Okay, I have a question.
Why can't we wear the same clothes again and again?
You can't wear an outfit in front of the same people; you can't wear it for similar occasions.
If you're repeating it, have people forgotten about what you were wearing before you can repeat it?
How many times does it appear on your Instagram feed?
This may not be something that we do on a day-to-day basis, but it happens often enough.
Who made these rules?
AND
Why do we abide by them?
Here are a few sentences I have unfortunately uttered to myself.
- "I can't wear that because they've already seen me in it."
- "I can't wear it since I wore it last time."
- "I can't wear this because I just posted a picture in it. "
Yeah yeah, I'm sure you're guilty of this too.
Why on Earth do we do this?
The argument is :
Are you wearing the same pajamas every night? Perfectly fine.
Three days in a row wearing the same hoodie and leggings in the house? No issue at all.
But, on a night out, wear the same dress you wore two weeks ago? Definitely not.
Look, don't get me wrong. I'm all for clothes being a form of personal expression. I love dressing up and looking cute. I love posing in outfits that I've bought. I like loud; I like fancy.
But, what I don't like is heaps and heaps of clothing ending up in landfills.
As we all know by now, the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries globally.
Clothes are produced and consumed in abundance thanks to an increase in supply and demand.
To top this off, we discard our clothes before the end of their lifecycle.
That is absurd.
I don't get it though, don't we buy things because we like them and love using them? Clothes aren't any different.
The carbon footprint the clothing industry leaves behind is HUGE.
The chemicals used, the water utilized, and the questionable ethicality behind the production process - are just a few of the problems associated with the current scenario.
There seems to be this expectation that we must appear to be adorned in new clothing every time others see us.
Sounds terrible for the planet, our wallet, and our mental health.
My solution to this predicament? It's pretty simple and easy, really.
Rebel.
Normalize wearing the same shit a hundred times.
Do not conform.
Buy clothes that you can pair with many things.
Challenge yourself to style the same piece of clothing in as many ways as possible.
Get creative.
Dressing up in different clothing may be fun, but challenging yourself to look on-fleek with the same pieces of clothing is even more fun. Buy with style, utility, and functionality in mind.
Switch it up by praising outfit repeaters rather than criticising them.
Break social convention by posting the same outfit on your feed as many times as possible, as long as you love the picture.
Don't abide by rules you may have actually not signed up for.
Show people that you proudly repeat outfits. Not once, not twice, but as long as the garment permits.
I'm not exactly giving you any Nobel prize-worthy solutions to the problem. Still, it cannot be repeated enough: It's more than okay and acceptable to wear the same clothes again and again.
The planet really really really really needs this.