If you’ve thought about how to build an eco-friendly wardrobe, this article is for you!
It’s end of August, and the favourite season of all fashionistas is here: make way for Autumn!
When it comes to fashion and style, Autumn is a much more significant season than the start of a new year. This is where we start a new year at school, return to work from long, blissful Summer vacations, and are packed with new ideas and energy.
While the Amazon rainforest burns in front of our eyes (yes, it’s still burning, how did we forget so quickly?!) and glaciers melt away causing unprecedented weather phenomena, I can’t help but wonder what can I do?
One feels so very small and helpless in the big scheme of things. But there are things that every single one of us can do!
- The number one thing is to drastically decrease the amount of meat we eat.
- The second is to make some big changes in the way we dress and think about fashion.
A new season often means a new wardrobe, aided by hundreds of fashion weeks ongoing right now around the world. But buying a whole new wardrobe at a time like this simply isn’t okay. That doesn’t mean, though, that you’d need to compromise on your style.
This year I’ve been focusing heavily on sustainable brands and ecological ways of clothing ourselves. So, let’s start this process of finding you a brand new wardrobe without hitting the shops but by upgrading your wardrobe.
*This post first appeared on Megan Elizabeth Lifestyle
How To Build A Brand New Wardrobe
Okay, I feel ya, I don’t want to open the wardrobe door wider than what’s enough to snatch out any shirt for the day, but we can do this!
The prospect of going through all those crop tops that you haven’t found a bottom half for, and facing all those dresses which you haven’t been able to pull on for years, is daunting. BUT we only have to do this once and we’re good for a long time.
This is capsule wardrobe taken to the next level and an Autumn clean (yes, it’s a new concept) for your fashion archives. With these 3 very simple tricks you can get started on establishing a more sustainable wardrobe for yourself.
Step 1: Create three piles
The starting point for an eco-friendly wardrobe is decluttering. Whenever we need to take on a decluttering project, it’s always best to start as simple as possible. With a wardrobe upgrade I would definitely start by coming up with three main categories Sex and the City style:
- Keep
- Toss
- Sell/Charity
Then just go through the entire wardrobe assembling each piece of clothing to one of these corresponding piles. It’s important to be unsentimental and to keep a practical mind. Some of the clothes may be completely worn out or haven’t fit you for years, and you only keep them for the memories. Throw them on the Toss-pile, just do it!
Then there are those pieces that you haven’t worn simply because you’re not sure what to pair them up with, or whether you can in fact pull them off without attracting everybody’s unwanted attention. These should go on the Sell/Charity pile immediately. If you haven’t worn them once, the odds are you won’t.
And then the Prime Group: the Keeps. These are items that are simple in colour scheme and shape, classic pieces. Those which you simply love and keep wearing all over and over again. Make sure each piece you put on the Keep-pile is a piece that you can pair with the other pieces in the same pile. Put nothing on the Keep-pile for which you can’t think of a pair.
Step 2: Back to Basics
After you’ve disposed of the Tossed garments and booked a rack from your nearest flee market, it’s time to move on with your eco-friendly wardrobe. Let’s put some more attention on the Keeps! Hang them up and fold them neatly back to your closet, and pay attention on what’s there. Can you notice an absence of certain pieces?
Fret not! Don’t go back to your old ways of rushing to the first online store that pops in your mind. Instead approach purchasing clothes with a new mindset:
Check out this article on how you can shop a tad smarter from now on. You don’t want to fill your closet with more tops you’ll never use that are such bad quality that they fall apart in the first wash, right?
By shopping cleverly you’re left with extra money, which you can then spend to amp up the sustainable volume of your entire wardrobe.
Once you’ve got your wardrobe sorted, getting up in the morning feels that much better and easier. When you’ve got pieces of clothing there that mix and match well with multiple pieces you’ll be set for weeks, even months ahead.
Step 3: Figure out your personal style to shop better
It doesn’t take much effort to look stylish at the end of the day. All you need is to figure out your personal style. Keep the shapes and colour palettes in check and add extra flavor with accessories and you’ll be one of the chicest fashionistas walking the streets any given day. And in the process you’ll keep an eco-friendly wardrobe.
We all need to be aware and admit to ourselves that the planet simply can’t take any more Primark hauls. As sad as it may seem, because shopping really is great therapy, it is what it is, and action must be taken. By ALL of us! Not just your friends and neighbours, YOU as well
Just remember that not being able to buy a new wardrobe every month doesn’t mean that fashion and your personal style would become boring. Hell no!
It becomes more interesting in fact, because you’ll quickly realize how much wearable stuff you already have, and how many different styles can be constructed from them. Get experimenting, and please share your outfit inspiration on Instagram as well using hashtag #styleoutlandish so that I can see them too.
Have you done any major changes lately in regards to your wardrobe or the way you shop? I’d love to hear, because style tips are the best! ♥
