how to slow down when buying clothes?
Hello everyone,
Recently I have been going through a phase of branching out from basics and even posting a post about it on this channel (which got very helpful responses) I have continued to collect inspiration and even bought a few pieces that I like, for example a wool overcoat and boots.
However every now and then, I find myself having the urge to overhaul my wardrobe pretty quickly leading to tryna buy everything at once, which I know isn’t sustainable because I could end with pieces I don’t really like and waste money. Especially when I’m in an experimental phase atm.
So, once again I need help and if you guys have any tips in terms of slowing down when buying clothes when you’ve just started to experiment and branch out? Thank you 😅
17 Replies
you gotta put things on, like the point of buying is to put em on
its self serving but posting in #waywt will unironically help (or somewhere at least)
this will help you see which clothes you are wearing a lot, which ones you aren't really wearing, what fits you really like, what fits others really like, etc etc etc
which will then help you be more informed about what to buy going forward and in general having a better sense of things
buying clothes can feel like you are doing something but tbh for a long while buying clothes really doesn't change much for how you actually dress. plenty of the best dressed people thrift like 90% of their wardrobe and rarely buy clothes, id say very rarely does that "one piece you really need" actually end up significantly changing your style
as someone who buys a lot of clothes
and is in a privileged position to buy lots of clothes
and more to the point, you'll have a better sense of the clothes you need cause you'll constantly be thinking "man if only i had x" when building outfits
Be cautious of sales - they’re good when you have something specific in mind you already needed before seeing the deal, but they can also lead you to buy something you only sort of want and then you’re left with something you aren’t too enthusiastic about after the thrill of finding a deal wears off.
On that note, if thrifting I prefer to come into it with a list in mind of specific things that I would like to find that would fill some spot in my wardrobe, and I avoid the temptation of accepting “close enough”. If I come across something while there that I’ve never really thought of before but it catches my eye, I don’t just buy on the spot. Rather, I add it to the list and next time I go thrifting, if I still want it and find it, then maybe I’ll get it (or maybe I’ll find it was just an impulse thing and I don’t have the urge for it anymore, which has happened plenty of times)
also ya, i don't know your financial situation but "close enough" rarely works out, you just constantly wish you had the thing you actually wanted
better to actually save for what you want
All that being said, I fall victim to being too quick to buy sometimes too, and so it can be good to sometimes put things in perspective for myself- I’m young(ish), and if I want to be I can be on this fashion journey for the rest of my life which will hopefully be another 50 years or more. I’ve got plenty of time to accumulate clothing and find the perfect pieces for me, it doesn’t need to be all this year, this month, or whatever
I appreciate the detailed response, but yeah I will definitely start wearing my clothes more often and document my fits as much as possible I never really thought of that tbh
I think I kinda had that problem with the black friday deals, I was just looking at all the things that had been reduced and even when it wasn’t things that I was really looking for, but I do like your idea of keeping a list to keep you on track and will try and incorporate that aswell, thank you very much!
if you're experimenting, it may help to set some sort of goal or constraint - post/take a fit pic every day for a month or wearing all of your clothes before buying new ones or even wearing the same clothes for a week
in any of those cases you're thinking about and experimenting with clothes without actually buying anything, and you'll have more tangible ideas to support a future purchase if it comes
I really like the idea of wearing all of my clothes before buying new ones, which I feel like would actually give me time to actually figure things out, before incorporating something new, thank you for that!
I think this is a good idea. You can also do it by type. I recently made a checklist list of all my sweaters, and tried to wear all of them. It was easy to see from that which were working and which weren't
Putting together lots and lots of outfits can show you where the conspicuous/consistent gaps are
Keeping a list of specific things I'm interested in helps too. It keeps me from saying "ooh, what a cute sweater", when I already probably have one that's similar.
What do you constantly wish you had when you’re getting dressed
“Every time I try to do a prep outfit I wish I had blank”
This is a great thread (stares into closet of clothes that i dont wear enough). I dont have much more to contribute. One thing that's been fun for me when exploring my fashion is setting very honed in ebay searches for the random cool pieces I see and often picking them up later at much reduced prices. Usually I'll try to buy at that time if I'm still excited for the item and I havent purchased anything for a while. Takes some of the sting out of buying new and not wearing enough.
I just put together outfits until the shape of the thing I want is so clear that I know whether something fits the bill or not immediately
"A light-colored fair isle sweater." Hmm...I need another sweater. 😀
It goes from I need different pants > I need darker pants > I need black pants > I need wide black pants > I need wide black pants with textured fabric and a pleat, high waist, and a hidden button, seam pockets and a turn up cuff
Don’t stop at “I need black pants”
Because that’s how you end up with the wrong pants 4 times over
girl just stop buying them
but seriously when I spend a lot on new clothes in a short period of time it’s usually because of something else going on in my life that I’m trying to distract myself from or compensate for
My only real purchasing binges were related to the recurrence of my panic disorder and getting rejected by someone I’d invested a lot of hope and effort into
So I just try to pay attention to what’s going on in my life and ask myself if I really even want a new wardrobe or if there’s something else I just want to forget about
Here we all like to think of fashion as something positive
As a process of finding yourself
And it can be that. It is for me now.
But honestly we don’t talk enough about how much self hatred it can involve.
Lots of great advice here! I'll just add to stop browsing retail sites/brands/product shots. Their goal is to sell you clothes and many forms of that isn't something that's actually inspirational.
Something like a lookbook is different imo. But don't browse ebay, retail sites, sales, etc. Just not being in those spaces unless I'm actively looking for something specific helps a lot