Fashion and the shopping that comes with it are both huge interests of mine. To the regret of my friends and family, I would rather spend hours walking around the mall with a Starbucks in my hand than doing anything else. However, in the last year I have changed my thinking of fashion from “fast” to an investment. 

What is fast fashion? To me, it is going with the trends that are put out by different celebrities. However, it can also be seen as making huge profits from the cheap costs of clothing and high market value.  An example of this could be when companies do not pay their workers a livable wage in order to keep the price of their clothing cheaper, or when companies push different trends in society – such as tie-dye clothing – that will die off soon.

In my experience, clothes that were born from fast fashion do not last as long either. These clothes can get worn out easily or ruined after the first wash. This makes them more expensive in the long run than investing in reliable and good clothing. 

So why did I start investing in fashion? In all honesty, because of work. Working in an office, three days a week with a business casual dress code called for a wardrobe upgrade. This is especially after a year and a half of COVID-19 where I didn’t wear anything other than sweatpants. 

At first, the prices looked ridiculous; seriously, $150 for pants and $80 for a shirt were not something I thought was worth it. However when I tried the clothes on and felt the difference between the quality, I realized why the price was the way it was. 

I also took this as an opportunity to downsize my wardrobe because if I had clothes that fit better, feel better and last longer I would not need to shop as often. 

I was able to purchase a few pieces but make so many outfits and that is what made me happy. It has now been almost a month since I purchased and invested in those clothes and through many wash and lots of wear and tear, they have continued to last.