At the beginning of 2017, my husband suggested that we commit to not buying any clothes for a year. I’m not one to back away from a challenge, but I wasn’t sure at first. I love buying new clothes – there’s a little rush every time I rip off those store tags and introduce a new item to my wardrobe. Also, shopping was one of my favorite social activities… I wasn’t sure I wanted to give it up. After some consideration and realizing I had more than enough clothes to make it through, I decided I was in!
We had been exploring minimalism, simplicity, and our environmental impact for a couple years and thought this might be a good way to evaluate our clothing needs and curb our appetite for constantly buying new clothes. I had already been through a few phases of minimizing my wardrobe and thought I had a reasonable amount of clothing. A girl still needs lots of options, right?? (Wrong!) At that time, my morning routine involved multiple wardrobe changes and a pile of discarded clothes that just weren’t working. I was ready for a change!
Heading into the year, I set up some safety nets for myself, just in case. I could replace an item if needed and there were a few items I was allowed to buy (bathing suit, underwear, flip flops, running shoes – none of which I ended up needing).
It has been an amazing year and I’m thrilled with the changes and discoveries that have come with this challenge.
Here are 6 things I’ve learned from not buying clothes for a year:
I had WAY too many clothes
Instead of feeling restricted by not buying clothes, I realized that I still had more clothes than I needed. Not only did I refrain from buying clothes this year, I actually ended up getting rid of a lot as the year went on. It had been impossible to see which items I was actually wearing when I kept adding new pieces monthly. I use the backwards hanger trick and could easily keep track of the clothes I never touched (turn all your hangers backwards and turn them around when you wear an item, allowing you to see what you actually wear in your closet over a span of time).
I am an organized person by nature and could fit a lot of clothing into my closet neatly. I’ve learned that just because there is room for it, doesn’t mean it should be there! Having space for my clothes to breathe is so much nicer and now I can see all my options at once.
Less is more
The smaller my wardrobe got, the easier it was to choose what to wear. When you love everything in your closet and it all fits well and looks good, getting dressed is super easy! I don’t have time to search through hundreds of items of clothing each day to find something that will work. I want to be comfortable and look great each day in pieces I love!
I also found that my mind and time were freed up by not searching for the next piece of clothing to add to my wardrobe. I would often think of a very specific piece of clothing I wanted to own and then search through every store in town until I found it. Eliminating clothes shopping freed me from this frenzy and allowed me to stop searching for whatever perfect piece I thought I needed to own. I believe it’s good to be intentional about what we’re buying, but it was so nice to not be constantly looking for new clothes.
I had been shopping with no purpose
Most often, my shopping looked something like this – I would walk into a store, pick up a few things that caught my eye, try them on and buy whatever looked good on me. I gave little thought to what I already owned, what I needed or what would match with the clothes I already had. I was more concerned with what was in front of me and on sale.
I don’t want to support fast fashion and I believe that if I’m more aware of my style and intentional about the quality of the pieces I purchase, I can avoid contributing to the ever increasing amount of clothing discarded every year and save money and space at the same time.
I am emotionally influenced by my friends purchases
I’m sure most of you know the feeling, someone shows up looking fabulous in something new and the thought creeps into your mind, “I need to go shopping!”. There were a few times this year when my besties were rocking gorgeous new clothes and I felt the need to shop! My friends and I own a lot of the same clothing – “There’s a sale, I love these shoes, you need to buy a pair!”. I didn’t realize I would feel envious watching others buy new clothing while not shopping myself. I know that my happiness does not depend on anything I could buy and I had to remind myself of this a few times over the year. Good news, this craving for shopping goes away after a while, even if you don’t give into it!
Shopping as a social activity had to change for me a bit this year too. It was easy enough with my husband, we were both not buying new clothes and easily avoided the aimless mall wanderings, but with friends who were still buying clothes it was a bit different. I have incredible friends who support me in what I’m doing and would often suggest other activities when shopping would have been the choice in the past. There were, however, a few times that I ended up at the mall with the girls in full retail glory. This was a little challenging and I got some comments of “it’s not as fun when you’re not shopping too!”, but loved knowing that I would be held accountable to stick to my challenge!
I have my own style!
This one might seem obvious, but for me it wasn’t. My wardrobe had been filled with so many various styles and colors and I felt I needed to wear them all simply because I owned them. I often felt guilted into wearing something because I spent money on it, even though I didn’t really love the way it looked or felt. Lately, I’ve been wearing the clothes I love and I’ve been able to clearly see some trends. When my closet was full of clutter, I couldn’t see the similarities in my favorite clothes. As my wardrobe got smaller, I was able to see what I actually like to wear and will be able to be more selective in the style of clothing I buy in the future.
Some things I’ve learned about my personal style: Strapless anything doesn’t work for me with a toddler. Thick straps are most flattering on my body. I love wearing leggings or jeans with a knit sweater. I look best in rich or bright colors and there are a lot of colors I don’t really like to wear. I don’t feel comfortable wearing high rise pants or tight clothing. I almost never wear a skirt – doesn’t work with a handsy 2 year old. I look great in hats.
Advertising works
I was still buying clothes for my kids throughout this challenge. They change size multiple times a year and actually need new clothes. Once Upon A Child is an amazing second hand store nearby and we are able to get most of our kids’ clothes here, but sometime they just need something new! I had never fully realized how amazing stores are at getting their customers to come back. While buying my daughter some new leggings, I gave the cashier my email address to get my receipt sent to me online (saving paper – yay!). I then received an email with the deal I had “earned” by making this purchase. “Spend $50, get $20 OFF!”. Now, I know that this doesn’t really mean saving $20, it just means spending $30 on items I probably don’t need, but seriously, for a moment I was tempted! I have since unsubscribed from this email. The flyers in the mailbox, the advertising online, the promotional emails from your favorite stores are all there because they work. I need to be careful about what I think I ‘need’, especially when an image in an email is telling me I need it!
So there you have it, my year without buying clothes. By December I had only a few items on my ‘need to buy’ list – my favorite jeans had a hole in the knee and my toes were about to poke through the top of my runners. I’ve enjoyed this challenge so much; I never felt deprived and love the new attitude I’ve developed towards shopping. My husband had so many clothes that he’s decided to continue for another year. I’ve decided to try a variation of a capsule wardrobe for the coming season and am excited to make a shift towards more ethical and sustainable fashion in the future.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your wardrobe or want to break free from the fashion craze, why not try a No Shopping challenge of your own!
