Overconsumption Core: The Death of Personal Style
Shopping consciously saves not only the planet, but your style too…
People say a cluttered room is a reflection of a cluttered mind. This logic also applies to a cluttered closet — it is a reflection of a diluted sense of style and originality. Fast fashion and overnight shipping have birthed the death of personal style: overconsumption. Overconsumption starts with feeling the need to buy a “new” outfit for every new occasion, or seeing the “potential” in too many pieces at the thrift store (I was guilty of both of these in college). The idea of having limitless options for tops, dresses, and purses may seem great in theory, but it is impossible to truly resonate with all those options. It’s hard to ensure your style and aesthetic remain consistent when you have an overabundance of clothing.
It takes great restraint to resist the latest fashion “must-haves,” but there is value in slowing down.
It helps you better understand your taste and discover different elements that you may gravitate towards, such as certain silhouettes or color palettes. In the process of intentional curation, you discover brands and designers that connect with you rather than buying another trending item behind a screen. You start to collect “staple” and “signature” pieces that last in your closet for years, both quality and style-wise. Similarly, developing personal style is to self-discover, finding who you are as a person, and taking the time to learn about yourself and immerse yourself in the world.
One of my favorite fashion icons, Jane Birkin, built her style legacy through a handful of signature pieces and is widely known for her effortless and minimal style. While she is most notably the muse of Hermes’ Birkin bag - now seen as a symbol of status and wealth - she ironically never treated the Birkin bag as such. Instead, she wore the bag casually, wearing it down, personalizing it with accessories and keychains. Jane Birkin leaned towards owning a few beloved, versatile pieces that she restyled for years. Her style philosophy revolved around comfort, authenticity, and individuality rather than quantity.
Clothes are meant to be restyled and worn out, but it is rare to see pieces and garments have that look because the quality of most clothing is just not there anymore. Fast fashion has completely diminished the importance of having long-lasting pieces in a closet, using mostly polyester and plastic-substituted leather. Materials such as these will only last a couple of months before the seams begin to fall apart.
Another great example that comes to mind is the Olsen twins. The Olsen twins have cemented themselves in fashion with a worn-in, on-the-go, layered aesthetic that emphasizes fabric textures and longevity. They are always re-wearing statement pieces such as vintage coats and bags over and over -- not due to lack of access, but because they have an intentionally curated closet. Specifically with Mary-Kate Olsen, her statement piece was a worn-out mint green Balenciaga City bag throughout the 2000s. She wore this bag ever so casually; it gained notoriety when Olsen ended up staining the bag with red wine, and the bag no longer resembled mint green due to how worn out it had become.
Now, the two examples I’ve shown are celebrities with an excessive amount of splurge money that isn’t always at the disposal of everyday people. However, the philosophy of curating pieces that feel personal to you and your style is accessible outside of luxury designers as well. I am a big fan of vintage and shopping second-hand. Most vintage pieces are often made with higher quality material (i.e., 100% cotton, linen, cashmere-wool, genuine leather, etc) compared to garments made today. I love thrifting in real life, but have found that eBay is a great site to find quality pieces at affordable prices. If you can, finding up-and-coming brands and designers that value ethical and sustainable fashion is always a great way to find staple pieces that provide longevity.
I love vintage coats, specifically the fur-trimmed ones that I keep in my regular rotation. It has become my signature amongst everyone who knows me! Some of my favorites I constantly rewear include a tan suede fur-lined coat, a faux fur Cheetah printed coat, and my fur-lined denim long coat. As someone whose fashion is heavily inspired by the early 2000s, fur-lined coats remind me of that era. The coats' influence came from childhood favorites like London Tipton and Raven Baxter, who often wore bold, statement outerwear that left a lasting impression on me. I love the versatility of my coats, dressing down my suede fur-lined coat for a casual grocery store run or dressing it up for a fancy white tie occasion.
It’s totally okay to love shopping for cute clothes, as I definitely share the same sentiment. But being selective in the pieces you choose to add to your closet will lead you to build a more meaningful relationship with fashion. It’s important to shop consciously and to find quality, timeless pieces that you connect with and ultimately provide longevity. Every season, there will be a new “IT” bag, dress, shoes, you name it -- make sure the piece speaks true to you and that you’re not falling for the hype. There is no right or wrong way to find your unique style, but it is certainly not by overconsumption.
