From the transition from Junior High to High School, I’ve changed so much and in so many aspects of my life. My attitudes and beliefs changed most of all, and that has in turn influenced the way I live my life, including my choices about fashion. Fashion has become so much more to me than just putting clothes that I like on my body; it is a form of self-expression, and how I choose what I put on has come to reflect my changed — and changing — worldview.
Throughout my Grade 7-9 days, my closet comprise of items never more than $20. Thinking back, many of the articles I purchased didn’t reflect my actual taste in fashion, but were merely pieces that I thought were nice and were also cheap. That resulted in half my closet being a graveyard of clothes that I wore only a few times and never touched again. I would go shopping often, and come back thinking I had snatched up bargain deals on the cheap items that I bought. What I didn’t realize was that the costs of the items I was buying were racking up, and the value I was getting out of the clothes wasn’t helping either.
As I began to be exposed to more classy and high-end lifestyles of others in High School and of what I saw on social media, I started to reevaluate my choices. I realized that I was more rewarding for myself and also more proactive of me to splurge on only a few essentials, quality articles, and items that I really, REALLY, liked and that I knew I would wear for a long time instead of what I was doing before. Even though this method may be more expensive up front, in the long-run it has definitely saved my major $$$. Now, even though I may have less articles in my closet, I have pieces that allow me to mix-and-match to form many different outfits. Even better yet, I can definitely imagine myself taking most of my closet with me to university next year. When I go into my closet now, I find myself surrounded by pieces that I genuinely like. This is the baseline philosophy that has spawned the “capsule closet” trend, in people have ditched their unnecessary clothes in favour of 30-40 versatile and quality pieces instead. In the end, this saves money, space, and reduces your ecological footprint. Over the next few weeks, I will be providing my tips and essentials for you to start your own capsule wardrobe and rethink your life. More to come…
Hui Wen
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