By Emma Wright

Let’s start with the inspiration. Once or twice a year, it felt like I was getting fed up with everything in my closet and purging out the things I didn’t wear anymore. Also once or twice a year, it seemed like I would come home (or find on my doorstep) an armful of bold, new clothing items from trendy, but cheap, retail outlets. Sounding familiar? 

I would be surprised if it didn’t. Fast fashion — the term used to describe an industry with low prices and quick trend turnarounds — was a 36 billion dollar industry in 2019, and the nature of the business encourages consumers to continually buy more. Think of companies like Forever 21, Nasty Gal, H&M, Fashion Nova, Zara and so on. The clothing is mass-produced, doesn’t last long in terms of wear, and is quickly replaced. What happens to the overstocked clothing in stores and in closets is another animal entirely — U.S. landfills acquire around 85% of unwanted textiles annually. Clearly, we have a problem. 

I’ve been moved by the growing statistics for some time now, and have been wondering what I could really do about this on a consumer level. So, at the beginning of the year, I challenged myself to thrift all of the clothing I wanted or needed before turning to major retailers — and I have to say, now that the year is coming to a close, I’m pretty impressed with myself. I ended up so intrigued with my own challenge that I extended it to other areas of my life, including decorative pieces and furniture. Here’s what I ended up with:

A gorgeous, very ’70s glass end table for my bedroom. Madewell flares jeans in great condition for only $17. A vintage Oscar de la Renta gold chain necklace. The most adorable turmeric-yellow coat with a fuzzy interior that I get at least one compliment on every time I wear it. A queen size platform bed frame, handmade by someone in my area who couldn’t take it with them on a cross-country move. An actual bridal gown that I scored for $20 at the Goodwill and turned into a Corpse Bride costume for Halloween. The most intricate woven basket I keep fruits in on my kitchen counter for $1.99. I also ended up with a handful of adorable and functional sweaters (some vintage, some not), a pair of very comfortable and flowy pants, a few pairs of jeans to get me through the winter, and last, but surely not least — I thrifted a bridesmaid dress to wear to my friend’s wedding in Costa Rica this past February. Boom. 

Technically, I didn’t even spend a dime for the bridesmaid dress; I took some of my own clothes to Plato’s Closet to sell, and the price of the dress was less than the money I received for a few articles of clothing. So I left the store with $4 extra that day and had my mom fix the hem of the dress to better suit a beach wedding. Obviously, that dress is something I’ll wear very rarely, but all of the other pieces in my closet or decorating my bedroom are more exciting, they have a bit of a story, and they’re going to last me more than one year. I also spent significantly less on clothing than I would have if I got any of these items from popular retail outlets — even the cheaper sites like Shien or Nasty Gal (yeah the clothes are 60% off, but aren’t they always?). 

Now, I didn’t execute my challenge perfectly. I still ended up with a few things that didn’t come secondhand, but I made it a mission to source them as ethically as possible:

Workout shorts from Wolven and a sports bra from Girlfriend Collective — both companies that source from sustainable and recyclable materials — as a gift to myself for becoming a certified Pure Barre instructor in May. Also from Girlfriend, I got some exceptionally comfortable underwear and socks (I wasn’t sure I wanted to look for my socks and underwear at thrift stores, and I was in desperate need of a refresher). I also purchased a pair of Adidas and a pair of Sketchers sneakers to wear to my other job as a server at a restaurant. Having the right shoe is critical when you’re working fast on your feet for 8 hours, and I couldn’t find anything while I was thrifting that still had enough of a sole to make it worth my while. Lastly, I bought a shiny new pair of black Doc Martens. Now, hear me out — I have been dreaming of a pair for years, and no matter how detailed my dream was of finding the perfect pair hidden at the Goodwill, my dream never came true. So, I bit the bullet and bought myself a brand new pair. I don’t regret it one bit. 

When I began this challenge, I thought I would be counting down the minutes until 2021, when I could go shopping like “normal” and find exactly what I was looking for. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I have every intention to keep this mindset with me in years to come because I legitimately had so much fun with this project. I found pieces that have a bit of a story to them, will last me longer than a season and were more sustainable. I also truthfully just love the way my closet looks — it’s more interesting than it’s ever been. So although I won’t be stopping myself from buying something “new” in the future, I do know that I’ll be utilizing other avenues first. 

(For more on the fast-fashion crisis, here is a 2019 publication from the U.K. House of Commons outlining detailed statistics, studies, and recommendations.)

Emma is a lifestyle writer for La Tonique.