Picture the scene: you watched the news about climate change and you’re amped up to start doing your part. You want to start building a sustainable wardrobe because sustainable fashion should be easily achievable. Then, you jump online to discover that most sustainable fashion brands charge an arm and a leg for their clothing. You can’t possibly afford this! Does this sound familiar?
Unfortunately, this is a dilemma that many of us face when we start trying to shift away from fast fashion and start buying sustainably made clothing. I certainly have had my own experience with this (something I share in detail in my book). I know firsthand how demoralizing it can be to be told that you have to spend an amount out of your budget for new clothes to look your best. It doesn’t help to be told that the clothes are made ethically and sustainably when you’d be putting yourself in debt by purchasing them.
To help combat this demoralizing feeling, I’ve put together my top tips for how to build a sustainable wardrobe when you don’t have the budget of a millionaire. If you have any other tips to add on, leave a comment down below on this post for others to see!
Tip 1: Take advantage of Buy-Now-Pay-Later (Afterpay, Klarna)
We all know there’s no such thing as a free lunch, so when brands started offering “Buy now, pay later” options such as Afterpay, Klarna, and Affirm, I was hesitant. I always prefer using something when I know exactly how all parties make money. So let me break it down for you.
When brands such as Revolve, Ulta, Skims, or others have payment options from Afterpay or Klarna to split up your purchases into four installments, the brands are actually paying Afterpay and Klarna a small percentage of their sales. Afterpay and Klarna take on the “risk” of you not paying, which is why sometimes you may find yourself getting denied using their services. That is also why there’s typically a $2,000 limit on your spending. They earn their revenue by that percentage of sales they take from brands.
When you add in affiliate links with Afterpay and Klarna, the brand has to share even more profit.
A portion of the sales now goes to the influencer or marketer advertising their affiliate links, another portion goes to Klarna and Afterpay, and the remaining portion goes to the brand. The reason that brands choose to divide up their revenue like this is that it allows them to access customers (such as you and me) that may not be able to afford their products otherwise!
So, in enters you. You see an amazing pair of boots that you know you would wear all the time during Fall and Winter, but it’s too expensive. You can’t drop $200 now! But, if you can drop $50 today, and then another $50 every 2 weeks until you pay off the $200, then you should be leveraging Afterpay and Klarna! The amazing thing about this service? You don’t pay a single penny in interest fees. Credit cards can charge you a steep interest rate (think an extra 20% tacked onto your credit card bill), but Buy-Now-Pay-Later services don’t require this!
Using these services is exactly how I started building a sustainable wardrobe of my own. So often, I found myself only being able to afford a fraction of the overall purchase amount and putting that entire amount on my credit card meant paying more interest and getting myself into debt. That’s why I started leveraging Afterpay and Klarna!
Pro Tip: Returns are easy with Afterpay and Klarna… so long as you don’t return in-store!
I have experienced issues with Klarna when making an in-store return on an order I purchased using buy-now-pay-later. Whenever I returned it via mail or returned with Afterpay, I haven’t ever had issues with returns!
Tip 2: Choose quality over a specific brand
When we think of sustainable fashion, we think of very specific brands, or we think of mainstream companies who have developed a specific collection of clothing made up of recycled or sustainably sourced materials. The idea that these are your only options for sustainable fashion is an outright lie!
The easiest way to start becoming sustainable is to choose quality above all else. A brand can create the most ethical, sustainably made piece of clothing, but if it falls apart after a few washes, then that is no more sustainable than going into H&M or Zara and buying new clothes.
Choosing quality may not always be easy because sometimes, knowing whether a piece of clothing is good quality comes in later.
Here are some guidelines for how to determine quality:
- USE YOUR INTUITION. The simplest but perhaps most annoying advice is to use your intuition. Don’t lower your standards simply because the color is to die for or because the style is amazing. Truly step away from the situation and ask yourself a few questions.Does it feel itchy or scratchy? Does it fit poorly? Does it make you feel like your best self? Chances are, if something is ill-fitting or poorly made, your intuition will tell you.
- WHO DO YOU TRUST? If you are reading the reviews online or getting the opinions of an influencer you follow, do you trust them? Have they proven to you time and time again that their word is trustworthy? A lot of people on the internet have good intentions but give their stamp of approval after only wearing something once or lower their standards simply to be trendy. Use your judgment and ask yourself whether you trust the person giving you the advice.
- COMPARE AND CONTRAST. Sometimes, I love walking into luxury brands or department stores to just feel the quality of their clothes to get a sense of what high quality clothing feels like. Of course, not all luxury brands have the highest of quality, but typically, their craftsmanship will be 10x better than a fast fashion brand. Compare the seams and stitches and fabric and judge for yourself what quality is.
If you want my advice on some brands that have typically always put out clothes of the highest quality, check out my Favorite Products page and select the “brands” category!
Tip 3: Basics first, everything else second
I used to buy clothes because they were just so out there that I had to have them. Sure, that helped me build up a wardrobe for fun occasions like a fancy night out or for Fashion Week. But it didn’t help me actually get dressed and look cute during normal life. I wrote a whole separate blog post on some basics that you need, but here’s my rule of thumb.
EVALUATE YOUR WARDROBE, DETERMINE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE, AND BUY PIECES TO CREATE THE FOUNDATION FOR YOUR WARDROBE.
Basics don’t have to just mean a plain white t-shirt or jeans. I never wear jeans, so jeans are not a “basic” piece to me. What I do wear a lot of is sweats, and for that, I need layering pieces. That means I prioritized buying plain tees, tanks, or long sleeves to pair with my sweat shorts or sweatpants. Once I actually had a foundation of basics I could wear with nearly every outfit, I then go to have some fun and start buying pieces to pair with those basics, such as a new pair of sweats set.
So let’s say that you are starting from scratch and don’t know what your personal style is, or what would pair well with each other. That’s when I would emphasize the first and second points of my statement above. What do you currently have in your wardrobe and what is your style? Do you really like the pieces you have, but just don’t know how to fill up your closet? Or do you actually not like any of the pieces you own and want something entirely different?
Knowing how you feel about the clothes you currently have can help guide you towards what your true style is. It’s not a bad thing for your style to change. All of us will experience our styles changing. However, styles typically don’t change every other week or whenever there is a new release from some online boutique or fast-fashion brand. Style is something that speaks to your soul. If you could wear nothing else for the rest of your life, what would you wear? For some people, that might be a tailored suit because they feel their best. For others (like me), it would be a pair of sneakers with sweats.
In conclusion, building a sustainable wardrobe is much more than just a label. It’s changing a way of thinking.
Building a sustainable wardrobe doesn’t mean you’re limiting yourself from buying from certain brands. It doesn’t mean you have to buy yourself into debt to be sustainable. Sometimes, the most sustainable thing we can do is wear what is already in our closet. Count how many times you are wearing pieces in your closet, and truly look inward and ask yourself whether you love all the pieces you own. In the end, that’s what sustainability is about.
