“I Did a No-Buy Month and This is What I Learned”
If you’ve been following Sustainable Baddie, or my personal page @thatcurlytop, you’d know that slowing down our consumption of clothing is the easiest and most effective way to participate in sustainable fashion.
But capitalism has some hands and applying this way of thinking can be a bit of a struggle.
So, back in April I decided to a “No-Buy” month and refrained from buying new or thrifted clothing, and declining gifted pieces (boujie I know) in an effort to slow down my buying habits. April has since passed, and here’s what I discovered:
I Was Using Shopping to Cope:
With moving into a new city, navigating adulthood, and the world (literally) being on fire, me being in a state of stress isn’t surprising. My typical way to escape the world is to grab a latte, listen to a podcast, and go secondhand shopping.
However with shopping taken out of the equation, I had to seek new ways to fill my dopamine tank. I started reaching out to friends more, unashamedly playing sims for hours, and picking up a book for the first time in ages. Who woulda thought?
2. The buyerarchy of needs extends beyond buying new and thrifting: This is something that would seem obvious to me, but I wasn’t really putting this into practice as much as I could have. During this time, I finally restored a broken bracelet I loved, sewed a button back onto a thrifted piece, took one of my dresses into the tailor, and was a #rewearthat queen…
3. Limitations enhance creativity: This is one of my fave phrases and is one of the ideas behind our hashtag #rewearthat. Limiting myself to what already existed in my closet made me more creative and put together outfit combinations I never thought of before. Now this is something I already try to practice but I feel like it became more of a fun challenge during this month. Like the fit below, AHHH I don’t know how I haven’t tried it before:
4. I’m more aware of what my closest actually needs: As I was putting these new fit combinations together I was able to take better inventory of what my wardrobe actually needs. For instance, I realized what really spiced up my outfits was incorporating more accessories, which is not something I’ve paid attention to previously. Also, I have a lack of pieces appropriate for the new climate I find myself in. So, for when I shop in the future I know to spend my time and energy investing in those types pieces.
5. I feel lighter: I realized that my habit of constantly adding new pieces to my wardrobe was weighing on my subconscious and making me feel pretty icky. I know that less is always best and that my habits were in contradiction to my values. Taking this time to slow down has honestly made me feel lighter.
This one month by no means has completely cured my impulse buying, but it has set me on the right track and realigned me to mindfully move forward as I shop. I truly enjoyed this “No-Buy” month and plan on doing more in the new future.