If you’re not someone who pays attention to how their body changes year to year and buys clothes consistently, you might think that influencers doing fashion hauls is pointless. Especially if you’re watching those huge clothing hauls that beauty influencers post with the changing seasons, needing new clothing can feel like you’re playing into the overconsumption of clothing hype. It’s important to remember that influencers contribute to overconsumption because of how frequently they shop and get rid of clothes, and what they do with those clothes when they no longer use them. For regular people, adding new pieces to a wardrobe is normal and expected and doesn’t make you the same as someone who can spend thousands of dollars on new clothing every few months.
It’s a myth that the human body stops growing after it reaches puberty, clearly, because a 50-year-old-woman is not going to look the same way she did when she was 25, and the same applies to men. Our bodies are constantly changing, and buying clothing to fit your current body ensures that your clothes fit you the way you imagined, and you can get dressed confidently without worrying about the condition of your clothes or how you look in them. Being able to wear clean, new clothes that are in style boosts confidence and doesn’t have to contribute to overconsumption if you continue to wear your clothes until they are worn down or you’ve outgrown them. At that point, the way you dispose of them is what determines whether or not you’re a sustainable shopper, not necessarily how much you bought at once.
Comparing yourself to people who shop for fun and dump their new items once they have their content is dangerous to the everyday individual who likes to stay on top of their clothing, which isn’t a bad thing. Overconsumption is something to be mindful of, of course, but remaining realistic when everything is over-hyped on social media is how to keep yourself sane.
