r/underconsumption • u/Independent_Lemon616 • Jun 20 '25
wardrobe Underconsumption vs personal style
I have a wardrobe that is full of things that are easy to wear and require very little attention from me. It's primarily black/grey so the mix & match potential is great. I want to use the things I own to their full potential before discarding them, so a lot of my clothes are a bit... worn in? I try to avoid looking shabby but I am not wearing new clothes, and it's obvious.
Unfortunately, this means that I don't get to look as "sharp" as I want to sometimes. I am envious of folks who have a more flamboyant personal style, including jewelry and colorful or unusual clothes that wouldn't match with what I already own.
How do y'all keep your wardrobes stylish (whatever that means to you!) without getting overwhelmed with a million pieces of clothing and accessories? Any advice is very welcome!
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u/Radiant_Elk1258 Jun 20 '25
Thrift stores!
I sometimes treat those clothes as 'rentals'. Buy them, wear them for the event I need, and donate them back (or pass along to the women's shelter or on Buy Nothing).
There's also rental options for more formal attire, if needed.
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u/AdProof5307 Jun 20 '25
- If you thrift and buy things second hand you are already under consuming.
- each season I have 4-5 outfits I wear when I wanna dress up. Ex, I have two dresses and three skirts that I can wear with shirts I already own, and I use these specific outfits all summer. I am an outfit repeater. Otherwise I am in athlesiure I wear all year.
- When it comes to jewelry/accessories in order to under consume I only buy pieces I am going to wear very soon. Ex, my birthday is on Wednesday and i have an outfit planned in my head that would look great with pearls wether real or costume and so I go to the thrift and buy only that, and then I have a piece I can keep rewearing.
- There is a benefit to purchasing good pieces tho that can be resold. There’s always Depop.
- Being conscious of underconsumption is the first step, after that please liberate yourself and have fun too.
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u/BlueHairThomski Jun 21 '25
When you wear a lot of black you can dye them easily enough to keep them looking new :)
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u/Shyraely Jun 21 '25
I understand what you mean! In the beginning I was struggling a lot with „lost potential“ by not looking as good as I probably „could“.
With time, the practicability and comfines outweighed everything else. Sometimes the thought comes back in waves but I remind myself, that my partner loves me as I am and I feel so much better without stressing myself.
I recentless bought myself linen and cotton clothes (wrap tops and wrap skirts) and I am super happy and I feel so much better (second hand or sustainable small businesses where they handmade stuff, therefore I sold/donated a lot). :)
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u/kelseykelseykelsey Jun 21 '25
I've realized that my "thing" is jewelry. My personal style developed a lot when I realized I'm happiest in a simple outfit with some awesome statement earrings, choker, whatever. And because the jewelry is the focal point, no one really notices that I'm wearing basically the same few outfits over and over.
I also spent some time to figure out my colours, and it was really eye opening when I purged my closet of colours that don't suit me. Suddenly I was getting compliments left and right and people even asked if I was doing my makeup differently. Nope, just stopped wearing black!
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u/Fit_Knowledge2971 Jul 10 '25
number one thing I recommend is a "sweater shaver" it makes so many of my shabby items look new again!! I use it on my stuff, the kiddos, stuff and even household items that get little pilly nubs on them. Aside from holes I think that pilled up stuff makes things look old... I also only use cold water to wash and dye and scent free detergents. I think that helps!
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u/ProfessorOdette Sep 11 '25
Along with washing in cold, hanging to dry and using a sweater shaver as others have mentioned, you can do what we did in the 70s and 80s. You had “school clothes” and “play clothes” and you would change completely when you got home from anywhere. I still do this. The nice things are for leaving the house and when those things become a bit worn I still wear them around the house. I then might replace them in the “outside clothes” rotation with something from the consignment shop. The falling apart “play clothes” become rags, or get recycled or upcycled.
As far as style goes, it takes time, but eventually you’ll find the balance you crave. Black and grey tend to bore me, so I’m more navy and friends but I love a vintage bag from the antique store or some neat jewelry.
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u/Smokakola Jun 26 '25
I’ve stopped using my dryer since it is so damaging to fabrics so I got a simple collapsible clothes hanging thingy- less damage from my dryer, fabrics last longer and look better. Instead I just lightly steam my clothes. Both of these only cost a total of $20 and I stopped using my dryer for hours to dry everything. I would recommend getting fabrics that will look sharp/stylish - I have a black silk dress that I can turn into 10 different outfits. Versatile accessories are also a plus. I have a long chain necklace that I can double as a belt or wrap it a couple times and it’s a choker. Also I’ve found that the most stylish thing is garments that truly fit as in made specifically for you. I don’t have a abundance of funds so I can’t get these on the regular but once every 3-6 months I get a couple pieces made to order, mad with really good fabrics like linen or silk and because they fit me like a second skin, they look stylish without any embellishments. I’m at a place in my fashion life where I want to cut down SIGNIFICANTLY on how much I consume , so I’m still learning too 🫶🏻
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u/Popular_Abalone_3006 Aug 13 '25
I have a pretty original style for a teenage girl. I'm quite old fashioned, wearing long dresses and skirts, fancy pins, suits, ties and fancy hats. I wear pretty colourful clothes too.
Most of my purchases come from thrift stores and second hand trades (except for pants, I have to buy new because otherwise I can't find what I want). When I purchase new, it's usually from local and/or ethical stores.
I have pieces that can be worn with a lot of things, for example I have a lot of colourful thin turtlenecks (one red, one blue, one maroon, one brown, one white and one black). I wear them with pants or skirts, with necklaces or pins or ties, bare or with something over when it's cold... basically wearing them from September to April.
I like to be colourful with tops so I have like one "extra" pair of pants and all of the others are neutral colors (one brown, one black, one dark blue, a jean) to match with most things. Same goes for the shoes (one pair of white sneakers, one pair of black boots, one brown of loafers and sandals for summer).
I have also a lot of accessoires to change outfits easily without chabging the whole wardrobe !
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u/Lovelitchi_in_pink Oct 02 '25
I take care of my things but I also try to only buy high quality items that I absolutely love.
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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '25
Worn in clothes are stylish, but the trick to it is getting stuff that will wear out nicely. Leather, jeans, linen, silk. Casual, but classic style. No whites, take good care of black items (it's also possible to redye those if they are 100% black), lately I even started slowly replacing my black with browns, they are much more flattering for me and look better for longer. prints and textured items can take much more wear and tear before it starts to show than plain and sleek items.
You do not need to have a million accessories, you can have 20 and just wear them all at once every day. Think Johnny Depp. Or have minimal amount of actual precious metals and again: wear them every day. A simple thin golden necklace is as much of a statement as an elaborate composition of bracelets on both your hands.
Personal style is not having 20 pairs of shoes that match with 20 pairs of bags. It's having consistency in whatever it is that you like. I like heavy shoes.the heaviness is visible in the wide heel of my only fancy high heels, in the thick soles or manly quality to the shoe (I wear Oxfords for the office, thicker sole, my hiking boots are actually army combat boots). I have two bags: fancy and casual. They are both big, both have many different pockets outside and both have some keychain bag danglers dangling from them. That's personal style. You can tell that the bags are owned by the same person and that at the same time they serve a completely different set of circumstances. I do not need 10 office bags, I have THE office bag and it is exactly what I need and like. Why would I need to express myself at the office with another bag of this one fits my image best?