The Conscious Closet: The Ultimate Guide for Ethical Fashion Fans [PART TWO]

Table of Contents

Welcome back to Style Files’ series on The Conscious Closet. The book so fantastic it deserves multiple posts!

In this series we take what we learned from The Conscious Closet and pass it onto you. In the last installment, you learned how to embark on this fashion journey.

You learned what a conscious closet is and how it differs from your current closet. You learned what to do with clothes that are no longer serving you. And you learned how to dive a little deeper into defining your personal style.

(Although finding your personal style requires years of practice and intention. Expect another series on that later!)

In the second part of our Conscious Closet unpacking, we’ll get into how to buy quality clothes that last. We’ll also cover sustainable ways to stay in the latest styles.

How to Know You’re Buying Quality Clothes

The only way to recognize quality is to be exposed to it. This takes a lot of time. And practice.

But don’t overwhelm yourself with that yet. Instead, first look for quality in your own closet. Which clothes have remained intact and flattering? Which fabrics are those garments made of?

Do the same in the closets of other people you trust. Check out an older relative’s closet, for example. Which of their clothes lasted longest? Why?

Clothes were much less accessible generations ago than they are now. And they were often custom-made. This almost guarantees their quality to be superior to most garments available now.

Pay attention to more than just the fabric of the garment. Note its cut, how it lies on your body and how it feels. The mark of good clothing design is how the garment is constructed.

If it flatters you, is shaped well, and feels soft; chances are it’s a high quality garment. If it’s boxy or otherwise unflattering and feels thin, rough or itchy; chances are it won’t last long.

Once again, distinguishing quality garments from their evil twins takes time and practice. So explore your closet and others, go to luxury stores and high-end consignment shops.

These places will have quality garments for you to try on. It’s okay to shop there even if you don’t plan on buying anything! You’re there for valuable research. Your conscious closet depends on it!

The Problem with Fast Fashion

As you know, there are a lot of problems with fast fashion. Its massive profits are on the backs of unpaid and poorly treated workers. It contributes to a staggering amount of water pollution, carbon emissions and water waste.

Unsplash Water Pollution — Image courtesy of unsplash.com

One of its gravest characteristics is self-explanatory: its fast nature. With fast fashion, a garment is made of cheap material that is intended to be thrown away almost as quickly as its purchased.

They do this to stay on top of ”trends”. Fast fashion companies’ purpose isn’t to make closet essentials. Instead, they offer cheap imitations of other designers’ works. They create a lot of cheap clothes and sell them for cheap.

That way, people keep buying. A fast fashion garment is cheap plus other fast fashion clothes in your closet need to be replaced immediately anyway due to their cheap construction! It’s an endless, destructive cycle called fast fashion.

The Conscious Closet pushes back on the propaganda of fast fashion. It calls instead for intentional fashion choices that speak to our values.

Along with base values of ethical manufacturing and sustainable materials, our styling values must also be defined. Doing so will lead you to your Fashion Personality Type; a helpful guide on your conscious closet journey.

What’s My Fashion Personality Type?

In the beginning of The Conscious Closet, Cline offers 3 fashion personality types. There’s The Minimalists, The Style Seekers, and The Traditionalists.

The Minimalists: Classic-style shoppers who have a highly edited wardrobe. They lean toward pieces that will last them for years.

The Style Seekers (AKA The Maximalists): Opposites to Minimalists. Style Seekers love trends and expressing themselves through their clothes. Their closets are a hodge podge of colors, patterns and styles.

The Traditionalists: A combination of Minimalist and Style Seeker. Traditionalists’ closets have plenty of classic pieces along with statements. They add a few new items each season to stay on trend.

Woman clothes shopping at a bazar with a Ferrari jacket on display

You can be a little more Minimalist than Style Seeker, but still have that trendy side in you. You can hop from one end of the spectrum to the other as well.

I’m not one for putting people into strict categories. Luckily, that isn’t the purpose of defining your Fashion Personality Type either.

Its intent is to define your purpose in your conscious closet journey. Are you a Minimalist who wants to work more trendy pieces into your wardrobe? Or maybe you’re a Style Seeker who doesn’t know how to buy clothes that last.

Knowing how you tend to behave in relation to your fashion buying habits is helpful to keep you focused. And to help you act with intention.

With that in mind, use your Fashion Personality Type as a loose guide. It will help you stay on course to clean up your closet. And replace it with something a little more conscious!

Now that you know your style preferences, let’s get into how to keep up with them sustainably.

How to Stay in Style Sustainably

Whether you’re a Minimalist, Style Seeker or Traditionalist, everyone wants to be trendy. Every season there will be pieces that catch your eye. And that’s okay!

Fashion is about risk and expression. The goal is to satisfy your fashion cravings in the least harmful way possible. And The Conscious Closet offers plenty solutions!

Rent your wardrobe: This may be my favorite option. Rent The Runway is the world-renowned brand that started it all. With Rent The Runway you can rent designer clothes. Then when you’re finished with them, you return them! It’s the perfect way to shop for weddings (As guest or bride!), vacations, meetings, and other special events. Basically, any event where you’ll rarely wear this piece again. Nuuly is another great service that offers luxury clothes rentals. By renting luxury apparel you can stay on trend without the waste! And you get the added bonus of being exposed to fantastic brands for cheap!

Clothing swaps: If you have some clothes you’d like to get rid of, this option is for you. A clothing swap is a usually large event where people bring their unwanted garments and swap them with other peoples’! These events happen all over the country and are usually organized independently. There is no official clothing swap organization (yet…). This option is the best if you’re tired of your clothes and are on the hunt for trendier items. All it takes to stay on trend is a conversation with a likeminded swapper!

Consignment / Thrift Stores: Similar to the clothing swap, consignment / thrift stores have a ”give a little to get a little” appeal. But, you can look at them from multiple angles. You can put your clothes on sale and use that money to buy from a consignment / thrift store. Or you can shop at consignment / thrift stores for essential wardrobe pieces. With the second approach you don’t necessarily have to sell something of yours to benefit. You can still shop consciously by buying secondhand. Plus the quality of the garments will be high!

In-house resale programs: Seek out brands that offer their own resale or buy-back programs. This is the mark of a conscious brand since it aims to extend the lifespan of its garments. Brands like Tonlé, Eileen Fisher, and Patagonia offer in-house resale programs. They take back their clothes, repair them if needed and sell them again at discounted rates. Buying from their resale marketplaces or swapping some of your own garments in exchange is the perfect way to stay in style sustainably!

Buying Better is Essential

To be a conscious shopper we must change our shopping habits. We have to reject fast fashion ideals of more, more, more. Preferring instead better, better, better!

The Conscious Closet tells us to buy better clothes and make them last. Buy less frequently from better brands then swap them. Stay on trend sustainably by renting high quality items rather than buying them and only wearing them a few times.

Now we know what to buy and how best to buy it. In the next and final post of our Conscious Closet series we will look at how to support ethical brands. We will share resources, suggest companies and offer actionable steps to help you become a more conscious shopper!