dressmaker's form draped with measuring tapes and bolts of fabric in background to represent what is my style

I don’t believe in fashion. There, I’ve said it. It’s out there. Fashion exists, of course; I know that it does. To me, it’s just that fashion is believing somebody else’s ideas of what we should and shouldn’t be wearing. I don’t want the fashion industry to dictate to me, and I don’t want to dictate to anyone else either.

On the other hand, style is something I believe strongly and fervently in. It is an authentic and dynamic expression of who you are. Style tells us who you believe yourself to be – even if it’s just for today. It is about self-expression. Style signals our sense of individual identity. I believe in style, and in particular, I believe in sustainable style. Let me tell you more.

Garment manufacturers put a lot of time, effort and money into creating fashion cycles. In fact, the clothing industry is a $375 billion a year industry. Clothes are designed to get our attention, get it fast and get it often. Fashion cycles are getting shorter and shorter every year. In the past, clothing stores would refurbish their stock once a season or perhaps once every three months. Now, some global clothing brands boast that they update their inventory twice a week. A week! They encourage their customers to buy their new merchandise regularly – ideally weekly.

Here’s my question…

How can you possibly maintain a sense of personal, sustainable style if you update your wardrobe weekly? I would go even further to suggest that such a frequently updated closet creates a shifting and unstable sense of self. Additionally, frequent purchasing erodes one’s sense of identity. Like water dripping on a stone, you are forever shifting the foundations on which the expression of that identity rests.

Many women I have met shop too much, by their own definition. Their shopping has started to cause them harm. Not only financially, although that is often the most visible sign of someone who shops too much, but emotionally and psychologically as well. They think too much about shopping. Sometimes it’s their prevailing thought pattern. They see things they want to buy, items they have already bought, and shopping trips they wish and are planning to take.

Their emotions are caught up too much in shopping – they feel guilty, elated, feel embarrassed (and sometimes ashamed), feel the ‘buy high’ and then the inevitable emotional crash after it wears off. It’s an exhausting roller coaster, emotionally, cognitively and psychologically. These women have exhausted themselves from too much consumption.

I, too, exhausted myself with too much shopping. The extreme path I chose to heal myself from this toxic behaviour was to take a year without buying any clothes. I knew I had to stop the constant intake of new items into my closet to regain some sense of where shopping fit into my life. And to regain some sense of myself. That year changed my life! It changed my shopping behaviour and beliefs and how I think and feel about consumption. That year was also when I discovered the importance of sustainable style.

About Sustainable Style

Sustainable style is about knowing who you are. It’s about loving and appreciating who you are and making clothing and purchasing choices that make you feel good and look great. It’s about having a deep and enduring sense of your worth and identity and understanding how clothes express and inform who you are.

Sustainable style recognises the endless feedback loop between how we look and dress and how we feel about ourselves. Clothes matter; they make a difference. If you and I were to swap clothing, we’d feel differently about ourselves. You feel better when you look better. And, we all know that painful high heels always show more on your face than they do on your feet!

Sustainable style recognises that your style is dynamic. It’s a living, breathing thing that changes over time. During important transition times in your life, such as changes in relationships, career, and geography, you should assess your style and make informed and meaningful changes to how you dress and present yourself.

Falling victim to the fashion cycle erodes our self-esteem and confidence because it assumes there is a gap between where you are and where you should be. Style, on the other hand, builds self-esteem and confidence because by its very nature it assumes the woman developing and expressing her unique style is beautiful.

Choose style!

About today’s guest blogger:

Learn more about Jill Chivers.


Want more organization + inspiration? Continue reading Managing Modern Life® articles.