My Fashion Needs & Consumption

In this post, I will try to write about my fashion needs and consumption patterns in context of our social responsibility towards our environment and ecological surroundings. I have always been fascinated by glamour from my childhood. Having and wearing latest trending clothes and accessories was somehting I always enjoyed but until recently I never stopped and thought how this could affect my environment.

I have always enjoyed newness in everything around me. I am a person that generally gets bored by monotonicity - be it food, clothes, places to go. I guess it is result of the environment and culture I grew up in. Social status has always been a key part of my life and sense of achievement because of the city I grew up in - Ludhiana. It is one of the hubs of fast fashion in India in terms of apparels. I have always seen kids and adults around me engaging themselves in fast fashion. That led to me living the kind of lifestyle I live today, trying to find newness in everything.

I am a perfect example of what fast fashion is. I cannot wait to wear new clothes the day I buy them, quickly forgetting about anything I bought before that. Of course, this was also supported by the financial conditions of my family because of which I was never stopped to live my life like this. Another factor being a girl child in a typical Punjabi North Indian family where parents don't say no to a lot of things because of the whole "Ladkiyan to parayi hoti hain" concept. I have always wanted to shop for new clothes and new accessories from jewellery to shoes to hair accessories almost every week. This is not to say that I wear only new stuff everyday. I do wear each dress about 5-6 times overall, which I realize now, is nothing to be proud of.

Thankfully, I have also grew up in a culture where we don't like to waste things. I have always tried to pass on things to other needy people if I know I am not going to use it for any reason. I never waste food, try to pass on clothes to any needy poor people around me be it maids at or around my house or any other needy people. At times, it has been difficult for me to part with certain items that were dear to me but over the time, I have come to realize that it is better for soemthing to be used any person in this world than it to lie idle in my closet.

"Buy only when you need to, not when you want to"

Also, thankfully, I have been married into a family where my fast fashion has slowed a bit. My husband has always taught me to not waste money and not go on a spending spree on things we don't want. The other good thing to come out of not going on mindless spending sprees is that I have started valuing things more, trying to increase their lifetime and thereby reducing the fashion waste I produce. So, although, for other reasons, I have come to becoming more aware of my actions. As part of my fashion designing course, I have started becoming aware of why should not buy stuff we don't need, other than for financial reasons and it certainly has given me reason to think twice about buying something. I think it will still take some time for me to get to a zone where I can proudly and confidently say I am a minimalist, but I think the first step towards it is much more important than any further step and I have already taken that by understanding what I need to do. I need to buy only when I need to, not when I want to.