So, you’re young, wild and free. You’re in your early twenties, still studying or at least still not having a proper job with a stable salary. You like to do things, a lot of things. You like shopping and travelling and you have lots of energy. So why talk about building a wardrobe? You want to be cool and you want to wear extravagante clothing. So please, can no one bore you with organic and fair clothing, because “CARE”?!

Building a wardrobe, how?

Okay, take a moment to pause here.

Do you really not care? Because probably you do. Why else would you buy so much clothing in 1001 different styles and clothing? Probably are you trying to invent yourself and to identify your own style. That’s okay. This will take time; you need to find out what you really like and what you’re going to wear often. And it’s okay to make mistakes, we are all human.

But how can you build a wardrobe, find your style and do this in an ethical way? I have some styling tips for you, learnt by my own mistakes.

Wardrobe tips:

1. Define your colours. So what are you favourite colours to wear? And does this really match your hair and skin tone? For example: I’m a blonde and yellow is really a no go for me. Another example: if you have a lot of red in your closet, but never wear it, it’s probably not your colour.
2. Define your fit. Do you like tight or wide clothing? Or do you like to mix it up? For example: do you have small shoulders and wider hips? Try to wear an off-shoulder blouse, so it’ll equal this.
3. Keep is simple. When in doubt: keep it clean. Simplicity is often underestimated and might sound boring, but this is the key to look timeless and classy. You can create an effortless look with just a white tee on jeans.

When you got to used to look for those criteria before adopting a piece, it’ll be much easier to find items you’ll wear a lot. But still, you’ll probably make some mistakes. In order make this journey towards your own style more ethical, there are many options.

Slow fashion no/consumption tips

1. Try to organise a swap party. Here you can give your unloved or bought-by-a-mistake items a second chance to friends and family. You can swap the items you don’t wear to items from a friend. Take in mind the first two questions, so you don’t end up with bags full of clothing you won’t wear either. 😉
2. Try to go thrift shopping. Before buying anything new, go have a look at local thrift stores. You will be surprised by all the treasures you can find here. The preloved clothes are most of the time still in a good condition and are sold at very affordable prices. Here you’ll find some tips on how to successfully thrift.
3. Look for local sewing initiatives. This might be hard in some areas and this might be expensive. But you’ll be sure to have a unique piece. You can join a sewing group, to make items yourself, or you can look for those groups and ask if they’d like to make something for you. When this isn’t possible, you can learn to sew with YouTube!

So as you can read, you do not have to shop fast fashion to create your own style. And you also don’t have to spend much money on fair fashion, because this can be expensive without a salary. There are so many alternative ways to consume slow fashion! There are so many alternative ways to be building your wardrobe.

And keep in mind, it’s more expensive to buy a lot of clothes you won’t wear, than spending a lot at once on a piece of clothing you’ll wear 365 days a year for the following 6 years!