The Year I Bought No New Clothes
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What if I were to tell you that by not shopping I defined my personal style, saved money, and started a low waste lifestyle? Perhaps you too would like to stop your impulse shopping, stop creating excess clothing waste, save enough money to take a “staycation,” or you just want to start simplifying your closet. Check out these tips on how to stop buying new clothes by reading about my experience in the year I bought no new clothes
In 2019 I made a promise to simply stop shopping for new clothes. New clothes meant any piece of clothing that was newly produced. I went the entire year without purchasing any new clothes, except for necessities like running shoes and undergarments. What’s even more surprising is that my body was changing with each new week, as I spent much of 2019 pregnant.
I chose to stop buying new clothing for a few reasons:
- My husband and I started working less, and we needed to save more money.
- Impulse buying new clothing leads to unnecessary textile waste in landfills.
- I’m trying to continually minimize and define my personal style.
Here’s How I Did it:
1. Ask for Hand Me Downs for Children
I asked around to borrow and swap children’s clothing. Kids grow so fast and it’s really beneficial to swap or borrow. My sons’s baby clothes are all borrowed from my sister-in-law. I borrowed and received hand-me-down clothes for my daughter too.
This saved me a considerable amount of time. I didn’t have to enter one store to purchase a larger sized onesie, a winter coat, or even a pretty dress. It also saves us hundreds of dollars each year when we don’t have to buy new clothes.
Dear minimalists, conscious consumers, or pregnant ladies – having a great group of friends is a must. You have to build community if you want to stop buying everything you think you need. Plus, the health and happiness benefits are worth it! I call getting together with my girlfriends “free therapy!” Need help making friends as an adult? Don’t we all! Check out this blog post for tips!
2. Mend and Remove Stains
I am lucky to know a few people who are handy with a sewing machine. My own mother has mended a sweater that had a hole in it. Another family member has since mended several of our family’s clothing including hemming pants, patching holes, or fixing a stitch that has come loose. I look forward to these items getting mended because they are pieces of clothing that I truly adore.
Your laundry practices also help or hinder the life of your garments. Making sure to only wash on hot if necessary, and line dry when you can prolongs the length of the garment. Focus on stain removal, instead of completely discarding a perfectly good garment. My preferred method is Dawn dish soap, or oxy clean stain removal.
3. Focus on Price Per Wear
Perhaps your reason for not buying new clothes is to save money, as it was definitely a motivator for me. Saving money is great, but being cheap with your clothing purchases is not. You should splurge on a clothing item you really want or need. Purchasing quality saves you time and money in the long run. If you consider price per wear you won’t be afraid to buy exactly what you want, even if it’s expensive.
Price per wear just means that if you consider the amount of times you will wear an item you can spend more money on it initially. For example, my running shoes I wear almost every day, so I can spend more money on this piece because the price per wear is relatively low. However, a pair of heels that I wear 4 times a year would be a high price per wear since I don’t wear them that often.
Examples
I have a pair of nude heels in my closet that need to desperately be replaced, but I literally haven’t worn them in a year. This piece has a high price per wear because I rarely wear heels anymore. I’m waiting to purchase a better pair when I know I’ll be wearing them more often.
When thinking of pieces that you want to invest in, think of price per wear. How versatile is the piece? Will you be able to dress it up or down? Can you easily match it with other pieces in your closet? Following this concept, pieces that I can spend a bit more money on would be blazers, a nice leather jacket, comfortable flats, winter coat, converse sneakers, a quality T-shirt, and blue jeans.
If you follow Literally Simple on Instagram, you know that my most worn piece of summer clothing are a pair of jean shorts, which I fondly refer to as “jorts.” I wear them constantly because they can be dressed up with a nicer blouse, or dressed down with an athletic T-shirt. They are comfy, can be worn with sneakers or sandals, and go great with a bathing suit underneath. They are extremely versatile. Hence, why I wear them often and consequently have a low price per wear.
4. Shop Resale or Consignment Shops
This year of not buying anything new was surprisingly easy. I followed the buyerarchy of needs graphic which was created by Sarah Lazarovic. If I recognized that I needed anything I first asked around to see if I could borrow it. This tactic worked well with maternity and children’s clothing. All I needed to do was ask a few friends and they were happy to share.
When I couldn’t find specifically what I needed, I first shopped at a consignment store. There are many all within city limits, but I typically found the item with one stop. My daughter needed a larger back pack for preschool, and just grew out of her rain boots. Both were bought secondhand from a consignment shop about a mile from our home.
5. Swap all Maternity Clothes
I was pregnant this last year, which might be an excuse to buy a lot of new clothes. However, when you actually think about how much joy you get from spending money on new maternity clothes, you might change your mind. Does anyone really like owning maternity clothes? You know you’re only going to wear them for 9 months (if that). Don’t get me wrong, I’m very appreciative that we actually have flattering fashion to choose from during this time, but we don’t have to buy everything new.
Instead, I just swapped maternity clothes with several different friends. I didn’t need to buy any, and I returned them, or passed them on to other moms when I was done. In fact, we have a traveling maternity dress that has been worn at 4 different baby showers for different mothers. Maternity clothes for sure have a short life span and are easy to swap (hello stretchy waistband!) Friends have enjoyed sharing them with me in between pregnancies, or simply giving them away. I loved dropping off maternity clothes with another mom simply because it rid my home of clutter, and I knew it would be useful.
What Did I Actually Buy for Myself?
I had to buy running shoes. Mine were literally falling apart, and causing arch pain. I identified this as a necessity, so I bought two of the same identical shoes. This saved me a trip to the store in another year when my running shoes are worn out again. Necessities like socks, underwear, and bras were also bought if needed.
Final Thoughts
What’s funny is that nobody even noticed I stopped shopping for clothes. Nobody! Not even my husband. Give it a try. You might just personalize your own style in the process.
Join the Discussion
Tell me, could you do a whole year of not buying new? What clothing items will you save up for and splurge on?
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Author
Maria Halcumb is a teacher, reading specialist, and mother. You can find her reading books, being in nature, minimizing her life, and spending time with family and friends in the great PNW, or Northern MN. If you want to learn more about Maria or Sara check out the About page. If you want to work with our blog, check out the Work with Us page.