My shopping personalities, past and present.

January is a strange month. Half of us are looking for a "fresh start" and decluttering every inch of our space, and the other half are hitting the sales and buying ALL of the things. Maybe some are doing both, decluttering to make room for the new.

I used to be the sale shopper, queuing outside River Island at an ungodly hour on Boxing Day to bag myself a bargain new coat, pair of shoes, sparkly dress or whatever else was 50% off , regardless of whether I would have bought it at full price. My reality now could not be more different. For one thing, I haven't set foot in a River Island for over two years. For another, retail workers need a break, too, so Boxing Day shopping is a hard pass from me these days.

A conversation with a friend about fast fashion and YouTube hauls got me thinking about all of the shopping personalities I've had over the years, and I thought it would be fun to write about them. If you're reading this, I bet you can relate to at least a couple of them, too.

The Sustainable Shopper.
I'm going to start at the end. The reason being that if you tune out half way through, you will (hopefully) at least have read the part about sustainability, which is kind of my point here.

I consider myself to be a pretty conscious shopper. I make about 80% of my purchases second hand. Whether it's clothes, electricals, furniture or other homeware, I try my hardest to find a (quality) second hand option first. My Levi's jacket was a £20 Depop bargain, and my phone is refurbished, as is our KitchenAid blender. Sometimes, this just doesn't work though. I've been trying for two months to find the perfect frame for my gorgeous new print, and ended up buying it from Ikea. I'm not going to punish myself for it, because I tried hard to find a pre-loved one. Other times, I just don't want to buy second hand (obvious exceptions are underwear/tights, towels, bed sheets..) but I do try my hardest to find an environmentally conscious product that I can afford instead (my student loan doesn't exactly allow for many big ticket items).

Sustainable shopping looks different for each person, though, and there is no one right way to do it. Everyone tackles it a little differently. Some may shop exclusively with small or local businesses, others will only buy from sustainable brands. Second hand shopping, no-buy years, rental services, clothes swaps.. there are so many ways to make your wardrobe more sustainable.

One of my absolute favourite accounts on Instagram is Tess Montgomery, an incredibly chic ex-shopaholic who has changed her ways and is now curating a beautiful wardrobe with "one item a month". Tess is a huge advocate for considering the cost per wear of your clothes and accessories, and promotes shopping with retailers such as Poshmark for high-end, pre-loved pieces. Check her out for her ingenious outfit hacks, monthly luxury purchases and styling videos that prove how versatile a smaller wardrobe can be.

Another favourite of mine is themonicaway. Monica is a BIG charity shop lover, much like myself, and always seems to find absolute gems that look effortlessly stylish. Monica buys mostly second hand from what I can gather, but chooses to invest in designer accessories that will last a lifetime over cheap, fast fashion options that inevitably fall apart. If you're a fan of monochrome, thrifting, down to earth Insta stories about literally everything or designer bags, she's your girl.

It's worth mentioning here that while I don't condone purchasing new leather products as a vegan, buying a luxury item over a cheap, high-street option is far more sustainable, so it depends on the angle you're coming at this from. Obviously, the upfront cost of a luxury bag or belt is a barrier for many (myself included), but these ladies tackle this in different ways. Tess only makes one purchase a month, and really focusses on the cost-per-wear of her wardrobe, leaving room in the budget for those designer pieces. Monica shops second hand and saves save saves for her big purchases. 

Finally, as I wrap up the sustainable shopper portion of this post, I need to mention Jessica Rose Williams. Colour me OBSESSED. Her videos are one of the things that inspired me to come back and start writing about my attempt at a more intentional life. She has a stunning capsule wardrobe, cute dog and beautiful minimalist home, and she talks so openly about her slower life. I have been back-watching her videos so much over Christmas and feel so inspired by her. She has recently gotten a book deal and I can't wait to read whatever she writes later in the year.

My not-so-sustainable past.
So, that's where I am now, but what about those 16-ish years of shopping that I did before waking up to the realisation that over-consumption isn't the way forward? I find it quite painful to think of all the money I've spent on outfits I thought I liked but didn't, and I can't be the only one.

The "any occasion" shopper:
We've all done this.

NYE = new dress.
Christmas day = new dress.
Wedding = new dress.
Birthday = new dress.
Some else's birthday = new dress.
Date night = new dress.
Holiday = whole new summer wardrobe.

It doesn't really need any explanation. Any occasion, special or not, called for new clothes. Outfit repeating has become "shameful" which honestly baffles me, until I think back to my teenage years when I couldn't wear the same dress for two nights out in case someone noticed. I am so thrilled to see outfit repeating trending on social media now and if you really can't face wearing the same dress to two weddings in a year, consider renting one for a couple of days. It's cheaper than buying a new one, so if you're not likely to wear what you buy again anyway, it could work in your favour.

The hauler:
Probably the shopping phase I feel the most negative about. I would buy buy buy as much as I could, as cheaply as I could. I remember my first ever trip to Primark so clearly. I almost couldn't contain myself and dragged one of those massive shopping baskets to the till, hardly able to carry it it was so full. The idea of doing this now is so alien to me but it seemed so normal at the time. Every time I see a vlogger post a fast-fashion haul now my heart sinks. The impact that fast fashion is having on the planet and the people that make those clothes is unforgiveable and NOBODY needs that much stuff. Buying cheap clothes out of necessity is one thing, but promoting over-consumption on that level is so incredibly unnecessary.

The "it's expensive but it will impress (insert name here)" shopper:
I'm not going to dwell on this one too much but this stemmed from major insecurities about how I looked, whether people liked me etc. I would spend my money on expensive things I couldn't afford and that I wasn't even sure I liked, to impress people I either thought I liked, or secretly knew I didn't like but "had to". Tragic, but what can you do.

"But it looks so good on them":
If you haven't bought something because an influencer or model looked unreal in it are you even on Instagram? We know that 99% of the time it's all angles/lighting/sucking in/popping out/pinning back, but we fall for it anyway. Because I rarely buy anything new-new now, I don't tend to get sucked into the "swipe up" black hole but this is getting increasingly harder with the emergence of so many new sustainability focussed brands.

Impulse thrifter:
On the surface, this doesn't seem so bad. However, when you're walking into charity shops (or logging into Depop) on a weekly basis and buying anything you like the look of, with no intentionality behind it, it might be a problem. Charity shops are amazing for so many reasons; you're supporting a good cause, giving items a second chance, helping the planet, finding unique pieces.. but you're still consuming and accumulating "stuff". If you're not buying with intention, the chances are your wardrobe is full of things you don't wear regularly or don't go with anything else you own. That was me not so long ago. Instead, I now make a list of the gaps I have in my wardrobe, and go thrifting with the intention to buy only those items. It might sound like it takes all the fun out of it, but it also means my wardrobe works for me now and isn't a cause of stress anymore.

And that's it. My shopping history. A long post, so if you got this far, well done (and thank you).
I truly hope that at least one person reads this and is inspired to make a positive change to their shopping habits. Everyone is at a different point in their sustainability journey but your wardrobe is one of the easiest, most impactful and most satisfying places to start.

I would absolutely love to hear about your sustainable shopping habits (or dark shopping history) so leave a comment or come and say hi on Instagram!

Happy New Year!
Jen xo