Nowadays, trends change so fast you can barely keep up with them. A new piece or style barely gets its time in the limelight before it’s already past its prime. This means that a lot of people feel like they’re constantly on the run trying to get their hands on pieces that are rapidly vanishing off the shelves but which will look outdated in three months at the most.
This is not a responsible way to spend your money, and you’ll only end up facing a wardrobe filled with items you don’t necessarily like and that you can’t combine into new outfits (since trends are so haphazard that nobody can accurately predict what the next craze will be). Moreover, you may find yourself dealing with a significant amount of debt, and that’s not something you want to experience.
The solution is a combination of strategies you can employ to create your own unique style that helps you stand out from the crowd and make an impression on others.
1. Reduce and reuse
If you’ve opened your closet doors and sighed thinking that you have nothing to wear, although you barely have any free space left in there, rest assured that you’re not the only one. Research done in the UK shows that the average person has roughly £200 (the equivalent of approximately 312 CAD) worth of clothing in their wardrobe that they never wear.
The reason for that is that a lot of people don’t buy clothing based on rational decisions. In many cases, survey respondents admitted to purchasing clothing they wished to wear once they lost weight.
While the sentiment is nice, it’s also an unrealistic expectation to have and is more likely to postpone your weight loss progress as buying the clothes makes your brain feel like it has already achieved something concrete, and there’s no reason to push through.
The solution to this problem is to reduce the number of clothes you buy and become a more conscious buyer. You should limit your purchases to items you either need or truly like and know you will wear.
Compulsive buying clothes because someone you like or admire wore something just like that or because you saw a trend on social media is not a good idea for both your wallet and the environment (since you don’t like the piece, it’s likely going to end up in the trash soon, adding to the ever-growing piles in landfills).
This also allows you to rediscover the clothes you already own and find new and creative ways to pair them together to create new outfits. It’s easy to give an old piece a brand unique vibe with a few simple tweaks.
Roll-up long sleeves on tops or jackets (it’ll have a special effect, particularly if there’s some sort of different patterning on the inside), knot shirts to define your waistline, and don’t worry about going crazy with it.
You can mix different textures or shade schemes that don’t traditionally mix and match to create color blocking. When making these choices, you guarantee you’ll never walk out and notice that you have the same outfit as a hundred other people because you’re adding your personal touch.
2. Buy quality over quantity
When you’ve decided what your style is and what direction you’re going in with your clothes, you’ll climb a step higher from being a buyer to becoming a collector of clothes, much like how some people have collections of comic books or pressed flowers.
That means you’ll likely grow to love your clothes and want to keep them in good condition for as long as possible. The solution for this isn’t to avoid wearing them but to buy quality over quantity.
Clothing pieces of higher quality keep their shape longer, and the colors stay vibrant even after many washes. The fabrics will feel pleasant on your body and suit your form. Since they look nice longer, higher quality clothes will appear almost new longer and will make you look like a style icon.
And because the clothes you wear outside are not the only ones that matter, you’ll also want to invest in a pair of moisture wicking pajamas to wear around the house. Made from a blend of bamboo, cotton, spandex and acrylic, the pajamas are antibacterial and antifungal, making them perfect if you have sensitive skin or are dealing with cutaneous conditions.
You can also try vintage shopping. Thrift stores will provide you with a wide range of products that are frequently more well-made than their retail counterparts. You’ll also be able to find some unique pieces that, while not on par with the latest trends on social media, fit you like a glove and make you feel happy and confident.
Most of the time, the pre-loved clothing piece you’re buying exists only on a single side in the shop, so it’s unique. When you buy second hand, you also save up on the money you’re spending, sometimes up to 50 or 80% less than if you were buying new.
3. Statement pieces
The best way to make a basic outfit look like a million bucks is to add a statement piece. These are the clothing items that stand out in a crowd, usually because of their colors but also because of their fabrics or cuts. For example, if you’re wearing a monochrome outfit in all-white or beige, you can add a quilted vest on top, with either a floral or geometric pattern in bright shades.
During the colder months, when daylight hours get shorter and it’s cold and dreary, you can spice up your outfit with a long, red leather overcoat or an orange teddy coat with a big hood to keep you toasty no matter how much the temperatures drop.
Accessories are another way to incorporate statement pieces into your ensemble if you’d rather keep your fits more minimal. Large necklaces or bold earrings can really change your look. Choose turquoise or glass beads for an eye-catching effect that’ll enhance anything you’re wearing.
You can create some striking compositions, such as pairing a turtleneck with bulky, minimalist-cut earrings for a neck-lengthening effect.
Finding your style is challenging, but avoiding the siren call of buying clothing you don’t need and don’t even like all that much, but you feel you must purchase simply because it’s fashionable at the moment is even more so. However, if you avoid temptation and stick to what makes you feel great, you’ll see how rewarding it is in the long term.
Keep being AllDayChic!
