LAST YEAR’S BAG IS FINE, I PROMISE

It would be incredibly difficult to write about all of the issues with fast fashion, tiktok trends and social media in one short article, but here’s my 2 cents on the normalisation of fashion micro trends and overconsumption (and a little bit of advice on how to avoid it!)

Tiktok likes to make everything a trend, and you now have people aestheticising “overconsumption core”, “underconsumption core” and even “normal consumption core” and we need to realise how odd it is to make everything a “core” nowadays. With tiktok trends changing every week, it is hard to keep up with all of the fads, new aesthetics or “must haves” for your wardrobe or room decor, and with the world as big and wide as it is, why are we worrying about things like skinny jeans coming back into fashion as if it’s a crime? No one is going to force you to wear them – you’ll be just fine.

In more recent months with the rise of tiktok shop, influencers have started advertising that “you need this new bag from tiktok shop that costs less than your coffee!”. Social media is so quick, and attention spans so small that no one seems to sit back and question why and how the bag costs less than the price of a coffee, or scroll away without realising that influencers are making tens or hundreds of these videos, where each time the product that they advertise is often never seen again on their page, chucked away somewhere, having just been a money grab for commission.

Influencer culture has normalised some pretty worrying outlooks on life, and it’s time that we take a step back and realise this. Why are we always asking other people: “what shoes are we wearing this winter?” or, “are ballet flats still in this spring?”. You can wear whatever shoes you want this winter, and if you like how your ballet flats look, wear them this spring. The need for validation and encouragement of excess consumption egged on by strangers on the internet is more concerning than people are realising, and once you unsubscribe from this notion of thinking, it is so freeing. Your bank account will thank you for it too! 

To avoid overconsumption, before you buy something, jot it down in your notes app on a wish list, and only allow yourself to buy it if you still want it in three weeks. Before you buy that ‘cute new top’ on Shein, see if you can find something similar on vinted or depop, or already in your wardrobe. Before you buy that new trending water bottle (why are water bottles even trendy anyway??) check to see if you’ve got one that works fine already somewhere in your house, because I promise you, no one that matters is going to judge you for the water bottle you drink out of.

By no means am I criticising you for buying that nice jumper you’ve had your eye on once your pay check comes in, or getting a new Longchamp uni bag when the straps on your old one have broken, and if you’re swapping out single use plastic bottles for a pretty and sustainable one, I’m all in favour, but I think we all need to be a bit more conscious of the narratives and trends that we both physically and mentally buy into. This is your sign to stop swearing by ‘this is your sign’ tiktoks; it’s ok to think for yourself and have opinions that don’t align with the newest trends, or most trending influencer.

I’m getting sick of the “girlies what bag are we using this fall” all over social media. Last year’s bag is just fine, I promise.

• consumption
• fashion
• shopping
• style