Have you ever asked yourself why you have so many clothes?
With as much as 60% of the clothes in UK wardrobes unworn, it’s time to ask why?
As a professional Personal Stylist I love fashion. Pretty obvious I know, but I am very conscious that we all need to give far more consideration to fashion waste than ever before.
With the clothing industry responsible for as much as 8-10 per cent of global carbon emissions, buying clothes that you don’t wear is a bit like throwing bundles of plastic bags into the sea. What’s more, if the clothing you buy is polyester, that IS a synthetic and a form of plastic, derived from oil, a fossil fuel.
The environmental consequences
There are environmental consequences associated with everything we buy and regarding fashion, the trends are worrying, as we are not only buying more than what we need, it’s increasingly polyester that’s being used in clothes manufacture and what we’re buying the most of. In fact it’s so cheap it’s far less expensive to make brand new, rather than recycle so, we’re actually accelerating the pollution of our planet.
Now, at this point I want to make it clear, I am not saying that you need to stop shopping for clothes. Wearing something that fits and flatters your shape can be an enormous mood booster, bring you confidence and even change the way others perceive you. However, before you make a purchase it’s worth asking yourself first why you are parting with your hard-earned cash?
Emotions play a huge part in our reason for buying clothes and those clever brands and retailers know this and use many methods to entice us into buying their latest ranges. From email newsletters to persuasive advertising campaigns using attractive models or influencers wearing the latest trends. With beautifully merchandised shops full of size 8 mannequin displays, with discounts and promotions suggesting you are missing out if you don’t buy today.
Beyond the hype, let’s change for good
It’s very easy to get caught up in the hype. But with this has come ‘over manufacturing’ and ‘overconsumption’ of fashion which is having such a negative impact on our planet, it’s time we all wise up. The good news is that as consumers, we have the power to make the industry change for the better.
“It doesn’t matter how much you paid for it or what brand, style or colour it is, if you don’t wear it, it’s a waste of money and bad for our planet.”
When I meet a new client and we go through their wardrobe, more often than not the clothes that they say they don’t wear are clothes that don’t flatter their body shape. When I ask them why they bought the garment in the first place it’s usually because of one of these following reasons:
- It was on discount or cheap
- They liked/were impressed by the brand and the thought of wearing the label
- They liked the colour or pattern
- They liked the style
- It has an emotional tie
Fair enough I hear you say, but with the exception of a garment having an emotional tie, unless it looks good on you, it doesn’t matter how much you paid for it or what brand, style or colour it is, if you don’t wear it, it’s a waste of money and bad for our planet. Not only that, it’s contributing to the ever-increasing problem of fashion waste.
This powerful Youtube video titled ‘trashion‘ tells you what you really need to know and why we simply have to change our approach to buying fashion.
“If you don’t feel great wearing it, don’t buy it.”
If you understand what styles and what colours suit you so when you next shop for clothes you will know what to avoid and so you will only buy clothes that flatter you. As a Personal Stylist, I can guarantee that by understanding this you will change the way you shop forever, save yourself a fortune on clothes (i.e. the ones that you never wear), and increase your confidence no end AND BY DEFAULT, doing a huge service for our planet.
Just as much as buying clothes that flatter our shape will boost our mood, buying clothes only not to wear them, can have a negative effect on our emotions too. The feeling of money wasted and the guilt that goes with it, or that the garment highlights body imperfections, or simply that we just don’t feel good wearing it, can make us feel low.
Unfortunately, this cycle doesn’t stop until you learn about what suits you and what to avoid.
That’s why as much as 60% of the clothes in your wardrobe aren’t worn, as we keep buying more and more clothes hoping to find something we love along the way.
Now, I’m an advocate for second hand, hiring for occasion wear and recommend giving clothes you no longer wear to your local charity shop. This certainly helps.
However, the BEST thing you can do is make sure you only buy clothes you look great wearing in the first place. That’s because if you do, you’ll wear them longer and you’ll see you need less because of this.
As much as 60% less!
We can prevent waste by buying right first time
Buying the wrong clothes is great for retailers to an extent, especially if you keep these items, but many that are returned are often disposed of immediately without ever being worn, either incinerated or ending up in a polluting landfill (and often overseas like in the Trashion video linked above).
Now if you regularly read my blogs, you will know that it’s my passion to change the way people buy clothes for the betterment of themselves and our planet, that led me to create My Secret Stylist.
Making personal styling affordable to all
I knew that if I could help more women by creating an affordable online styling service which finds clothes you can buy, based upon your unique body shape where you KNOW what you buy will always look great on you, then it would reduce all those purchases you later regret, boost your confidence, and help our planet – all at the same time.
Now, two years on and My Secret Stylist is developing into a real success story, with a lot more in the service pipeline to come.
Members already love the way the clothes they buy fit and flatter, saving them time and money in the process. Creating a capsule of clothes they wear. Without the waste.
Please support the cause
By signing up to my annual membership, which is less than £40 for a whole year and means you save far more than that each year because you will buy better and need less.
Not only will you benefit from having my skills on styling every time you shop for clothes, you will be supporting a service designed with you and our environment in mind, where together we can reduce fashion waste and do our bit by simply purchasing clothes more wisely.
Remember, if you don’t look and feel great wearing an item of clothing, don’t buy it.
Now imagine your impact to our environment if you simply invest in a wardrobe you wear?
It’s pretty good for your bank balance too.
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Cristina Holm
Cristina Holm is one of the UK’s leading personal stylists. Cristina is based and operates from her studio in Warfield, Berkshire (United Kingdom). She serves clients locally and internationally.
Cristina is also the founder of My Secret Stylist, the UK’s best kept clothes shopping secret. For only £35.99 per year, you can find and ‘see in seconds’ clothes which complement your body shape across all the popular brands. For more information, go to www.mysecretstylist.co.uk