The relationship between sustainability and fashion has become an increasingly complex one, thus leaving consumers with a daunting feeling about knowing how to start shopping with a more ethical mindset and practice.
Interpreting your own thoughts about what is sustainable has become clouded by the greenwashing narrative of the high street - and even some of our favourite designers. There is continuous pressure to buy into trends and fads that can leave you lost with no direction on where to even start to find a trusted style that works for you. And because there are ever-changing trends across several seasons in the fashion calendar, we’re led to believe we must consistently change ourselves, leaving you and your wardrobe feeling inadequate and outdated.
Yet style and clothing should come with the feeling of longevity. Not only are you investing in those timeless items that will upstand in your wardrobe for years to come, but you are investing in yourself, in your own identity, and we believe that is the difference between “slow fashion” and “fast fashion”. It’s also about knowing where to invest your money to honour yourself and your message.
However, there’s an ideology that anything sustainable comes with a high price tag, and that isn’t always the case. Living in a world where thousands of new pieces land in-store and online each week, with most costing less than £20 or £30, shopping sustainably can look costly to begin with. However, ethically made clothes have become more accessible thanks to demand and new technologies, so the spectrum of brands and affordability have become considerably more inclusive. For instance, many brands offer considerably modest prices (Omnes, Unfolded, Nobody’s Child), but some come with a premium price you’ll have to invest in (Pangaia, Everlane, Baukjen, Reformation). There are also resources from Fashion Revolution, The Good Shopping Guide and Ethical Consumer on which brands are better to shop at. This all means that whilst we are used to low prices, shopping sustainably will ultimately cost more because there is a preference for quality over quantity, for better produced materials that offer a longer life span and pay garment workers a fair wage.
This notion delivers a mantra that we need to be “buying better and buying less”, as this mindset will result in buying something you’ll wear for years to come and overall reducing the cost per wear. Affordability can change in scale of importance depending on the person, but it’s about changing your shopping habits and adopting your own method of this mentality. The best way to start is by looking at your own wardrobe and shopping from it. Or even trying out Vinted, Depop or charity shops for new pieces. Even better, try a clothes swap shop with your friends or rent pieces for that special occasion from rental apps like ByRotation or HURR.
This is where House of Colour can also come to your aid as we give you the first steps to buying better with our Colour Analysis and Style sessions. These will be your foundations for a sustainable fashion future.
We believe in investing in quality from the inside out, so you have a better ethos when it comes to shopping and so you can dress for yourself. Once you know your optimal colours, those that’ll work from head to toe either together or just a glimpse, and your clothing personality and what silhouettes will work for your body geometrics, you can begin to shop with the knowledge that what you’re investing in will be a valuable addition to your wardrobe, your purse and YOU! Plus, everything you have in your wardrobe thereafter can be effortlessly worn together. So whilst you may have a smaller wardrobe you'll have an abundance of outfits choices.
To embrace slow, sustainable fashion, it has to be accessible to you and your lifestyle. To curate a wardrobe you feel confident and individual in whilst reducing the impact your fashion choices have on the planet. This is why we offer MyHoCLookBook, which is available to all colour analysis and style clients after an appointment with a local House of Colour consultant.
