It’s been a year! Quite possibly the shortest and longest year ever?! In case you missed it, I started shopping less in 2020 to work on my *toxic* consumption habits and minimize the amount of items coming into my wardrobe.
I successfully bought 4 pieces or less per month for the last 12 months… but does it count? We spent more time at home than usual this year and I surely dressed for the occasion (read: I wore leggings everyday). It was a good year to ease into shopping less and I am ready to try it again in 2021.
In the meantime, I am breaking down my shopping stats for 2020 with a comprehensive list of what I bought in the last year and more. Please remember this is a judgement free zone. We are all at different places in our journey. Consuming 4 items or less per month worked well for me and my lifestyle, but may not work for you — and that is perfectly okay!
I ended the year with 37 items out of an allotted 48. 34 of those items I bought for myself and 3 were gifted to me.
What I Bought
It did take me most of the year to realize I will probably be spending a lot of 2021 at home as well. My master’s program is online and my full-time job will have work from home flexibility too. I got better at “shopping for the life I have,” but still need to make improvements in that area.
I didn’t need a pair of jeans in April or a new dress in May, but quickly convinced myself I’d be wearing them to the office in no time… “we’ll be back to normal in just a few weeks!” RIP to that girl.
However, I did learn something about staying home (even if it took a few months to resonate). 6 out of 7 athleisure buys were made in the second half of 2020 and have quickly become my most-worn pieces. The R&R matching set from Girlfriend Collective was a fast favorite. I also want to point out my shoe buys: 2019 me could come home from the mall with 4 pairs of shoes, so this was a big accomplishment for me! The only category I did not add to this year was swimwear.
In January I made it my goal to end the year with 42% – 50% of my buys being from “conscious” brands and businesses. The year ended with 62% of my buys fitting into at least one of the categories shown in the chart above.
I want you to take “conscious” with a grain of salt. We are all going to have different definitions of the term. Athleta is a Certified B Corporation (which is great), but I still mark the brand as fast fashion. Similarly, Madewell offers Fair Trade Certified denim and is part of other fabric initiatives, but I’m considering them fast fashion based on their number of stores and items produced. Your opinion may be different than mine. My own opinions about brands will likely change as I continue to learn more.
Following, the 7 small buys I noted above are exceptionally small. I shopped many *kinda* small or medium-small businesses this year, but these 7 buys are from one-woman shows and small-batch brands.
Where I Shopped
I am very proud of this one. In 2019 almost everything in my wardrobe was from Anthropologie — I had previously worked there and put my employee discount to heavy use. 12 months later and I’ve got a diverse set of brands and businesses hanging in my closet. It’s clearly not perfect, but this is a big improvement.
My IG followers voted to see exactly what I bought this year… so here it is:
- madewell black floral maxi dress
- gift: leather good from chanel
- veja white leather campo sneaker
- loft 3/4 sleeve blazer in italian olive
- hermès silk 90 cm scarf
- amour vert white long-sleeve tencel blouse
- amour vert white short-sleeve cupro blouse
- anthropologie white 100% silk cami (other colors)
- everlane authentic stretch skinny jean in deep indigo
- free people black floral button-up midi dress
- ana luisa gold horn necklace
- madewell camel double-strap sandals
- madewell denim jacket
- everlane black organic cotton box-cut pocket tee
- romy studio clay jellyfish earrings in lemonade
- gift: from team at work
- amour vert red & white striped tee
- mate the label sage sweatshirt
- romy studio clay daisy earrings in terracotta
- secondhand style box vintage leather jacket
- secondhand style box leopard tank
- dudley stephens grey park slope terry fleece
- dazey LA graphic tee
- madewell mustard floral blouse
- everlane camel cashmere sweater
- j.crew camel sweater blazer
- vetta capsule black sweater with removable turtleneck
- athleta elation 7/8 tight
- sweet nothings clay leaflet hoops in cobalt
- sezane leopard midi skirt
- nisolo black chelsea boots
- able white croc mini tote
- loft lou & grey black sweatshirt
- loft lou & grey black sweatpants
- girlfriend collective moss R&R jogger
- girlfriend collective moss R&R long-sleeve tee
- gift: allbirds grey wool runners
What I Spent
When sharing these next calculations, please note I have excluded all items gifted to me (3 total) and my Hermès Silk Scarf (because its price is a major outlier). Of the 33 items considered, I spent a total of $2,510.08. That is an average of $76.06 per item.
The average cost of a fast fashion buy was $60.08. As expected, the average cost of a conscious buy was more: $83.70.
2020 was unique for me. I worked through the entire year (some of it full-time) while also going to school. This will not be the case for 2021 as a full-time masters student. I hope to continue building a sustainable and ethical wardrobe into the new year, but will have to make adjustments based on my changing financial situation as well.
Just a year ago 4 buys per month seemed impossible. I was used to buying whatever whenever… and sometimes in multiple colors! 12 months later and 37 buys feels like a lot. This mindset shift didn’t happen overnight. It’s been a year and I am still making plenty of mistakes!
I also want to point out the obvious: spending a year working on conscious consumption is a privilege not everyone has. The most sustainable clothes are the ones we already own. We can’t buy a more sustainable life… so use what you have and considering giving the items you aren’t using to someone who will.
If you have made it this far in the post… thank you for being here! I’d love to hear about your favorite buys from the year or any shopping plans you have for 2021. You can contact me or send me a DM on the gram.
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