Create Your Style Strategy
How I reduce overwhelm, overconsumption and regret when shopping
For my birthday last year, I gifted myself a curated collection of secondhand clothes, inspired by this mood board.
It is somewhat ridiculous to buy clothes when I am still bedridden 90% of the day, but this gift to myself isn’t really about the clothes, it’s about who I want to be as I recover - a softer, more creative and embodied person. I have been through an identity-level shift having Long Covid, and I want my clothes to reflect that.
A new dress doesn’t get you anywhere. It’s the life you’re living in the dress.
- Diana Vreeland
For everyone who tells me they get overwhelmed when they enter a thrift shop or open Depop, having a style strategy is the answer. I know this sounds simplistic, but if you know what you're looking for, you will be less overwhelmed and less likely to buy something you’ll regret. Simple things are often overlooked.
Shopping without a strategy
Getting dressed daily is the only form of self-expression (some may say art) we are legally obliged to do. This means shopping for clothes is a universal activity, which can trick us into thinking it’s easy. The accessibility of online shopping, the availability of fast fashion and the ubiquity of social media marketing make it seem even simpler.
Before I asked for TikTok’s help finding my style, I felt overwhelmed by clothes shopping. For me that manifested as:
Usually buying fast fashion as I was not confident in what I was purchasing and the risk-reward ratio was lower thanks to low prices.
Last-minute shopping for a specific event, thus buying one-and-done outfits rather than pieces that mixed well with the rest of my wardrobe.
Buying more than I needed “just in case” what I already had didn’t work (especially if there was a sale on…).
Buying into trends as a shortcut to seeming fashionable, as I wasn’t sure of what my style was. This meant my clothes had a shorter shelf life as I was pinning my style to a trend cycle and not my identity.
This approach led to bad decisions, wasteful purchases and throwing money away. Data shows I’m not alone.
Clothing consumption has grown explosively over the past 20 years. Fashion consumers buy over 80 billion new pieces of clothing every year. This is over 400% more than what we consumed just two decades ago.
This has led consumers to buy more than they need and treat low-priced garments as “disposable” goods that can be thrown away after just seven or eight wears. The textile waste from this practice is choking the planet.
Can we as consumers change the fashion system from the bottom up and fully divest from consumer culture? I don’t think so. But can we save money, buy higher quality items that last longer and feel better in our shopping choices? Yes.
Creating a style strategy
Shopping with a plan will limit disappointment, overspending and wasteful purchases. This style strategy is based on everything I learned from TikTok when I asked for style advice. The sections below are universal, the content within is for my body, my wardrobe and my style.
For my birthday curated collection, I didn’t start by opening Depop, eBay or Facebook Marketplace. I started with what I already own.
Know the gaps in my wardrobe
I assessed my wardrobe and identified the gaps that if filled could unlock more creativity in my outfits. For me they are:
Layering pieces like lightweight jackets and shirts.
Dresses/skirts.
Comfy lightweight pants.
A sun hat.
When shopping, I won’t buy an item unless I can think of 3-5 different ways to style it using my current wardrobe. This ensures a more cohesive wardrobe that offers endless creative outfit options rather than a series of one-and-done outfits that don’t work together.
Know what suits me
Knowing what not to buy is just as important as knowing what to buy.
My TikTok project taught me the fundamentals of what objectively suits my frame and colouring: kind people helped me work out my body type and my colouring (tools to find yours can be found here), and here’s the summary of what I learned 3 months into the project. I am of course able to choose what feels good subjectively, but knowing the basics of what suits me and climbing a mountain of bad outfits to work out what makes me feel my best has been a massive help.
These are guidelines, not rules. They won’t stop me from appreciating different styles, I am not yucking anyone’s yum! However, I know if I buy a floaty, floral pastel dress, even if it’s for a garden wedding where that would be appropriate, I’ll regret it because it won’t feel like “me”.
What will I be doing in these clothes?
Usually, this section would be filled with work-appropriate considerations or weekend activities, maybe events I have coming up. None of that is relevant to me right now, which is….weird. For the first time in my life, I have nowhere to be and no group to belong to. This is both freeing and daunting. I don’t know how long my recovery will take, but I do know I need to be comfortable and accommodate wearing compression leggings under my outfits for the foreseeable future.
How do I want to feel?
This is where my mood board comes in. I am channelling a creative woman who appreciates quality and handmade details. She is confident in herself, fashion-forward but not trend-driven. There is ease in the way she dresses. She’s classic, pragmatic and creative.
What bar am I setting for quality?
My budget doesn’t currently stretch to a wardrobe full of designer items, but I can make sure I’m buying items that will last, thus reducing textile waste. Buying secondhand is the best way to get high-quality items at fast fashion prices. If I find something I like from a fast fashion brand secondhand I will buy it if it’s 100% natural fibres.
Now the shopping starts
With this style strategy in place I (finally) opened the secondhand apps and started looking. I will show you the results in next week’s newsletter along with some search tips.
What’s on your “not for me” list?
Previous newsletters:
If you’ve decided to focus on your personal style, then knowing what success looks like is important, and fashion brands won’t help you.
p.s If you have an iPhone, did you know that if you take a photo of the care label on your clothes it will decode those little symbols and explain how to care for that garment?! Magic 🪄
Never buying a floral anything!
Hi Amelia - I hope you are doing ok