Relationship with your wardrobe

“Relationship with your wardrobe can tell you a lot about yourself, and it affects you more than you may realize. Your clothes speak about you before you even open your mouth.”

If you look at your wardrobe, what’s the first thought coming to your mind? Nice? Expensive? Cheap? Old? New? Modern? Old-fashioned? Valuable? Respectful? Sustainable? Colorful? Boring?

Obviously, I don’t know your answer, but I can share with you what comes to my mind looking at mine.

My wardrobe is not the biggest one, not the most expensive one, not the most fashionable one. Yet I find it powerful and meaningful.

Why powerful? Because there is a lot of leather. Why meaningful? Because there is a lot of leather! :)

I don’t want you to get bored by repeating myself about why leather is powerful; you can get it from my previous posts. But now I will talk about why it is meaningful.

Quality over Quantity

How many pieces have you had in your wardrobe for more than 10 years that you can still wear because they didn’t go out of style or become damaged by constant washing? How many pieces do you truly love and derive pleasure from wearing?

For a very long time I didn't understand fashion. When I was young my mom decided what I would wear and lay out clothes for me every morning.

As a teenager, I lacked a sense of belonging so I copied the style of girls who were cool, trying to be like them, hoping to fit somewhere. Obviously, it didn’t work out very well. I was nothing like them and my attempts to fit in their box were a waste of time and energy.

As I said in my last post, only by looking backward we can connect dots....

So by doing it, I see that my strong desire to fit in box prevented me to be truly myself. It limited my creativity and personal development. By wearing fast fashion as others, from shops which are on every corner didn't make me special, even worse, it made me invisible.

Someone can say, it is just clothes, but it is not just, it is everything!

It took me many years to find myself, my sense of belonging, to develop my style, understanding that being out of the box is much more interesting than being like anyone else.

Clothes now represent my values and who I am.

I am now seeking for things which make sense, which can stay with me for longer than just few months, which are nice and bring me pleasure. Which are valuable so they can serve more than one person. Things which are in line with what I believe and how I want to be seen.

“Any fashion garment that plays an active role within the wardrobe must connect to the wearer's current perception of themselves (Banim & Guy, 2001)”

Look at your wardrobe and think about what it represents. Is it you? Are you satisfied? What you would improve to really express yourself and your values. Are your clothes fast fashion or durable quality handmade pieces?

Is your wardrobe made from fast fashion production? What does it mean?

"Fast fashion is a design, production, and distribution method solely focused on high volumes of products. It uses trend replication and low-quality materials to create defective products to meet the growing demand."

Fast fashion creates profits for businesses and satisfy growing demand, but it also unfortunately, results in harmful impacts on the environment as well as on the employees. Experts say that fashion industry is responsible for 4 to 6% of all greenhouse emissions worldwide each year. Fast fashion especially leads to environmental pollution through overproduction and causes high carbon footprint (which contributes to global warming,) not to mention the chemicals which are used in production.

I am sure this is not the first time you’ve heard this. But if you connect it to your relationship with your wardrobe, and therefore with yourself, you may realize that this is not who you are and that fast fashion is not what you want to represent you.

I can not speak for you but I can again share my own discovery. My wardrobe is mostly filled with leather clothes. To understand why, you need to read my past posts.

I look at my wardrobe, and to me, it represents superiority, charisma, and elegance. It represents values and appreciation. But mostly it represents sustainability, stability, and caring. It represents me!

Leather goods are always in style and are the mark of a person who is steady and who values strong foundations. Leather presents a functional yet eye-catching design that will always make you fashionable.

Additionally, with the right care, it can last more than five times longer than other fabrics. Depending on how you use the product, it can last decades. When you buy a leather product you are investing in quality and often get an item that can last a lifetime.

By buying a handmade product you place value on craftsmanship. You show your ethical values and that you disagree with conditions in the fast fashion industry- underpaid employees, questionable employee exploitation, environment damaging activities, and unsafe production conditions.

You don’t need to be a fashionista to care about what’s in your wardrobe. It’s enough to care about yourself and the impact you have on the world. You don't need to be rich to buy good quality products. It's enough if to reduce quantity and focus on quality.

Honestly, how many pieces in your wardrobe are just taking the space without being worn?

Tell me what you see by looking at your wardrobe, what it represents, and where you see the potential for improvement.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

*PS: If you find out that more meaningful items are missing in your or your wardrobe, do not hesitate to check my capsule collection!* ;)