, but I also eliminated so much unnecessary stress from my life and had a lot more space. Creating a much more peaceful and organized space. It was a win-win on all accounts.
Now I have a wardrobe that I love. I decided that I wanted to stick to black and white as the bulk of my wardrobe, with a few pieces here and there that have color. This has been amazing. Because of this choice everything in my wardrobe matches. Now it only takes me about three minutes to get dressed, even for special events. The stress is totally gone!
Before I began this journey getting dressed for events was so stressful I would try on all my nice clothes, only to end up with a pile of clothes on the floor, feeling like I had nothing to wear. My husband getting frustrated with me and telling me we needed to leave soon. It was a terrible way to start off what was supposed to be a good time.
I am so glad to have left that behind. Now I have two go-to outfits when I have to dress up and look nice. It takes no time, I have zero stress and I am no longer making us late due to a clothing crisis. And no one ever notices that I am wearing the same things over and over because the truth is most people really don’t care. They care more about seeing and spending time with you than what you have on.
The Impact of Giving up Fast Fashion has had on My Life
Before I began this journey getting dressed for events was so stressful I would try on all my nice clothes, only to end up with a pile of clothes on the floor, feeling like I had nothing to wear. My husband getting frustrated with me and telling me we needed to leave soon. It was a terrible way to start off what was supposed to be a good time.
I am so glad to have left that behind. Now I have two go-to outfits when I have to dress up and look nice. It takes no time, I have zero stress and I am no longer making us late due to a clothing crisis. And no one ever notices that I am wearing the same things over and over because the truth is most people really don’t care. They care more about seeing and spending time with you than what you have on.
I couldn’t be happier about the choice to give up fast fashion and have a more sustainable, ethical, and minimal wardrobe. Getting dressed is so simple now. It would never cross my mind to go back to the way things were before. Of course, you don’t have to do exactly as I have If you feel that you need to have more outfits for special occasions or you want more color in your wardrobe that is totally up to you.
Giving up fast fashion also eliminated my impulse to shop. Before I started this journey I was always thinking about what new item I needed and I always felt like I was missing something from my wardrobe. I would spend hours shopping online to find the perfect outfits. Often to wear them only once or never at all.
Eliminating my impulse to shop has saved me at the very least a few thousand dollars over the last four years. Now I only shop when I really need something and I choose quality over quantity. I also have a list of questions that I ask myself before I buy to keep my spending in alignment with my values.
Throughout my journey, I have discovered so many awesome brands that I had never heard of before. And I continue to find new ones all the time. As time passes and more people become aware of how harmful fast fashion is, more and more amazing sustainable clothing companies are popping up. Even more mainstream companies are making an effort to become more eco-friendly.
Ready to Give up Fast Fashion?
So, If you are ready to break up with fast fashion and start your minimalism journey, I suggest doing the following:
- Watch the true cost movie
- Join the Fashion Revolution
- Start asking your favorite brands to be more transparent
- Watch Minimalism A Documentary About The Important Things
- Questions to Ask Before You Buy
- Real Talk: Is Fashion Destroying Our Planet?
- Join Poshmark & Get $5 using code ALIBANKS
Want to Design Your Dream Life?
Recent Comments