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Have you noticed how the vast majority of people you see regularly will be into wearing something one day and then suddenly and so needlessly throw it away or stop wearing it the next the moment that a part of their style is considered "old", "outdated", "out of style" or other related synonyms for such an arbitrary phenomenon for even more arbitrary purposes, just because they were told to do so by someone else? If so, then you are certainly not alone.
This phenomenon of changing your wardrobe to match other people's desires and tastes in the current moment can be seen across all sorts of different sexes, genders, and ages, though the 2 groups that are most predominantly and disproportionately influenced and affected by these ever changing trends are teen girls and young adult women (at least according to my own research and observations as a young woman myself), whom appear to be the most pressured into going with the group and doing what others tell them to do instead of thinking for ourselves and following our own hearts and desires without worrying about what others will think and say about us.
We are conditioned by society from an early age to shut up, to not ask questions, and to do what everyone else seems to be doing, even at the cost of our own autonomy, wellness, desires, interests, the environment, and everything else, perhaps even more so in this day and age more than ever before where you can see how individuality is slowly dying and being replaced by and increasingly conformist and monotonous world instead, leaving everyone and everything to become more and more like complete carbon copies of one another as opposed to developing and expressing our own identities and interests the way people did in the past to at least some degree (even with the existent trends of the olden times). Subcultures and different cliques were larger than they are now and thriving, company logos came in a wide variety of styles, shapes, and colors, houses and other buildings still looked quite distinct from one another, etc. Hell, even when watching children's television shows from the past, one of the most prevailing messages is to be unique and to be yourself (oftentimes with entire episodes or even entire cool theme songs revolving around this exact message), whereas it doesn't seem like this message is still prevailing in children's shows today.
Even as a kid, I never really saw the purpose in keeping up with all of the latest trends like my blind, conformist sheep classmates did and always did my own thing, going my own way in life instead, for the most part.
I'm sorry, but I can't ever imagine throwing the styles and looks I know, love, and hold so closely to my heart away at the whim of others telling me to do so just because the mysterious "fashion gods" (aka big fashion companies) are trying to encourage and to force us all to do so. To do so would be like throwing myself and my perhaps eccentric personality away. To do so would be like selling my soul, even.
So fucking what if I choose to still wear things like leggings under skirts and dresses, shag bands, or low rise skinny jeans like it's still 2009? It's my body and my style, not anybody else's. And besides, I never really left 2009 anyways, so checkmate.
Plus, I'm not the one who's contributing to the ever growing clothing dump in the Atacama desert, which is so big you can literally see it from space (I really wish I were kidding right now when I say this).
I honestly couldn't care less if the things I choose to wear and how I wear them are currently considered "trendy or not. Hell, I have some hand me down shirts and a few plaid skirts from my mom that are still holding up well I wear quite regularly and even a black skirt from my childhood that I wore to Disneyland when I was like 6 1/2 and can still stretch over my hips to fit into all these years later. And it feels super liberating to be able to wear whatever you want, whenever you want without any regards to what anyone else may think or say. Because I'm not living for other people's enjoyment (and I'm especially not living for these fashion corporations that hope we'll all fall for their dirty little lies and tricks), I'm living for myself, and that includes the choices I make with my personal wardrobe. I don't care what anyone else is wearing or what stores and brands are trying to push us to purchase next, because I'm still not going to change my wardrobe and sense of style and will keep on wearing my cool little "outdated" outfits anyways (and honestly, I find being called "outdated" to be quite a compliment, as a little matter of fact).
And when my clothing eventually does wear out to a point beyond repair, I will scour the web as far and wide as I need to to find the same exact style or consider modifying or even learning how to make my own clothing from scratch to make a suitable replacement (especially if I am somehow left unable to find the clothing styles I currently like and wear at any point in the future). I will NOT allow myself to succumb and fall victim to the cycle of ever changing trends and I especially will NOT surrender to big fashion when they stop making garments in styles that I find suitable for my own personal tastes or to such pointless and arbitrary contemporary social norms at the cost of my individuality and self expression, for that matter.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.<3
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weirdhouseplant
You're right and you should say it. I've starting shaming anyone who admits buying from shein/temu/extremely bad quality fast fashion in general in front of me. Like I know they can buy something better quality that will last longer and the fact that it's so normal to admit to a disgusting amount of overconsumption is alarming