Avoiding Fast-Fashion

I read somewhere that the average piece of clothing is worn 7 times before it's thrown away (or donated). This got me thinking about a lot of the clothing I currently own. I actually have several items that I've gotten a lot of wear out of – way more than 7 times. Many are quality brand items I thrifted, others are higher-end dresses and jeans that I paid plenty for.

Casual work outfit: Paige jeans from Goodwill, wedge sneakers from Target (c. 2019), and long-sleeve, low-back shirt from Patricia Shoppe (c. 2016).

In fact, a majority of these well-worn clothes are not my fast-fashion pieces. My clothes from Old Navy, Forever 21, Zara, and H&M usually have not lasted me long enough to even wear 7 times! Which is technically the point of those stores. Buy our stuff for cheap, throw it away, come back for more, repeat until you die.

Two more weeks have passed by and I still have not purchased ANY clothes. I find myself completely skipping Target and TJ Maxx. I haven't even 'window-shopped' at my favorite online clothing stores. It's like I'm slowly beginning to love not buying new clothes! I also discovered a new resale website, The RealReal, full of "pre-loved" very high-end items. In fact, I may even treat myself to something on their site at the end of this year to celebrate!

The RealReal, pre-loved items.

I will be honest though. I did buy myself something new this week. In November '19, I ordered a new pair of running shoes. Brooks. They're some of the best for running, right? I've gotten about 4.5 months out of them and they just.... aren't right. I've been wanting different ones for about 3 of those months, but coincidentally that's when I started this whole 'no buying in 2020' resolution.

The more I train, and the longer my runs are getting, the more I realized I absolutely needed different running shoes. After several weeks of going back and forth, I finally did it. I bought brand new running shoes: Adidas Ultraboost 20's. I've had great results in past years with previous versions of this shoe, so I'm optimistic that these will be just what I need.

Do these make me look fast??

Yes, they were v pricey. Yes, I could have stuck it out with my Brooks. Yes, I have a closet full of decent running shoes. But ya know what? I really, truly needed/wanted them. And I don't feel like I need to explain myself any further!

76 days down, 289 to go.
xo, Laurel


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