Impulse buying — we’ve all done it. You see the cutest dress and it’s so your style; I mean sure, maybe you don’t have an event to wear it to yet, but something will come up, right?
But by the time that opportunity arises, it’s not even your style anymore, and it doesn’t quite fit how you remember.
How do we keep ourselves from repeatedly making these fashion errors and stop wasting the pretty penny we rarely have in excess as college students? Here are some tips that can help.
Each and every one of us is anatomically structured differently. Consider your body’s individual points of friction and the effect it has on the comfort and durability of your clothes. No matter how cute that leather skirt is, you’re not going to want to wear it if you know you’ll be spending your whole night at the club pulling it down.
Personally, my struggle is with the inner thigh of pants, particularly skinny jeans. After a few months, the inner hem starts to wear down, eventually ripping and ending up in the Goodwill box. To keep myself from wasting $60 on a pair of Hollister skinnies, I’ve learned that investing the same amount of money on thicker denim in a mom or boyfriend-style jean adequately prevents the inevitable rips that come with chaffing — cons of being thick, I suppose.
It’s important to remember that our style evolves with us, and just like your opinions and perspectives are constantly changing with your experiences, so is your sense of fashion. It goes without saying that a lot of the pieces you used to love aren’t doing much but taking up much-needed space in your closet. Making the difficult decision to get rid of them can give you a better idea of what your current style is, or what kind of clothes you should invest more money in.
Take a look at that sweater you’ve had since high school and ask yourself why it isn’t making you a quick buck on Depop or at Plato’s Closet. Let it go, sis.
Between Instagram influencers and Tiktok ads, we’re constantly being convinced of what to wear, and it’s easy to get swept up in the trends. It’s so easy to allow the overwhelming external influences of social media to deter you from your genuine style. Remember that the celebrities we see online don’t have the same bodies or live the same lifestyles as we do, and just because it works for them doesn’t mean it’ll work for you too. But before you buy something, consider how much you actually like it, and how it’ll look on your specific body. Forget the fads — just ask yourself, are they you enough to buy?
No matter what you wear, let’s not lose sight of the whole point of fashion: to make you feel beautiful! Nothing boosts your confidence more than going out looking your best, and when shopping for fashion, this is what should be at the forefront of our minds. As long as you feel like your authentic self, it’s always worth the investment.