Sustainable Fashion Diaries, Vol. 1: Strategically Tackling Summer Sales

Fashion and sustainability. The first one always depended on the other, yet it it also the most damaging industry to the environment.  

Say hello to the Sustainable Fashion Diaries: an article series about sustainability in the industry and the small changes we can make as customers to help both the planet and our wallet.

I don’t know if it’s the heat, the adrenaline of the moment or the big red signs that say up to 90% off, but whenever it comes to summer sales all I see is people walking around with shopping bags the size of a toddler. I’ve been in that situation, in fact I’m usually the crazy person that walks around the store with thirty hangers in one hand and five pairs of shoes in the other (I’m not exaggerating), but how do you force yourself to think clearly during sales, so that from those 30 hangers you only come out of the store with a shirt and dress that you know you’ll actually wear? Make an action plan.

1. Check your wardrobe first

Go through your wardrobe and refresh your memory: what are the pieces you’ve worn the most during the past year? what didn’t you wear? out of everything you’ve bought on sale this time last year, which pieces did you actually use and how many times?

Make a mental list of reasons why you wore certain pieces more than others, is it the material? the pattern or the style? and note down anything specific you might think is missing from your wardrobe.

2. You’re at the store, now what?

Big, red, shiny circles telling you it’s the biggest sale of the year stare you right in the face, racks of summer tops for less than $5, all of them in bright & colorful patterns. I recommend talking a step back and first looking for the item(s) you actually need, the ones you noted down as “missing” from your wardrobe in the last step. Then, you can have a look around (and go crazy for a few minutes), looking at anything you might like.

At this stage, you either got a great amount of self control, or you end up with the said thirty hangers. If you’re part of the second category, here’s how to get rid of most of them:

3. Check the materials

Find a corner of the store (or just do this while you wait in line for the changing room) and look at the tags of every one of the items you have in hand. What are the garments made of? Is it a qualitative material? Check to see how it feels and if you’re not sure about the material’s composition, you can search it up and get google to answer you within seconds. Take your time to do your research (it’s not like that line is going anywhere), this is where you’ll get rid of about a third of the unnecessary pieces you picked just because they had a cute print or colour.

4. Time to try them on

The moment of truth: is that dress going to look as beautiful as it did on the hanger, or will it be just another boring piece of cloth? Take pictures of every one of the pieces you try on, then quickly get out of the changing  room so the other people waiting can have a chance to try on their picks too. Now go to the side of the store and look at the pictures you just took: first eliminate the pieces you definitely hate/don’t fit properly, than look at what you have left and start comparing each of them to things you already have at home, if it’s too similar to something you already own, it’s out. Out of everything you have left, think about how much you’d actually wear the pieces, on what occasion and what you’d pair it with, then eliminate the ones you know you won’t use.

5. Ask a friend

Time to ask for help. Text the remaining pieces to a (somewhat judgmental) friend or family member, without telling them the price (we’re too often blinded by the “if it’s less than $20, than it can’t hurt anyone” concept) and see what they think, ask them the same questions you’ve asked yourself earlier.

The final selection

Using the advice you’ve been given, as well as your own opinion about your style, make one final selection of the things you actually need. You shouldn’t walk out of that store with more than five pieces.

PS: Remember all of those pieces you didn’t buy,? Take five more minutes out of your day and put them back where you got them, someone could enjoy them and even if that’s not the case, think of all the employees running around trying to help everyone, it’s a small act of kindness that they’ll highly appreciate.

I know sales can get distracting and lead to impulse buying, but that’s not going to get you anywhere, please keep in mind that our planet is on the line.

I’m curious to hear how many pieces you picked of out of all the ones you initially played eyes on during this year’s sales, let me know in the comment section or via Instagram.

Until next time…

?kisses, 

-L