Switching up from Fast Fashion to a Durable & Sustainable Wardrobe-- Winter Essentials!

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Have you ever walked into multiple clothing stores and wondered why most brands sell the same exact clothes with the same material? As a result of the increase in fast fashion over the last few decades, the clothing industry has skyrocketed in revenue as a result of clothes made for cheap prices. If you’re up-to-date with world news, you would be aware that fast fashion is a major cause of climate change with the repeating cycle of buying trendy clothes when they come out, in comparison to maintaining a sustainable and friendly wardrobe (better for everyone, be honest). With no surprise, social media has played a great role in the increase of purchasing clothing with the dominance of online shopping, making it rather difficult to create a wardrobe tailored to YOUR personal taste rather than what the internet’s perception of ‘cool’ fashion might be. I would be lying if I said I weren’t falling victim to trends, but a lot of the fashion trends repeat within cycles, from previous decades or centuries (nothing new to see guys). So in this article I will go through some of the key pointers to building a good wardrobe that takes many factors into consideration, as well as some of my personal clothing recommendations for the colder months. 

 

As students, I think one of the most important parts of building a better wardrobe is understanding your body shape—not limiting to what clothes make you feel confident, clothes that best suit your body type, but also, your personal height (short torso/long torso). One of the most common ways to know what clothes you look great in is by going over the various women and men body types. A variety of the most common body types include hourglass, an inverted triangle, rectangle, and pear. Men tend to have wider shoulders in proportion to their waist, while women tend to have wider hips in comparison to men. Wider shoulders and a slim waist are considered an inverted triangle, while wider hips with a slim waist would be an hourglass for women. When searching for clothes, it’s important to understand that certain pieces of clothing might not be as flattering, depending on your body type, which is why being able to understand your type can help you buy outfits that make you feel confident. For example, someone who has wide shoulders, male or female, might ultimately look better in a v-neck or a scoop neckline that elongates their shoulders over someone who does not have broad shoulders. 

 

Although this does not apply to everyone, you may have slightly wondered why the neighbor next door, a boy, can pull off the full baggy oversized clothing and looks better than you. So, maybe it’s not your fault! A simple solution would be doing a personal color & body analysis which has grown exponentially on social media, in which one can do an analysis in depth in regards to being able to better dress yourself, and to maintain a healthy complexion with colors that go well with your undertone and actual skin tone. On the alternative, noting down on which tops you get the most compliments on, repeatedly, can be a booster, as sometimes the people around us can really tell when a color drags your whole complexion down with or without the essence of makeup (works better for men).

 

So now that we’ve understood how body types can play a major role in how you choose to present yourself, our goal is to buy sustainable clothes that will last much longer than your average fast fashion clothes. The criteria for a sustainable and good-quality piece of clothing by my own standards include asking oneself 4 questions: what materials does the piece of clothing consist of? (Synthetic materials are cheap to produce and look great in store but wear down over washes quickly) Does the brand have a reputation of being a fast fashion company? What are the company’s priorities/what do they advertise? And last but not least, how does the stitching of the clothing look in comparison to pieces of clothing from other stores? (in-person criteria). These questions can help one get a general idea of what the piece of clothing really is. A really great website to check out whether a brand is sustainable is—good on you—focusing on transparency to educate consumers while also presenting alternative brands to shop from, relative to its sustainability rating.

 

The truth about clothing sustainability is that it’s such a hard thing to achieve especially as teenagers when you are unable to have your own adult money to buy whatever you want, in which the cheapest option might just be your only one. Which is why the pieces of clothing I’ve selected are quite accessible, as well as support a decent price range, with the thought of sustainability in mind. Truth is, when it comes to good-quality clothing, sometimes a brand may not be the best in its carbon footprint but will offer some really nice clothing which will be well-stitched and use good materials in the process. Those types of clothes will be included in my review as part of trying to build a more sustainably friendly wardrobe with the target audience in mind. 

 

Some of the brands that I recommend checking out for winter essentials that are on the sustainable side include Uniqlo for most basics, which aren’t limited to cardigans, jackets, and their wide selection of pants. In addition, Honest Basics offers basic tees, tops, and pants that are quality for a satisfactory price. Whilst searching multiple brands, they best suit the category of clothes you might need this winter. 

 

Uniqlo isn’t greatly sustainable and can do more to be sustainable, but is able to provide quality in specific pieces despite the elevated prices. Uniqlo follows trends, especially with graphic tees and cargos and parachute pants but they do offer a large collection of basics that rotate through the seasons. Uniqlo markets itself as a practical everyday brand. Their pieces are functional and definitely have a charm to them. The majority of their apparel is fully composed of organic cotton, silk, cashmere, or wool, which tend to be pricier. Last but not least, Honest Basics is a sustainable clothing brand that offers basics that can be used to layer clothes in the winter. They specialize in organic cotton and do not follow trends.