Lately I can't help but think of new ways I can style my old clothing. It's fun to not only challenge myself with styling something that’s now considered “ugly” but also to give a garment a new life. My friends and I like to trade or sell our clothing within our close friend group, this way we can get rid of clothing that we don’t want anymore but also give it new life and some sentimental value by having it in the hands of someone familiar. With both clothing that I’ve acquired from my friends and clothing I’m no longer fond of, I like to take them out of my closet and lay them out. Once I have them laid out I think back to some recent things that may be trending that are similar to the clothing I already have. This method gives me a better look at what I have and also helps me realize that I am in no way in need of a whole new wardrobe when I already own so many things. The next step is styling them, there's a great trick I learned from TikTok recently which is to try to style the items you don’t like and if you can’t find more than two ways to style it then you can donate it or give it to family or a friend!
When fads are reawakened by the runway and what’s currently trending is something that was so fleeting 20 years ago there’s no way that clothing already exists without having to produce more. Sometimes I find myself looking at something that’s currently trending that I already own but haven’t thought to wear lately because it’s such an old piece. This made me realize we should look at our possessions in a different light and give them more value than we do. For example I have a Calvin Klein denim jacket from the 90s that my mom handed down to me about ten years ago. I stopped wearing it because I felt like the silhouette didn’t suit the trend at the time since it’s a fitted jacket and oversized items were more on trend. Nowadays there’s so much variety in what’s trending in different niches that anything from oversized to fitted can fit into a specific trend right now.
Fashion right now is at its most diverse it’s ever been. I encourage people to take out those pieces from 2010 that just sit in their drawers and wear them, whenever we think “maybe I need a new pair of pants” try looking through what you already own and pull out those cargo pants that you haven’t worn in a decade! To make this easier on myself and also as a person who predicts future trends I try my best to keep my basics in good condition so I can wear them for as long as possible, with my unique pieces that are more flamboyant and full of fun patterns and colors I try to not buy them as much and only navigate towards them if it’s a really beautiful piece. My reasoning for this is that certain patterns are less likely to come back into style and there’s also a way bigger market for thrifted unique items than there is for basics. Basics tend to get thrown away due to wear and bad treatment so they usually don’t end up being donated as much. To end this off, I’d like to just let you know that it takes baby steps to get used to a more sustainable lifestyle but I believe we can all get there through the little things and especially through doing something we enjoy!
Let me know down in the comments about your thoughts!
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