Before the world fell into pandemonium, I had made the promise to myself to shop less and to shop more responsibly. With the circumstances that we have all found ourselves in, this choice has largely been removed, as job security and financial uncertainty has resulted in a reconsideration of priorities.
Not to mention the fact that a large proportion of people are WFH so the need to get dressed, let alone dress up, has been reconfigured into something of a novelty, as opposed to a necessity. Buying new anything just isn’t that important. Plus the casual shopping experience has been periodically removed. No more wandering around the high street, buying based on fancy and whim. The tactility of shopping a memory as opposed to a reality.
Of course the cathartic experience of shopping has not altogether been extinguished. Rather we scroll, not stroll now. However, this has meant that shopping is a predominantly solo undertaking. The opinions of others negated as the conversations around fashion have become soliloquised. The allure of free returns encouraging purchases regardless of how suitable or strictly necessary the item may be, it being all too easy to order en mass and deal with the consequences in 28 days time.
Though shopping has long been a pastime of weekend amblers, moseying about the high street in between lunch dates and coffee stops, (even those with a strict shopping list weren’t impervious to ‘just popping in’) and now with social activities condensed to a walk around the block, online perusing has become an easy means of killing time. The 24 hour availability (unlimited by opening hours) invites emotional purchases - being more likely to buy during times of great stress or late at night when tired and rationale lessened - therefore leading to unnecessary purchases.
Shopping for me has therefore changed. This time away from my usual routine of weekend perusal of the high street, has resulted in far fewer purchases. I have never been one for internet shopping so this is a phenomena that I have had to learn.
Many purchases remain forgotten in my shopping cart, as the act of standing in a physical line in a store speaks to a commitment to buy, whereas an online shopping basket allows for indecisiveness and thus abandoned items. Which isn’t a bad thing and has saved many a questionable purchase (do I really need light up cork screws??)
The items that I have purchased, however, are far fewer than any other year previous and thus, far more memorable. Purchases were generally carefully considered, the impulse had been removed and replaced by a wont to invest both in quality and in items long sought after.
Cashmere over polyester, vintage leather over plastic, designer over Topshop. All bought secondhand, meaning that despite the superior quality, financially, items were often cheaper than their high street counterparts. And although shopping online is not completely without consequence to the environment, shopping predominantly secondhand allows for responsible consumerism.
As uncertainty swells and lulls and then swells again, I take comfort in the search and acquisition of items through secondhand retailers (eBay & Vestiaire Collective being particular favourites). Perhaps it’s just a means of distraction (don’t we all need those right now?), maybe it’s just my way of reconciling my love of fashion with the in-built environmental impact of this industry?
Regardless, streamlining my purchases has not only decluttered my life physically, but also mentally as the ethical baggage inherent to shopping has been alleviated somewhat. The priority being not necessarily to veto shopping altogether, but to shop better and therefore shop responsibly. Shopping secondhand allows this and as fashion is a cycle of rediscovery, many items are as trend-less as they are trendy.
So as my fashion purchases lessen, my commitment to shopping secondhand grows. Here’s to ending the year on a high, with my clothing purchases on a low!
(Photos via: theurbanlist.com, vogue.com & vogue.fr)
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