Making the most of what we already have is one of our most powerful tools to live more sustainably. By doubling the average times we wear our clothes, we can almost halve the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. Wearing the clothes we already own, looking after them and using our creativity to style different items also means we’re less likely to feel the need to buy new things.
A lot of our clothes quickly end up at the back of the wardrobe, which means we often end up wearing the same things and therefore feeling that we don’t have enough, which results in more shopping. And I’m definitely guilty of this, especially as I’m bad at planning my outfits so because I don’t have much time in the morning I end up wearing whatever is close at hand. One of my goals this year was to get better but I’m not sure much has changed, so I’m setting myself a new challenge: to plan for all of September and to be creative with what I have.
The capsule wardrobe
Whilst I enjoy the concept of the capsule wardrobe, and am inspired by the idea of making the most of what you have and learning to define your style, there are some aspects of it that make me feel it’s not quite for me. When you’re encouraged to ‘buy a capsule wardrobe’ I feel it’s defeating its purpose slightly as it encourages additional consumption, but I appreciate the idea around finding what you like and then, over time, aligning your wardrobe. I also often find that the capsule wardrobes are mainly focused around minimalist style and although I love a good basic myself, I’d perhaps like to see more creative and colourful capsule wardrobes.
However, the concept around ensuring you have good key pieces in your wardrobe so that you always have something to wear, especially when you’re stressed in the morning and need to get ready for work, is of course something to aspire towards.
To some extent I’d like to see myself as a minimalist – I don’t like having a lot of stuff, I declutter when I get the chance and I like to keep things clean and tidy. I also enjoy a minimalist and simple style. But I also enjoy patterns, nice materials and when a garment, even though it’s got a simple design, has got some sort of twist that makes it a bit special. A minimalist wardrobe, only filled with basics in black, white, beige and grey is probably never going to be my thing, and when I’ve considered how I can make my wardrobe more sustainable, I feel more excited about the idea of being more creative with what I already have, rather than clearing it out, streamlining and only keeping the stylish basics. I’ve done several clear-outs recently, but I do have a lot of clothes still and the best thing I can do for the environment (and my wallet) is to keep using them.
The maximised non-capsule wardrobe
Instead of a more traditional capsule wardrobe where you for example stick to 10 items for 10 days, I’ve decided to do a challenge for September where I do a maxed out / excessive capsule wardrobe, where I essentially have to make the most of what I have in order to create (ideally) completely different outfits each day of the month. I can’t wear the same outfit twice and I’m not allowed to buy anything new.
June’s task in the slow fashion challenge I’m doing this year was to do a review of what you have in your wardrobe to find out what you like and what fits you. I’ve already done an audit earlier this year and have donated and sold a lot of things I’m not using anymore, so the challenge I’m setting myself for September is essentially a chance to do a review as I wear my wardrobe to work out what matches, what doesn’t, what I like and what I don’t like anymore. If there’s anything at the end of the month that hasn’t worked with anything else or that I don’t like (the style or the fit) then it has to go.