Revisiting Slow Fashion

Awhile ago, I wrote about shopping mindfully and I listed some tips on how to shop when you want to limit your purchases at fast-fashion retailers. I wrote that four years ago and I have changed some of my thoughts on that topic. The year of 2017, I started a slow fashion challenge where I tried to purchase only sustainable, ethical, and good quality clothing throughout the year. I noticed I mostly reached for garments that were better quality compared to fast fashion and not necessarily sustainable garments…with the exception of a few items. Two years have passed since I completed my slow fashion challenge and here I am writing once again about shopping mindfully and slow. What are my thoughts now?

Over the last two years, I started shopping predominately at fast fashion stores. I always said I would get back to shopping more slowly but it took me until this quarantine to get back to my word. Mostly, I had to figure out what it meant to shop slow. Did the clothing have to be sustainable and ethical or just one or the other? Was I going to have to spend a lot of money on these clothes? What stores would I shop in? I knew I had to start somewhere so I went back to how I shopped back in 2017 – purchasing better quality garments that may or may not be sustainble (but usually are.)

What is slow fashion?

Personally, slow fashion is the exact opposite of fast fashion. It is often better quality, more ethical and eco-friendly. Slow fashion doesn’t follow the latest trends but instead is usually functional and consists of wardrobe staples. It is curated, conscious and typically responsible.

When quarantine started, I shopped mindlessly at Missguided purchasing cute and trendy loungewear that would get me through the menial days at home. After a little research, I realized Missguided was another fast fashion store and not one of those mid-range quality/cost stores.  Over the last two weeks, I’ve been purchasing clothing for my summer wardrobe (more on that in another post) and I’ve made better, conscious decisions.

I started off by shopping at Free People which is slowly but surely making better green and ethical decisions within the fashion industry. They definitely have a ways to go though. I decided on Free People because of the types of textiles they use – mostly cotton and some linen. I also chose FP beause I know I’ll wear and have their garments for a long time. I still own FP garments from three years ago that are holding up very well. I then went to South Moon Under which is local to me but also tends to sell higher quality garments at a mid-range price. SMU sells various brands which are a mixture of slow and fast fashion.

Before I fully decided on how I was going to go about my slow fashion journey again, I put in an order at Meshki. I was actually surprised to receive such high quality garments and all I purchased was more loungewear. I probably won’t be shopping there again but I can say if you’re not wanting to shell out your coins for high quality garments, Meshki seems like a pretty decent store but I would need to do more research. Anyway, I will probably have the three items I purchased for a few years because the quality is just that good.

My next purchases will be from truly sustainable and ethical stores like Reformation, Yireh as well as a black owned shop Local European. The awesome thing about shopping slow is you probably aren’t buying as many clothes as you would with fast fashion. Unless you’re completely redoing your wardrobe, it probably isn’t necessary to go out and buy a bunch of sustainble/ethical clothing all at once.

At the end of the day, I am doing what works for me as well as what I can afford at the moment. Personally, slow fashion isn’t about being perfectly sustainable or perfectly ethical. To me it’s about making better, conscious and more responsible decisions for myself, the environemnt and others within the fashion industry.

Thanks for reading,

ChelsiKay