1. Don't copy influencers and their "haul" from a fast fashion retailer. 2. Don't give in to FOMO. 3. Don't buy too many trendy stuff that you won't wear anymore next year.
@@sophiasmith5069 I know 😭 I'm in Finland myself so I understand better than u can imagine. Usually I just sort by shipping from Europe but sometimes a girl's gotta splurge 😂
I made a similar rule for myself when buying really any non comsumable item (clothes, tools, tech, furniture, ...) that i only actually buy something after at least watching a few reviews or reading articles about it and just getting all the information about that piece. That creates some kind of barrier to only buy stuff i am willing to spend time researching about and at the end i also really know if it fits my needs or not.
The 150$ rule kinda helped me, i grew up homeless and when I was in middle school (2012) I fell in love with clothing and fashion cause that's when a bunch of new trends started popping off. obviously we didn't have any money except for when my moms tax return would "magically" come in, all me and my brother had was just 100$ to get clothes that were supposed to last us til next year, so we would go to Ross or goodwill and by shirts and pants cheap and use the rest for shoes as wearing fake or off brand shoes was suicide in school. As I grew older and trends changed my love in clothing and fashion never ended, and then I got my first job and moved in with my friend, and eventually I found myself buying so many clothes, didn't matter really what brand or anything it was, if I even kinda liked it I bought it. I found myself with way too many clothes, and most I only really wore once or under very specific circumstances. After I quit my first job I started working in a shoe store at the mall, and that's where my shoe addiction started since we got 50% off of all shoes in our store, but the more shoes I didn't really care for them, I just liked our discount and finally filling that hole of never having shoes when I was growing up. And it got bad like my room became a messof thrown around shirts and shoes and pants cause I didn't have anywhere to put put and there were so much that I just got lazy lmao. That's when my taste in clothing kinda started to refine and I started looking into more higher end brands. Before I'd waste entire checks on like bags of shit pretty much, then I started saving up for the more expensive things, and I would actually save quite a bit so I can still buy the thing I wanted and still have left over, then I donated all my old clothing, and started only really buying one thing at a time. Definitely helped out the space in my room and closet and I also have a significantly different style than my other coworkers, even the distract manager was impressed by how I dressed. Clothing is such a slippery slope
Very good philosphy to have that can be applied to everything including food. My grandmother had that concept she lived through the great depression, her motto was "cheap things are expensive", her way of saying buy it nice or buy it twice. I still have ACG cargos and shoes that outlasted every other cargo pants and shoes, and they look nicer as well.
I have come across so many occasions of people trying to get away buying the cheap version of something (non fashion related) and needing to replace it or fix it themselves, so there's truth in that for sure. Of course being in the position to choose between the cheap and expensive versions of something in the first place is a privilege!
i really like these more conceptual Clothing videos. Where you talk about a concept or general clothing theme. Good way to branch of pure Product Reviews
I buy a lot of my clothes second hand. In fact, I prefer to do that for financial reasons as well as practical ones. But there's more to it. If you know how to take care of your clothes, including being able to do basic things like mend a hole in a garment or sew on a button, your clothes can last much, much longer. This is viable for your wallet as well as for the environment. Every year, tons of clothes get thrown out instead of just donated or handed on to someone else. Every year, landfills fill up with unwanted clothes while even thrift shops get the low end of the deal. Most people don't want to shop at thrift shops because of the implication that you're essentially just buying used clothes, no matter whether it's been washed (and generally, clothes MUST be washed and clean before they're even able to be sold or donated to thrift shops). Most people would rather spend more on new clothes than less on cheaper clothes that someone else has worn before. Going back to the environmental factor, 'new clothes' are often never worn as often as you think they would be, and clothes in stores are often replaced very quickly as new styles and seasons come into the picture. Again, these clothes are thrown out by retailers instead of just being donated. This means a lot of clothes, and the resources needed to make them are wasted. This is to say nothing of the fast-fashion industry, let alone the fashion industry at large, which has its own detrimental impact. We need clothes in order to present ourselves in a way society deems appropriate or acceptable, but the cost of it all is something we never really get to think about unless we're forced to. This is how brands like Torrid and Shein can get away with churning out new styles almost every single day, and often be sold for much higher prices than they should be. At the end of the day, money is all these companies care about, regardless of the impact.
💯 I am a huge proponent of second hand clothing. I buy most of my clothes this way. Not only can you get stuff for a great price but it’s also great for the world in general. This is the way!!!❤
I actually love this rule personally. I have a really bad habit of buying a shirt because it was on sale and cheap and I wear it once, rinse and repeat and my closet is full of stuff I don't wear. But I do agree with you that you have to know when the rule needs to be broken but I think a reformed rule is something I'm gonna follow from now on. With caveats of course.
Glad you found the video useful! I totally know the feeling and I used to do it a LOT. It's surprising how few clothes people genuinely *need*, and if anything owning less makes it easier to make decisions about what to wear
A lot of my favourite wardrobe pieces are the ones I wear the least, either because they’re highly specific or I’m trying to save or preserve them because they cost more (or both!).
I can appreciate that - there's a delicate balance of not wearing things recklessly and avoiding wearing them just for the sake of keeping them nice. No sense keeping your favourite things hidden away forever!
I'm in the same situation, ie I like suits and well craft tailoring and dressed shoes, but that's the most expensives items I own and I tend to wear them less to avoid stain and tears and keeps them longer. But in order to wear my favorites style I bouth second hand (but well made) suits and more affordable shoes that I wear daily and it bothers me less to damage them a little. However, every time I put on my more expensive suits and my handmade shoes, it is an incomparable pleasure. Also I live by a rule of I can't afford to buy cheap 'cause it does not live long. And buy a rule of delaying the purchase by 24h if the amount is over 100€ for an items of clothing in order to think twice. Also, I keep a spreedsheet with all my wishlist (not only garments) filtered by price and with a ranking of desirabily, so when I'm in the mood for shopping I refered to the list first to know if there are other things that I rate more important before.
My general rule is that the more I spend on something, the more I need to use it. I know too many people who spend hand over fist on like a suit that they might wear twice a year, and then live their lives in $20 hoodies. Don't do that. If you're a hoodie person, get them in cashmere or sea island cotton. If you're a leather jacket with everything person, save up for a really exquisite one and wear it to death. When you save stuff for ages, there's a good chance you'll end up with something pristine but dated, or that no longer fits, or that you just aren't as crazy about anymore because something more exciting has come along. Regardless of what you wear the most, that's where the bulk of your money should go.
I Like how you bring all arguments from all angles. Just when I think I’m having an imaginary dialogue with counter arguments to a point you make, you then continue by adding the same counter argument to your own speech. And then going in a third direction. And then inviting people to think about a fourth aspect. And so on. And then you bring it home with a nice bow on it. I’ve noticed this is your pattern and I find it brilliant and sometimes I even need to pause a video to rethink what you say because it’s just too well said I kinda want to absorb it better. 🥇
This was exactly what I needed to hear-bought $99 and $200 jackets last week and it made me realize I wanted to own only very nicely designed things. Your video feels like pure serendipity.
How’d you have enough to pay rent and buy food? Cause damn, I’d maybe understand 100 but 200, damn. Buy whatever makes you happy but how do you survive? Also how was the stitching and feel of the material? Do you see any fraying?
@@41052 You just have to save up for a few months. Try not to rely on credit cards or buy now pay later schemes because that will hurt you in the end. Also waiting will mean that you end up liking what you get even more. And the nicer things are tailored to your body shape even more, so you look better than something mass produced.
@@theewildrose I reckon it's fine. Obviously appreciating what you've got will go a long way to making your life happy. Some people use thrifting in lieu of a personality lol
@@Snoop_Dugg yeah the only logical way I can see buying expensive clothing is saving up for it for months, even a year. So like have you ever compared a 100$ shirt to a 10$?
I work on a $8.50/h wage My work was running low on materials one time and laying off workers, at the time i thought i wasn’t gonna be layd off because i was new and decided to impulse buy a pair of jordan 1s. i was layd off a week later and left with no income for a month. Now i try to avoid impulse buying and big spending on items by thinking that i might get layd off the next week.
Growing up my parents dressed me exclusively out of walmart and always balked at the price of anything that didn't have a clearance sticker on it, my sister got slightly higher quality clothes with brands like hurley, roxy, osiris etc i was always secretly jelous of this but acted like dressing cheaper gave me more "street cred" lol. This gave me a very unhealthy relationship with money, price, and value for many years until I took a design course in Junior college and began to perceive the quality of other peoples garments and what I hadn't been paying for in my own aesthetic and how much that held me back both personally and professionally. During the 06 crisis I couldn't get a job anywhere looking back on it if i had been wearing a $500 outfit instead of a $50 on it may well have opened more doors for me as i've found out now in my 30's.
How about a time rule? A delay for purchases maybe, so we think more about each item. Would kill flash sales though. Just moved into a smaller place and we put a rule in place (me, my wife strongly opposed it) that I should try spending ALL my disposable income on ONE item per month, to save wardrobe space. It got really off the rails, really fast. Can recommend 10/10.
@@Verse1234567 A while back I bought this Levi's trucker jacket that has gray denim on top and on the sleeves, bleached blue denim on the torso. Kept in the wishlist for about 2 months before I pulled the trigger because I couldn't stop thinking about it, and even got it on a discount 🤑.
Thinking in terms of value is absolutely spot on. Personally I have two criterias for judging value: 1. The cost per use criteria. The more often you use an item for the duration of its product life, the easier it is to justify its value. If you wear something daily, it is easy to justify splurging because you extract far more value PER USE than something you wear once or twice a month. This is IMO the best criteria for everyday items, and for me personally it eventually evolved into a somewhat expensive personal uniform that I love to wear daily. 2. The high istakes criteria. Some items are not used often, but when you do it is in situations that has higher stakes. For instance performance/protective equipment for sports or adventuring, or it can be social stakes so like an expensive suit. So for me I will pay full price for something like basketball shoes IF it has the exact grip/comfort/protectiveness that I am looking for since that is my primary hobby. I also have two bespoke suits, one gray and one black, for weddings/funerals/business. For everything else, be it trendy accessories or experimental fashion, look for cheap options and try it out for a bit. If you find that you reeeally like it, then and only then should you invest into upgrades.
One of my best trick is to just do a lot of window shopping. I like planning what I like months in advance, look around, and one of the sure way of knowing if you truly love something is to never buy it on trend. Its like this automatic rule of if its currently on trend don't buy it, buy something else that you wanted; some people tell you do the whole trip twice, but thats never enough for me, think about how much of your hour of work you're putting. Also price in descending order for your future purchase (except special purchases such as winter coats, wedding attire, funeral attire, business attire, court attire, once in a life time occasion) Shoes should always be the most expensive, then bottoms such as pants, then jeans, then jacket, then vest, then blouses (button up shirts), regular tees... This list is based on how much the average person wear those things(and also the craftsmanship behind those. With a really good pair of shoes, and some nice fitting pants(based on your style but just the right silhouette for you : baggy, skinny, fitted, loose...) Also after a certain limit, there is no point in buying too expensive : expensive within measure if its 1k or more I think you're paying too much. One good trick too for wardrobe is getting stuff fitted by a tailor, it makes every basic, or cheap clothes look really amazing, and much more comfortable. In general I think when you know where to look for it the maximum you should ever pay for any single piece of clothing is 300$(currently), I believe its the maximum, beyond special material, but for shoes you should if you got the money (like 1k or less or more) go get some shoes handmade for your feet specifically, not designer but just good old school craftsmanship, with leather or something.
I've both FOMO purchased and waited 2 years to pull the trigger and the only advice I have is, see yourself using it and ask yourself how often that's going to happen and how would I feel? That's all I do and is why I have thousands of dollars worth of items in dozens of wish lists because at the end of the day, I won't wear those items often, but I do like them so until I find something that is better, I keep it in a list to reference and sometimes I go back and end up deleting dozens of items because my style has changed just enough.
Buying things because you like them : BIG BRAIN : - getting into techwear has gotten me to think about how, when, and why I purchase clothing more than anything (reading "No Label: Naomi Klein" even) because the things I really value were much more expensive than I was used to paying, but overtime I realized that I no longer felt compelled to buy something when out near shops (or in shops), I see something cool maybe but know that it isn't exactly what I want even if less expensive. It took years, but now I do feel like I have a much slimmer wardrobe of stuff I really love. Also let's be honest your channel made me really want to look into what I was buying because you looked into these same things with such insight and love.
This channel man. I loved this video. Sincerely appreciate you can call into question your and our habits, as well as shine a light on the indirect consequences of talking about fashion (since recommendations and reviews are likely to lead to consumption). I really liked how you expanded upon the initial and limited premise to offer a fully fledged out thought process. Ironically, the sacrifice approach leads one to be less passive in their consumption. Buying can be seen as an act, but if you buy because of exterior factors (advertising, sale, YT review), you are somewhat passive through influence in various forms. By applying sacrifice, the active tailored consideration strangely give the buyer comprehensive agency over their impulses and habits, which I find unexpectedly liberating! Thanks for the vid!
Thank you Alvis Stalwart Amphibious Military truck for the detailed breakdown and set of Thresholds for the criteria on which to execute a purchase. A level of intention is required instead of mindless impulses, and I'm glad you bring up this topic to the level of detail and accessibility of humor that you do, to show how willing you are to progress.
recently, I have mostly been buying relatively expensive pieces (plenty under 150 and 100 but still painful prices for my part time job having ass) from grailed and it really has forced me to make up a bunch of outfits in my head and be certain it'll have a place in my wardrobe in the years to come. I think you learn more about what you really like during the catharsis of when you scroll through a bunch of boring expensive shit until you find something you love enough to be worth the money compared to impulse buying shit you kinda like but will ditch in a year
This is something I’ve had to implement in a major way as of late, as someone with over a thousand garments of clothing (a lot of them for the purpose of reselling) I’ve found myself overwhelmed and taking a loss on many of them simply for the sake of clearing up space. Take it from me There’s nothing more gratifying than knowing exactly what to wear and when to wear it because you’re wardrobe is curated in such a way. As apposed to having everything and truly loving nothing. Great video Antwon
Thanks so much! No doubt very relieving to cut down to a smaller, better wardrobe (not to mention the extra $ from selling stuff, even if it's less than what you paid)
Yeah its hard to judge the quality just based on the price tag. I am currently in a process of trying to declutter my wardrobe and decided to use approach of giving everything a chance. I started by making a decision about things i already wore frequently if i get rid of it or love it and want to keep it. Then i put those selected favorites to the side to give unworn or not so much worn items a chance. After they are worn repeatedly i make a decision on those. Rinse and repeat. I found some not-so-cheap gorgeous items developed lint balls and other issue after just few wears and on other hand some (although not definitelly all) cheap supermarket bought clothing has became my favorites and showed up to be really really durable, easy to combine with other things and looking as new even after many wears. Anyway a good lesson about true value of items from various sources i tried so far.
Funny. I always subconsciously shop for clothing items worth at least $100 these days. Lowest I will be okay with is $80, but honestly anything just below $200 can be seen as "cheap" for me. I figured after years of being a shopaholic buying fast fashion that anything cheaper simply did not last for me-- as in i never wore it much OR it physically destroyed itself in a few months (i mean, washes). Doing this allowed me to really discover what clothing pieces meant a lot to me personally, suited me, and gave me a buffer time before i went to either return it or buy something else alltogether. Im currently donating/throwing out old clothes before really seeing what i need to buy now to build a sort of "capsule wardrobe". In the process ive also learned to value and appreciate what i do have also, so its not like im shopping a ton anyway. Its more like every time i buy an item it actually fulfills me more than just the temporary high of buying just anything for the sake of it. I dont need brand names, but i would prefer to own a few nice designer pieces that i get many uses out of versus a hundred cheaper items i will wear maybe once or twice. Also, dont believe in "sales" much. Theyre there to get you to spend a ton on items the average person truly should not and DO NOT care for.
Great video, have always loved thrifting and have gotten some high quality, older style goods. However, funny enough, I still find myself impulse purchasing clothing items there due to the lower stakes. Still hit 80%+ of the time, but could be more conscientious when I buy. Thanks for the perspective!
Very insightful video! I have been doing a lot of thinking on this topic as well. I have been a second hand and bargain shopper for a while now, but last year I decided that I wanted to try a different approach. I felt like I was buying too many things on sale strictly for that sale price, and as a result I was spending more money on more frequent discounted items. My new strategy is if I really want something, I need to be able to afford it at its retail price. If I can and still want to do that, than I go through with it.
Thanks! I think that's a good strategy - after all, sales are designed to get people *not* to think about what they're buying and just spend. I often find things I purchase on sale are ones which I'd already seen full-price and thought they were interesting, but even then it's easy to buy stuff you don't actually like that much just because it seems like a good deal
It’s all about shopping around. I truly miss shopping in person when you could see the quality or lack there of in person. I’ve come to know which brands are good quality for me… but I appreciate the point you make about fast fashion charging practically $150 for a cheap jacket.. because brands change over time and a lot of pricing is truly inflated to give the buyer the assumption it’s quality when a lesser known indie brand might have a way better product for a same or lower price point Im reading a great book called overdressed from 2012 that has so much interesting information about fast fashion production. I picked it up at a thrift store and the print date actually made me excited bc I knew it would go into more depth on the factors prior to social media . I highly recommend to anyone interested, especially from an American perspective, as it provides a great account of how fashion production pretty much stopped in the us
When I got my first job out of uni, I set this rule for myself! It was the £100 rule. I wasnt getting paid loads so this made sure that each purchase would sting just a little bit. For the longest time I just kept wearing the clothes I had, but I recently started following this rule and actually buying clothes and it has completely revamped my wardrobe. I combined it with a, max of 1 item per month, or wait 2 months and I could get a £200 item. This caused me all of a sudden to become so much more invested in fashion and how I looked, while price isn’t a mark of quality, it can often be a good signifier, so it allowed me to find brands local to me doing cool and innovative work, from there I found related brands, platforms and designers. And for the past few months I’ve just been getting non stop compliments on my outfits whenever I leave the house, it’s honestly been crazy I don’t think it’s really about the price because I sometimes go to £50 for an item, but like you said, it makes you consider your purchases much more meaningfully, and can instil a respect of fashion in you
I've just put on my own set of rules. (btw nice Vitalydesign rings) t-shirts, 10-20eur is totally fine. jeans, 50-100eur is often decent enough quality to last a good while shoes, personally 100eur minimum. leather jackets, 200eur. Leather goes a LONG way (still wear one from 6 years ago. That's 33eur a year) hoodies, 30-60eur
For me imposing voluntary space constraints (i literally don't have the space for more than 15 tshirts), and delaying purchases from the moment I see them works amazingly!
Interesting video. Not something I struggle with personally (I probably should buy a bit more clothing), but here's two thoughts: 1. If "the thing you want" is below the threshold you could just donate the difference to charity. 2. There are other sacrifices you could make (i.e. not monetary), which, if tied to buying clothes, might make you more deliberate. What makes the "150$ rule" great is that it's very simple. I think that when you're trying to change your own behavior, especially with regards to impulse control, a very simple rule (with minimal exceptions if any) is a lot easier to follow and stick to.
I have an easy system, there is an limited amount of items I have of a kind and if I buy a new one, an old one as to go. I need one windbreaker, If I buy a new one it will replace the old one, that means the new windbreaker has to be an improvement. I have 10 T-Shirts, if I buy a new one, an other one has to go.
Interesting bit to me is that judge of value, as somone who does most of my shopping from taobao weidian etc and alot of that reps i think the way people buy reps helped me really learn this. The way people usually find reps is on reddit and discord where people post their purchases and give feedback on its quality in comparison to other sellers and the original, this gives a very good judge on wether or not its worth buying in the first place. Take a off white varsity jacket i baught, the feedback i saw on the listing was that it feels very well built and had only a minor flaw a tiny but of text in cursive on the sleeve that is misspelt. But it cant really be seen unless you get really up close to the sleeve. To me that jacket was worth more than the 40usd i spent on it and i wear it all the time. I know its fake i am also very honest about that fact i dont want to give out an image that i am richer than i am. But it feels good to wear, it looks good and it also keeps me nice and cozy here in the arctic hellscape that is norway. I dont buy reps exclusivly but it certiantly opened my eyes to quality over quantity. I used to buy mainly cheap bad quality replicas in bulk. Now i barley buy reps from china, as i fell more in love with chinese domestic brands like Li ning LNG and Wookong that would have never found without going through the massive market that is taobao/tmall.
Hey man this is the third of your video's I've watched, I'm not into techwear but your approach to fashion it universially unerstandable. and I must say after wtaching this video I can see you've really thought about the issue and have come to a sound philosophical resolution. Good on you man!
Try soaking the top part of the pants and do some stretching movements for at least a minute. Then just keep wearing until dry. Works particularly well for jeans, but anything that's mostly cotton should work. I've stretched quite some sale pants 😅
Omg i made this rule for myself when I was 25 except I said $100 at least. That way everything I own is really nice, it’s in my personal style, and there’s never an issue like I had before with cheap fast fashion that showed every imperfection. I go to my favorite shops see what’s on clearance from the previous season and go from there since I’m still poor 😅 I just want things to last for years!
First thing is: buy only clothing that you really, really like, and double think whether you will still like it next year. ( Sort of the difference if it is only a one night stand or will it be a lasting relationship). Second thing is to be sure that it fits. Most of the time this involves finding a really good tailor. Just about everything can be made to look much better if it is carefully tailored, even to the point that if you find an article you really want, but it does not fit properly -think whether it can be made to fit by a bit of careful tailoring. A good tailor can work wonders for how you look and feel.
Other way of this idea in video (that I totally agree!) "making sacrifices" in time, not in money. You need to understand what exactly you need (need time) and find THIS specific item you really want (also need time). So no matter how much this item cost it would be valuable. Also I like idea of "value item story". If this item was created by small unique brand you find very suddenly or buying of this item was a fun story from your life. Your wardrobe become invaluable and you just don’t want fast fashion anymore.
Great analysis! I've found that being more intentioned with my purchases has caused me to spend much less on clothing, while still getting really good value out of more expensive items (cost per wear).
6:50 I'm wearing that Uniqlo tee right now. I have the pink, purple, yellow-brown and green ones. It is the perfect tee for disgustingly hot and humid Canadian summers because it allows plenty of airflow, it dries extremely quickly, and it doesn't pick up odours or scents from my fragrances.
I really like smaller brands because i feel like i can get the same '$150 quality' a mainstream brand has for half the price. There are plently of really good instagram brands with high quality clothing and owners that can directly communicate with you who care.
I moved out when I was 17, and my budget was really small at first, so I thought about every cent I wanted to spend like 5 times before I did it, so that I would not have a problem with food and rent. That kinda stuck and even though I don’t have to anymore, I still most of the time just walk out the store, and if I really think about something a lot, I go back to buy it :)
Absolutely agree with everything in this video, other than me trying to focus more on high performance/durability to price and trying to make the price hurt enough that I can use my stuff for a longer time and feeling comforatable I don't "need" a new jacket or shoes because "I spent so much on it". Also trying to make sure they are well-cleaned and doesn't look torn to pieces after wear, so that I can donate the T-shirts or pants down the line instead of dooming them to the landfill. Now boomer shooters on the other hand I just can't stop buying them I love Ultrakill and Turbo Overkill and Postal and Severed Steel and-
The ultimate trick is to have little space for storing your clothes, because the more space you have the more you'll buy to fill that space. It's easier to feel like you have enough clothes when you have a small closet that is already packed than when you have a walk-in that is still half-empty. (and if you already have a walk-in why not turn it into a cozy reading corner!)
i think something that helps with overbuying, at leastit does for me, is having a fairly small closet or one wich only fits the clothes that u have rightnow, so ur kind of forced to sell or give away an item of clothing when u buy new ones. this makes buying new clothing a bit more painful without relying on cost
This is a great rule! For people like me who buy and sell vintage clothing we have similar rules of sacrifice. Since clothes are so cheap in our community it's very easy to over-consume. Whenever we add a new a item to our wardrobe we have to remove an item to make room. Which essentially makes us think about the item and are wardrobe as a whole. Is this item so good I that I can replace it something? It's a pretty fun way to keep recycling the wardrobe!
I like that approach! Cool to have something which evolves or becomes more refined over time, and lets other people enjoy your cool stuff when you're done with it 🔥
I find that asking myself “what problem does this solve for me” helps to weed out a lot of purchases. 90% of the time, the answer is “a lack of this item”, which is not a problem of any kind.
As I work in a very dirty environment for a long period of time, I don't get the time to really flex my techwear. I have to focus on things I can really use. Anything with multiple uses or can be converted to and from a form is a win for me.
The most experienced thing in my wardrobe is a pair of shoes I bought for resale, it was a pair of shoes I was looking at for a while and it went with my style. I bought it coz it went with my style and I really liked the way it looked. I bought it coz it was something I was invested in(not an investment)
Just wanted to let you know your work here is really appreciated. I'm the last person on this planet to be considered a fashion freak or someone invested in styling, but I really love your channel and all the content you're creating. It is genuinely interesting, funny, and gives some practical knowledge and tips. Thanks for that!
I had a lot of fast fashion from being a broke student and when I got a full time job I decided on a 1 in 2 out policy which cut my wardrobe in half and made me really think about my purchases. Now I have a 1 in 1 out, unless there is a gap or clothes for sports.
Hey Antwon, great video here. I like the concept of price floors, its almost a reminder that you should spend money on what you like and not feel bad. Taking more care in your purchases is crucial to a collector of any sorts. The whole buying because it’s on sale is hard to entangle. I saw these ACW boots half off to $275 and thought wow these are discounted to my price range, in my size and sick. But then I started thinking - would I buy at full price and definitely not - I worked at a fashion company and wardrobe is very good for next few years, but also - would I prefer this $275 impulse ACW boots or the Tom Sachs Boring shoes for $220 I’ve been eyeballing? One is on sale, the other hype, but I lined up as my next purchase. When i get to this point i try and close my browsers.
I have a very similar purchasing thought process to yours at the end of the video. I do have vague mental price ceilings for various items to try to contain my spending though. I asked my mom what her limits were for clothes and doubled them and I’ve just kind of stuck to it since highschool.
I used to read a french men’s fashion blog in 2011. One thing they kept repeating was: « Invest in good quality clothing, even if it’s more expensive, even if you don’t have much money. » « Save some money, buy less pieces that are: - Timeless - Good quality - Good looking - Coherent in your wardrobe. If you’re starting from scratch, focus on basic and versatile items, with neutral colours. You cannot look good without having good fundamentals first. You’ll look better, feel more confident, take care of your clothe better, they will last longer and keep their shape and colour longer, so you’ll end up spending the same or even less, long term, while looking better. So it’s better for your wallet, and the environment. You cannot lose by doing this. But you need patience, to do that over 2, 3, 5 years, depending on your budget. Of course, you can spend less on basic pieces, thrifted and second-end clothe, but for anything that is not a t-shirt, or underwear, take the habit of looking for 3 digit prices (in US dollars/euros/pounds) that have a coherent price/quality ratio. And yes, for outerwear, it’s more like 450-500 euros minimum for most decent quality wool/leather jackets/coats. In the end, in 12 years, I only regretted one or 2 150€+ grabs. I remember wearing hoodies for the past 15-20 years. Nobody ever told me anything about it. The first time I bought a 140€ blank hoodie, I got 5 compliments in the first week-end I wore it. And it was a basic from a small unknown (but quality brand). People aren’t willing to wait, save, take the risk and invest in less, but better clothing.
Really useful video. "Buy once, cry once" can definitely be a thing but doing a decent level of research first before hitting the buy button is *always* a good idea.
I admit I rolled my eyes a bit at the start of the video but I’m glad I watched the whole thing. Even if you’re already a fiscally conscious consumer, it’s nice to brush up on the general philosophy. I thought you did a good job tying different threads all together at the end too.
The whole different price range for each garment point stuck out to me. Some items are more overpriced than others lol. I always would go into basic sportwear type shops and wonder why so many of these very basic looking jogging pants (and hoodies)had a price tag of $100+ for what looks like a few bucks worth of material
Such a thoughtful vid! A rule of thumb that I use is to think about the versatility and diversity of the items I purchase (tying into the theme of "use value"). If I plan on buying some new trousers, they better be a different color/fit/texture/material than any of the other things I already do have, that way when I wear them I'd actually appreciate "selecting" them as opposed to anything else out of my closet (diversity). But if the new item is so far out there that it does not fit with much of my wardrobe (i.e. bright neon orange for me), then I'd probably not get as much out of it (versatility). These two checkpoints keep me from buying too much stuff, regardless of price.
Good way of looking at things for sure. Another criteria: if those trousers are the same as some of your existing things, are they a direct upgrade in some way (i.e. maybe they look better, nicer material etc.), in which case you could get rid of the older pair and improve your wardrobe without bulking it out at all
Also limit the amount of things you buy. Cap the amount of shirts you own at 10. Pants - 1 in every neutral colour. Black,Navy,Beige,Grey,Tan. Jackets capped at 4 maybe 5 jackets. Everything should work with each other.
My approach is to spend on what I consider ethical manufacturing, which also includes resale items and I keep a minimal wardrobe by applying a 5 item rule (5 shirts, 5 polos, 5 t shirts, 5 pairs of pants, etc.
One of my top-3 topics for Ant’s videos along with acr reviews and “haha look at this trash from taobao” I like your concept of “will I get the most out of the item” but there’s a problem of expectation vs reality. E.g. I bought aoku aasb bag last year and expected it to be perfect to be worn over the shoulder during summer. But the construction turned out to be more of a Fanny pack type which is fine until you sit somewhere. So now I’m constantly switching between “over the shoulder” and “under the belly” which partially led me to buying sp29 (because pockets obviously)
I do found that rule very interesting, i'm doing a different version of this rule : "I buy what i like, truly like, what i know i'll wear, no matter the price, could be 10€ or 240€ jacket, i'll buy it cause i like it and i'm sure of myself, if i'm just a bit hesitating, i'm not even taking the product in hand", So now i may not have luxury stuff all around but i have very different piece of clothing all around, so i can pull up as many different outfit and style i want.
This makes sense psychologically. I've fallen into it myself without even knowing it was a 'rule' of advice. If you buy cheap crap you're gonna know its cheap crap, and the enthusiam about it will reflect on that. If you buy a nice more expensive piece you're going to be excited about it. I once got a small haul on Shein, threw it in my closet and havent even thought about it again since. I have no excitement to wear any of it. But the one-of-a-kind $150+ stuff i've bought off depop, I treat like treasure. I'm excited to wear it and I hang it on open racks just so I can look at it. Im in 'awe' of my good clothes. And I love them. This rule really does work
honestly the 150 rule makes a lot of sense. But I get the same effect without the same crying of my budget by just keeping a window in my browser full of clothing I'm considering buying. And culling it once a week. And if something manages to stay in their for a couple of months? then I buy it. It stops me from impulse buying and lets me feel if an object is something I really like. Because lemme tell you as someone who's got bad impulse control? A monetary sacrifice does not stop an impulse purchase ;-; It's great cause it does actually work for stuff like thrifting! Because you can apply it to like an item you haven't found in particular but know you want like this specific type of jacket and it's something you've wanted for a while, so that thrifted piece is still decently thought out
I do the same thing. I keep a browser or favourites list open. If the item is still there months later (or I come to my senses), the list then gets amended.
I can see the logic behind this rule, however as a person who owns both end of the spectrum (a lot of cheap items, but also a lot of high price items) I can say that in many cases buying timeless pieces from fast fashion retailers is a better choice, at least in my opinion. For example, my favorite T-shirts are from Uniqlo, one of my most worn jeans is from Zara and i always keep a Uniqlo packable down jacket in my gym bag during spring/summer/early autumn. I always ask myself "will i wear this item enough to justify the price".
But fast fashion is bad for the workers who produce the clothes, and bad for the environment because of overproduction, which makes the clothes end up in landfills. We can't consume like this much longer. It ain't it.
@@ApricusInaros The overproduction and clothes being dumped into the landfil are mostly due to trends, which i am not a big fan of either. However, i don't think it is that much of an issue if you buy your basics there and wear them until they aren't wearable anymore. Sure the working conditions are still an issue, but it is still the better option economically. Also some clothes are harder to find from more higher end brands.
I kind of break the mold. I have a lot of cheap stuff I pretty much never wear and maybe shouldn't have bought so I kind of agree but then a moment comes up and I'm like what can I put together and I'll find something I bought two or three years ago and never wore and make it work. So I don't know where does that put me?
I've argued for *years* that nearly everything you buy that isn't something you outright "need" should hurt a bit. It's always better to save up for something you truly adore than it is to buy loads of stuff because it's fairly cheap, and not really love any of it. People argue that that's elitist, but at the end of the day, "poor" people aren't buying from Shein. They know better. They know that they can't afford to buy things that fall apart after two washes, or that they will probably only wear twice because the fabric and fit tend to be crappy. The vast majority of fast fashion buyers are middle class consumers, who say they can't afford better clothes. What they really mean is they can't afford to buy better clothes all the time. I'm pretty lucky. My monthly clothing budget looks more like a lot of people's yearly budget. I still only buy a handful of pieces a year, not counting basics like tees. Yes, that means I have to put a lot of thought into each piece I do buy, but once you get used to thinking that way it's not that hard. After your mid-twenties, you should have a pretty good idea what suits you best. I have a few main "ideas" and I buy different permutations of those ideas. I also stick to a color palate that I very, very rarely deviate from. If you stick to a color palate it's very easy to work in pieces that are a bit more experimental. It also seems like you have more than you really do because you can make far more different outfits with fewer pieces. At the end of the day, buying less isn't really that difficult. It just means putting in more thought. Instead of buying a bunch of clothes for fun, you're going to spend time window shopping instead.
I unknowingly used this rule when buying my Cycling kit. I don’t buy cheap cycling kit now I get discount on the item but keep in mind the MSRP of it to assess the value
When I started getting into fashion, I bought EVERYTHING. It somehow worked out financially, but drained my bank account. So I made up a check that really works well for me: 2 steps, image them like 2 triangles. The first triangle is the cool-nice-unique triangle. Find 3 people who are honest with you, one who you trust with their statement about the item being unique, one for it being cool etc. If 2 of them agree on the item, it's a good pick-up. Say it's nice and cool, might be a bit basic, but that's alright. If it's unique and cool but doesn't look too nice, who cares, it's still a statement piece - but if it's just unique, it might be ugly and uncool. If it's just nice, it's lame. And so on. The second triangle is the space-money-need triangle. Do I have space and money for it? Doesn't matter if I actually need it. Do I need it and can afford it? I'll make place for it somehow. So ideally, all 6 aspects are checked, 5 aspects is a no-brainer as well, 4 is meh and anything less is a dumb purchase. It always works! Example: The third winter jacket that I bought in a season, a puffer jacket. Was it a good looking (nice) and trendy (cool) piece? Yes. Not unique, but does not need to be. Did I have the money and the space for it? Yup. Did I need it? Nope. Do I kinda regret this 4-point purchase? Yup. Now, pants. I needed a new pair. Found one that was a 6-point purchase, and I still love that I got them. Easy as that :)
Ah interesting! I like the crowd-sourced approach to make sure you're not going off the rails, so long as you're not exclusively going off what other people think when it comes to something being cool or not.
As far as impulsive purchases go, potentially a dangerous trap is buying something you end up having no great uses for, only to buy what you need in order to pull it off, instead of finally learning your lesson. I wear various sizes depending on what I'm going for and how I'm layering, it also sucks to find something would've been better off in a different size.
Thrift store masterrace! Fast fashion really fucks my brain, know people who struggle with money for food at the end of the month but online shopping/fast shopping while walking past smth in the city is so deeply entangled in their brains it doesn't strike them as weird because 'I could always send it back/return it'
So those $12 shirts from Walmart that I haven’t worn yet should be donated ASAP? And not replaced. So I’ll only buy stuff I’m going to love from now on. Live and learn
Make a list of what you want, write the list again a few weeks later, and again, buy the ones or just one or two that are still on your list after a couple of months, hope for the sales maybe
People will try and create workarounds, but the bottom line is that you have to learn to have some level of self control, for example even if you delete all the apps on your phone to stop yourself from being distracted your still likely just going to get distracted by something else and you will need to learn self control.
Went on a clothes diet, didn't buy anything for a year. Now I buy second hand, that are natural fibers, and have to have something in my current wardrobe that is worn out. I have several pieces over 10 years old, my jackets are all wool or leather and more than 10 years old.
How about putting 50/100$ in the piggy bank towards a grail item every time you feel the urge to buy something that it’s non just the same? That might work.
Last of all, if you like something you can still repair your clothes. If you can sew and get a cheap sewing machine, you can renew your clothes quite well and it will feel more special to you due to its history.
Jackets are also my favourite article of clothing, but I live in a Mediterranean climate combined with my lifestyle means chances to wear them are few, I only have two though, I manage to window shop mostly.
its a great rule but there are definitely exceptions, being underwear/tshirts but even still quality is the highest priority. for underwear/socks calvin klein and tommy hilfiger are the perfect quality for price at around 30-50 a pack. and for tshirts the uniqlo airism is the go to, $25cad each and theyre my favourite shirts ive got 5 and thats all i need
My underwear is Reebok, my socks are Reebok, my pants Amazon Essentials, my black shirts are Walmart's George Brand, Old Navy sweaters; cheap. The only "branded" things of higher quality that I buy; Adidas shorts, Adidas sandals, Crocs sandals, Adidas wind breakers, Timberland winter jackets, Nike/Vans/Converse shoes that will last years.
Not necessarily with regards to thrifting but I often buy items second hand from depop etc. This often means you can get access to better quality or more expensive brands and items but at more affordable prices. Admittedly this won't be applicable to all styles though
I think brand reputation is more important than price I've spent a $180 on a sophnet hoodie that ripped after 1 wear. never buying that brand again lol. Also bought a $190 (on sale) margiela belt has started to fall apart after wearing it regularly over just 1 year. so I think if your looking for quality and long lasting pieces you need to exclusively buy brands that are known specifically for their quality/craftsmanship. or if you want to buy eco friendly then look for brands that are known for that and have transparency around their manufacturing, uses natural earth dyes, etc.
I actually do think the 150 dollar price point makes sense financially even if you are not that well off. I actually depends more on the living costs in your country. Let me elaborate (I will consider that 1 dollar equals 1 euros since it is my currency, I live in France) : - if you want a good quality pair of jeans, most prices start around the 100 euros mark (think Levi's and such : for this price you get something produced in poorer countries, and designs that are mainstream and not innovative). That price point will include brands that try to be priced the same to "compete" but are of poorer quality. So, chances that you put your money in a brand that hires good designer and/or use quality products would definitely be more realistic at 150. So, 150 seems like the price point at which you would have eliminated most mainstream fashion options, thus making the purchase a conscious one, and the reality of paying 50 euros for the "same" item of clothing is realistically making you sweat a bit XD. If the pair is from a good designer, chances that your item will stay fashionably relevant longer also increases! - if you want a good pair of sneakers, most brands are also already around the 100 euro mark. So it would not be quite a conscious purchase. At 150 however you are *starting* to hit the top range, like one of a kind collabs I hope this helps!
There's an opposite/inverse to this argument. Ironically enough, one of my favorite pieces in my closet is a $2k Balenciaga jacket, and I absolutely love it but will rarely actually take out of my closet. Meanwhile I wouldnt think twice about throwing on a $30 shirt from Hot Topic. Just because something is better it doesn't necessarily mean I'll be more inclined to wear it. In fact, the higher the cost the less I'll end up wearing it as far as day-to-day stuff goes.
I can appreciate that - when you've got something nice you really don't want to ruin it, but it's not doing you any good sitting in your wardrobe 99% of the time! I guess it depends on why you bought the item - a luxurious-but-delicate shirt is best kept for occasions for sure, but I'd like to think something harder-wearing like a jacket deserves to be shown off whenever you need it. That doesn't mean I'd rock Balenciaga to hike up a mountain, but there's a balance to be had for sure where you really feel like you're putting all that $ to good use.
@@ThisIsAntwon Well rounded answer considering someone like me could never afford to buy a 2k jacket just for it to sit in the closet. The analogy that always gets used by the older generations about buying shoes but never wanting to get them dirty comes to mind. Shoes are inherently going to get dirty, they're designed for it (or used to be atleast lol), they're the only piece of clothing that actually touches the floor. Imagine buying a rain jacket but never wanting it to get wet. I don't mean to be insulting but one must come from an incredibly privileged position to be able to afford something (whatever it is, be it a car or a toaster) that expensive just to never really use it. Another analogy is money. Money is worth literally nothing until you spend it, until then it's just paper or numbers in your bank account. The same applies to the 2k jacket. I suppose some people see more value in using something rather than simply owning it, again most likely due to privilege and background. Enjoyed the vid btw. Your points about buying items that "don't quite fit" because they're on sale is something i'm guilty of. You feel like a g when you save p but later on you're a doof when you realise you don't ever wear the item.
1. Don't copy influencers and their "haul" from a fast fashion retailer.
2. Don't give in to FOMO.
3. Don't buy too many trendy stuff that you won't wear anymore next year.
Just watch the vids then research
then I scroll for an hour through Etsy for the stuff no one advertises hehe
@@senritsujumpsuit6021 fr Etsy is the best
@@adeleviuhko7186 the problem are the shipping cost to Europe. 😭
@@sophiasmith5069 I know 😭 I'm in Finland myself so I understand better than u can imagine. Usually I just sort by shipping from Europe but sometimes a girl's gotta splurge 😂
@@adeleviuhko7186 I know the struggle 😭. Do you have vinted in Finland? I mean it is not as wide as Etsy is, but the shipping are at worst 10€.
The forgotten art of the recession coming soon so look out for bargains
Too true D:
This aged well in UK
Except you spend more over time buying cheap shit so
@@BeckBeckGo I mean people selling their good shit second hand when they can't justify keeping €$¥£900 pants. then we pounce
@@BeckBeckGo good point
I made a similar rule for myself when buying really any non comsumable item (clothes, tools, tech, furniture, ...) that i only actually buy something after at least watching a few reviews or reading articles about it and just getting all the information about that piece. That creates some kind of barrier to only buy stuff i am willing to spend time researching about and at the end i also really know if it fits my needs or not.
Cant find any Reviews for socks from c&a...but i want to buy them since i need socks...
Can you say me where i can find a review for socks from c&a?
The 150$ rule kinda helped me, i grew up homeless and when I was in middle school (2012) I fell in love with clothing and fashion cause that's when a bunch of new trends started popping off. obviously we didn't have any money except for when my moms tax return would "magically" come in, all me and my brother had was just 100$ to get clothes that were supposed to last us til next year, so we would go to Ross or goodwill and by shirts and pants cheap and use the rest for shoes as wearing fake or off brand shoes was suicide in school. As I grew older and trends changed my love in clothing and fashion never ended, and then I got my first job and moved in with my friend, and eventually I found myself buying so many clothes, didn't matter really what brand or anything it was, if I even kinda liked it I bought it. I found myself with way too many clothes, and most I only really wore once or under very specific circumstances. After I quit my first job I started working in a shoe store at the mall, and that's where my shoe addiction started since we got 50% off of all shoes in our store, but the more shoes I didn't really care for them, I just liked our discount and finally filling that hole of never having shoes when I was growing up. And it got bad like my room became a messof thrown around shirts and shoes and pants cause I didn't have anywhere to put put and there were so much that I just got lazy lmao. That's when my taste in clothing kinda started to refine and I started looking into more higher end brands. Before I'd waste entire checks on like bags of shit pretty much, then I started saving up for the more expensive things, and I would actually save quite a bit so I can still buy the thing I wanted and still have left over, then I donated all my old clothing, and started only really buying one thing at a time. Definitely helped out the space in my room and closet and I also have a significantly different style than my other coworkers, even the distract manager was impressed by how I dressed. Clothing is such a slippery slope
Very good philosphy to have that can be applied to everything including food. My grandmother had that concept she lived through the great depression, her motto was "cheap things are expensive", her way of saying buy it nice or buy it twice.
I still have ACG cargos and shoes that outlasted every other cargo pants and shoes, and they look nicer as well.
I have come across so many occasions of people trying to get away buying the cheap version of something (non fashion related) and needing to replace it or fix it themselves, so there's truth in that for sure. Of course being in the position to choose between the cheap and expensive versions of something in the first place is a privilege!
i really like these more conceptual Clothing videos. Where you talk about a concept or general clothing theme. Good way to branch of pure Product Reviews
Funny movement man watch clothing video???
Thanks, much appreciated!
I buy a lot of my clothes second hand. In fact, I prefer to do that for financial reasons as well as practical ones. But there's more to it. If you know how to take care of your clothes, including being able to do basic things like mend a hole in a garment or sew on a button, your clothes can last much, much longer. This is viable for your wallet as well as for the environment. Every year, tons of clothes get thrown out instead of just donated or handed on to someone else. Every year, landfills fill up with unwanted clothes while even thrift shops get the low end of the deal.
Most people don't want to shop at thrift shops because of the implication that you're essentially just buying used clothes, no matter whether it's been washed (and generally, clothes MUST be washed and clean before they're even able to be sold or donated to thrift shops). Most people would rather spend more on new clothes than less on cheaper clothes that someone else has worn before. Going back to the environmental factor, 'new clothes' are often never worn as often as you think they would be, and clothes in stores are often replaced very quickly as new styles and seasons come into the picture. Again, these clothes are thrown out by retailers instead of just being donated.
This means a lot of clothes, and the resources needed to make them are wasted. This is to say nothing of the fast-fashion industry, let alone the fashion industry at large, which has its own detrimental impact. We need clothes in order to present ourselves in a way society deems appropriate or acceptable, but the cost of it all is something we never really get to think about unless we're forced to. This is how brands like Torrid and Shein can get away with churning out new styles almost every single day, and often be sold for much higher prices than they should be. At the end of the day, money is all these companies care about, regardless of the impact.
💯 I am a huge proponent of second hand clothing. I buy most of my clothes this way. Not only can you get stuff for a great price but it’s also great for the world in general. This is the way!!!❤
I actually love this rule personally. I have a really bad habit of buying a shirt because it was on sale and cheap and I wear it once, rinse and repeat and my closet is full of stuff I don't wear. But I do agree with you that you have to know when the rule needs to be broken but I think a reformed rule is something I'm gonna follow from now on. With caveats of course.
Glad you found the video useful! I totally know the feeling and I used to do it a LOT. It's surprising how few clothes people genuinely *need*, and if anything owning less makes it easier to make decisions about what to wear
A lot of my favourite wardrobe pieces are the ones I wear the least, either because they’re highly specific or I’m trying to save or preserve them because they cost more (or both!).
True
I can appreciate that - there's a delicate balance of not wearing things recklessly and avoiding wearing them just for the sake of keeping them nice. No sense keeping your favourite things hidden away forever!
I used to be like this.
You’ll be a lot happier just wearing your favourite pieces rather than babying them.
I'm in the same situation, ie I like suits and well craft tailoring and dressed shoes, but that's the most expensives items I own and I tend to wear them less to avoid stain and tears and keeps them longer.
But in order to wear my favorites style I bouth second hand (but well made) suits and more affordable shoes that I wear daily and it bothers me less to damage them a little. However, every time I put on my more expensive suits and my handmade shoes, it is an incomparable pleasure.
Also I live by a rule of I can't afford to buy cheap 'cause it does not live long. And buy a rule of delaying the purchase by 24h if the amount is over 100€ for an items of clothing in order to think twice.
Also, I keep a spreedsheet with all my wishlist (not only garments) filtered by price and with a ranking of desirabily, so when I'm in the mood for shopping I refered to the list first to know if there are other things that I rate more important before.
My general rule is that the more I spend on something, the more I need to use it. I know too many people who spend hand over fist on like a suit that they might wear twice a year, and then live their lives in $20 hoodies. Don't do that. If you're a hoodie person, get them in cashmere or sea island cotton. If you're a leather jacket with everything person, save up for a really exquisite one and wear it to death. When you save stuff for ages, there's a good chance you'll end up with something pristine but dated, or that no longer fits, or that you just aren't as crazy about anymore because something more exciting has come along. Regardless of what you wear the most, that's where the bulk of your money should go.
I Like how you bring all arguments from all angles. Just when I think I’m having an imaginary dialogue with counter arguments to a point you make, you then continue by adding the same counter argument to your own speech. And then going in a third direction. And then inviting people to think about a fourth aspect. And so on. And then you bring it home with a nice bow on it. I’ve noticed this is your pattern and I find it brilliant and sometimes I even need to pause a video to rethink what you say because it’s just too well said I kinda want to absorb it better. 🥇
This was exactly what I needed to hear-bought $99 and $200 jackets last week and it made me realize I wanted to own only very nicely designed things. Your video feels like pure serendipity.
How’d you have enough to pay rent and buy food? Cause damn, I’d maybe understand 100 but 200, damn. Buy whatever makes you happy but how do you survive? Also how was the stitching and feel of the material? Do you see any fraying?
@@41052 You just have to save up for a few months.
Try not to rely on credit cards or buy now pay later schemes because that will hurt you in the end.
Also waiting will mean that you end up liking what you get even more.
And the nicer things are tailored to your body shape even more, so you look better than something mass produced.
There's nothing wrong with this but if i get the same thing at thrift store for 20 bucks am I fucking up? Lol
@@theewildrose I reckon it's fine.
Obviously appreciating what you've got will go a long way to making your life happy.
Some people use thrifting in lieu of a personality lol
@@Snoop_Dugg yeah the only logical way I can see buying expensive clothing is saving up for it for months, even a year. So like have you ever compared a 100$ shirt to a 10$?
I work on a $8.50/h wage My work was running low on materials one time and laying off workers, at the time i thought i wasn’t gonna be layd off because i was new and decided to impulse buy a pair of jordan 1s. i was layd off a week later and left with no income for a month. Now i try to avoid impulse buying and big spending on items by thinking that i might get layd off the next week.
Growing up my parents dressed me exclusively out of walmart and always balked at the price of anything that didn't have a clearance sticker on it, my sister got slightly higher quality clothes with brands like hurley, roxy, osiris etc i was always secretly jelous of this but acted like dressing cheaper gave me more "street cred" lol. This gave me a very unhealthy relationship with money, price, and value for many years until I took a design course in Junior college and began to perceive the quality of other peoples garments and what I hadn't been paying for in my own aesthetic and how much that held me back both personally and professionally. During the 06 crisis I couldn't get a job anywhere looking back on it if i had been wearing a $500 outfit instead of a $50 on it may well have opened more doors for me as i've found out now in my 30's.
I’ll spend any amount on clothing but If I hesitate for even a moment or have second thoughts walking to the register it gets put back immediately
the pacing of this video was SO good I love the subtle details of moving the intro back slightly and video essaying it a bit more
Thanks so much!
How about a time rule? A delay for purchases maybe, so we think more about each item. Would kill flash sales though. Just moved into a smaller place and we put a rule in place (me, my wife strongly opposed it) that I should try spending ALL my disposable income on ONE item per month, to save wardrobe space. It got really off the rails, really fast. Can recommend 10/10.
I try to do this as well. Has lead to me buying 80% stuff less.
@@Alexed.w share a grail you've bought with this rule!
@@Verse1234567 A while back I bought this Levi's trucker jacket that has gray denim on top and on the sleeves, bleached blue denim on the torso. Kept in the wishlist for about 2 months before I pulled the trigger because I couldn't stop thinking about it, and even got it on a discount 🤑.
@@Alexed.w that is a sartorial dream! Niiice! I love when wishlist items finally come to you.
"Think about it for as long as it'd take for you to earn the money to pay for it"
Thinking in terms of value is absolutely spot on. Personally I have two criterias for judging value:
1. The cost per use criteria. The more often you use an item for the duration of its product life, the easier it is to justify its value. If you wear something daily, it is easy to justify splurging because you extract far more value PER USE than something you wear once or twice a month. This is IMO the best criteria for everyday items, and for me personally it eventually evolved into a somewhat expensive personal uniform that I love to wear daily.
2. The high istakes criteria. Some items are not used often, but when you do it is in situations that has higher stakes. For instance performance/protective equipment for sports or adventuring, or it can be social stakes so like an expensive suit. So for me I will pay full price for something like basketball shoes IF it has the exact grip/comfort/protectiveness that I am looking for since that is my primary hobby. I also have two bespoke suits, one gray and one black, for weddings/funerals/business.
For everything else, be it trendy accessories or experimental fashion, look for cheap options and try it out for a bit. If you find that you reeeally like it, then and only then should you invest into upgrades.
One of my best trick is to just do a lot of window shopping. I like planning what I like months in advance, look around, and one of the sure way of knowing if you truly love something is to never buy it on trend. Its like this automatic rule of if its currently on trend don't buy it, buy something else that you wanted; some people tell you do the whole trip twice, but thats never enough for me, think about how much of your hour of work you're putting.
Also price in descending order for your future purchase
(except special purchases such as winter coats, wedding attire, funeral attire, business attire, court attire, once in a life time occasion)
Shoes should always be the most expensive,
then bottoms such as pants, then jeans,
then jacket, then vest,
then blouses (button up shirts), regular tees... This list is based on how much the average person wear those things(and also the craftsmanship behind those. With a really good pair of shoes, and some nice fitting pants(based on your style but just the right silhouette for you : baggy, skinny, fitted, loose...) Also after a certain limit, there is no point in buying too expensive : expensive within measure if its 1k or more I think you're paying too much. One good trick too for wardrobe is getting stuff fitted by a tailor, it makes every basic, or cheap clothes look really amazing, and much more comfortable. In general I think when you know where to look for it the maximum you should ever pay for any single piece of clothing is 300$(currently), I believe its the maximum, beyond special material, but for shoes you should if you got the money (like 1k or less or more) go get some shoes handmade for your feet specifically, not designer but just good old school craftsmanship, with leather or something.
I've both FOMO purchased and waited 2 years to pull the trigger and the only advice I have is, see yourself using it and ask yourself how often that's going to happen and how would I feel?
That's all I do and is why I have thousands of dollars worth of items in dozens of wish lists because at the end of the day, I won't wear those items often, but I do like them so until I find something that is better, I keep it in a list to reference and sometimes I go back and end up deleting dozens of items because my style has changed just enough.
Buying things because you like them : BIG BRAIN : - getting into techwear has gotten me to think about how, when, and why I purchase clothing more than anything (reading "No Label: Naomi Klein" even) because the things I really value were much more expensive than I was used to paying, but overtime I realized that I no longer felt compelled to buy something when out near shops (or in shops), I see something cool maybe but know that it isn't exactly what I want even if less expensive. It took years, but now I do feel like I have a much slimmer wardrobe of stuff I really love. Also let's be honest your channel made me really want to look into what I was buying because you looked into these same things with such insight and love.
Same here!! This is a great comment
This channel man. I loved this video. Sincerely appreciate you can call into question your and our habits, as well as shine a light on the indirect consequences of talking about fashion (since recommendations and reviews are likely to lead to consumption).
I really liked how you expanded upon the initial and limited premise to offer a fully fledged out thought process. Ironically, the sacrifice approach leads one to be less passive in their consumption. Buying can be seen as an act, but if you buy because of exterior factors (advertising, sale, YT review), you are somewhat passive through influence in various forms. By applying sacrifice, the active tailored consideration strangely give the buyer comprehensive agency over their impulses and habits, which I find unexpectedly liberating!
Thanks for the vid!
Thank you Alvis Stalwart Amphibious Military truck for the detailed breakdown and set of Thresholds for the criteria on which to execute a purchase. A level of intention is required instead of mindless impulses, and I'm glad you bring up this topic to the level of detail and accessibility of humor that you do, to show how willing you are to progress.
The forgotten art of never buying clothes over 3 digits
recently, I have mostly been buying relatively expensive pieces (plenty under 150 and 100 but still painful prices for my part time job having ass) from grailed and it really has forced me to make up a bunch of outfits in my head and be certain it'll have a place in my wardrobe in the years to come. I think you learn more about what you really like during the catharsis of when you scroll through a bunch of boring expensive shit until you find something you love enough to be worth the money compared to impulse buying shit you kinda like but will ditch in a year
This is something I’ve had to implement in a major way as of late, as someone with over a thousand garments of clothing (a lot of them for the purpose of reselling) I’ve found myself overwhelmed and taking a loss on many of them simply for the sake of clearing up space. Take it from me There’s nothing more gratifying than knowing exactly what to wear and when to wear it because you’re wardrobe is curated in such a way. As apposed to having everything and truly loving nothing. Great video Antwon
Thanks so much! No doubt very relieving to cut down to a smaller, better wardrobe (not to mention the extra $ from selling stuff, even if it's less than what you paid)
Yeah its hard to judge the quality just based on the price tag. I am currently in a process of trying to declutter my wardrobe and decided to use approach of giving everything a chance. I started by making a decision about things i already wore frequently if i get rid of it or love it and want to keep it. Then i put those selected favorites to the side to give unworn or not so much worn items a chance. After they are worn repeatedly i make a decision on those. Rinse and repeat. I found some not-so-cheap gorgeous items developed lint balls and other issue after just few wears and on other hand some (although not definitelly all) cheap supermarket bought clothing has became my favorites and showed up to be really really durable, easy to combine with other things and looking as new even after many wears. Anyway a good lesson about true value of items from various sources i tried so far.
Funny. I always subconsciously shop for clothing items worth at least $100 these days. Lowest I will be okay with is $80, but honestly anything just below $200 can be seen as "cheap" for me. I figured after years of being a shopaholic buying fast fashion that anything cheaper simply did not last for me-- as in i never wore it much OR it physically destroyed itself in a few months (i mean, washes). Doing this allowed me to really discover what clothing pieces meant a lot to me personally, suited me, and gave me a buffer time before i went to either return it or buy something else alltogether.
Im currently donating/throwing out old clothes before really seeing what i need to buy now to build a sort of "capsule wardrobe". In the process ive also learned to value and appreciate what i do have also, so its not like im shopping a ton anyway. Its more like every time i buy an item it actually fulfills me more than just the temporary high of buying just anything for the sake of it. I dont need brand names, but i would prefer to own a few nice designer pieces that i get many uses out of versus a hundred cheaper items i will wear maybe once or twice.
Also, dont believe in "sales" much. Theyre there to get you to spend a ton on items the average person truly should not and DO NOT care for.
Great video, have always loved thrifting and have gotten some high quality, older style goods. However, funny enough, I still find myself impulse purchasing clothing items there due to the lower stakes. Still hit 80%+ of the time, but could be more conscientious when I buy. Thanks for the perspective!
Very insightful video! I have been doing a lot of thinking on this topic as well. I have been a second hand and bargain shopper for a while now, but last year I decided that I wanted to try a different approach. I felt like I was buying too many things on sale strictly for that sale price, and as a result I was spending more money on more frequent discounted items. My new strategy is if I really want something, I need to be able to afford it at its retail price. If I can and still want to do that, than I go through with it.
Thanks! I think that's a good strategy - after all, sales are designed to get people *not* to think about what they're buying and just spend. I often find things I purchase on sale are ones which I'd already seen full-price and thought they were interesting, but even then it's easy to buy stuff you don't actually like that much just because it seems like a good deal
It’s all about shopping around. I truly miss shopping in person when you could see the quality or lack there of in person. I’ve come to know which brands are good quality for me… but I appreciate the point you make about fast fashion charging practically $150 for a cheap jacket.. because brands change over time and a lot of pricing is truly inflated to give the buyer the assumption it’s quality when a lesser known indie brand might have a way better product for a same or lower price point
Im reading a great book called overdressed from 2012 that has so much interesting information about fast fashion production. I picked it up at a thrift store and the print date actually made me excited bc I knew it would go into more depth on the factors prior to social media . I highly recommend to anyone interested, especially from an American perspective, as it provides a great account of how fashion production pretty much stopped in the us
When I got my first job out of uni, I set this rule for myself! It was the £100 rule. I wasnt getting paid loads so this made sure that each purchase would sting just a little bit.
For the longest time I just kept wearing the clothes I had, but I recently started following this rule and actually buying clothes and it has completely revamped my wardrobe. I combined it with a, max of 1 item per month, or wait 2 months and I could get a £200 item.
This caused me all of a sudden to become so much more invested in fashion and how I looked, while price isn’t a mark of quality, it can often be a good signifier, so it allowed me to find brands local to me doing cool and innovative work, from there I found related brands, platforms and designers. And for the past few months I’ve just been getting non stop compliments on my outfits whenever I leave the house, it’s honestly been crazy
I don’t think it’s really about the price because I sometimes go to £50 for an item, but like you said, it makes you consider your purchases much more meaningfully, and can instil a respect of fashion in you
I've just put on my own set of rules. (btw nice Vitalydesign rings)
t-shirts, 10-20eur is totally fine.
jeans, 50-100eur is often decent enough quality to last a good while
shoes, personally 100eur minimum.
leather jackets, 200eur. Leather goes a LONG way (still wear one from 6 years ago. That's 33eur a year)
hoodies, 30-60eur
For me imposing voluntary space constraints (i literally don't have the space for more than 15 tshirts), and delaying purchases from the moment I see them works amazingly!
Interesting video. Not something I struggle with personally (I probably should buy a bit more clothing), but here's two thoughts:
1. If "the thing you want" is below the threshold you could just donate the difference to charity.
2. There are other sacrifices you could make (i.e. not monetary), which, if tied to buying clothes, might make you more deliberate.
What makes the "150$ rule" great is that it's very simple. I think that when you're trying to change your own behavior, especially with regards to impulse control, a very simple rule (with minimal exceptions if any) is a lot easier to follow and stick to.
I have an easy system, there is an limited amount of items I have of a kind and if I buy a new one, an old one as to go. I need one windbreaker, If I buy a new one it will replace the old one, that means the new windbreaker has to be an improvement. I have 10 T-Shirts, if I buy a new one, an other one has to go.
Interesting bit to me is that judge of value, as somone who does most of my shopping from taobao weidian etc and alot of that reps i think the way people buy reps helped me really learn this.
The way people usually find reps is on reddit and discord where people post their purchases and give feedback on its quality in comparison to other sellers and the original, this gives a very good judge on wether or not its worth buying in the first place.
Take a off white varsity jacket i baught, the feedback i saw on the listing was that it feels very well built and had only a minor flaw a tiny but of text in cursive on the sleeve that is misspelt. But it cant really be seen unless you get really up close to the sleeve.
To me that jacket was worth more than the 40usd i spent on it and i wear it all the time. I know its fake i am also very honest about that fact i dont want to give out an image that i am richer than i am. But it feels good to wear, it looks good and it also keeps me nice and cozy here in the arctic hellscape that is norway.
I dont buy reps exclusivly but it certiantly opened my eyes to quality over quantity. I used to buy mainly cheap bad quality replicas in bulk. Now i barley buy reps from china, as i fell more in love with chinese domestic brands like Li ning LNG and Wookong that would have never found without going through the massive market that is taobao/tmall.
Hey man this is the third of your video's I've watched, I'm not into techwear but your approach to fashion it universially unerstandable. and I must say after wtaching this video I can see you've really thought about the issue and have come to a sound philosophical resolution. Good on you man!
Try soaking the top part of the pants and do some stretching movements for at least a minute. Then just keep wearing until dry. Works particularly well for jeans, but anything that's mostly cotton should work. I've stretched quite some sale pants 😅
Either I'll get some better fitting pants or I'll look like a soggy idiot for a while, so I'll give it a go. Thanks!
Omg i made this rule for myself when I was 25 except I said $100 at least. That way everything I own is really nice, it’s in my personal style, and there’s never an issue like I had before with cheap fast fashion that showed every imperfection. I go to my favorite shops see what’s on clearance from the previous season and go from there since I’m still poor 😅 I just want things to last for years!
First thing is: buy only clothing that you really, really like, and double think whether you will still like it next year. ( Sort of the difference if it is only a one night stand or will it be a lasting relationship). Second thing is to be sure that it fits. Most of the time this involves finding a really good tailor. Just about everything can be made to look much better if it is carefully tailored, even to the point that if you find an article you really want, but it does not fit properly -think whether it can be made to fit by a bit of careful tailoring. A good tailor can work wonders for how you look and feel.
Other way of this idea in video (that I totally agree!) "making sacrifices" in time, not in money. You need to understand what exactly you need (need time) and find THIS specific item you really want (also need time). So no matter how much this item cost it would be valuable. Also I like idea of "value item story". If this item was created by small unique brand you find very suddenly or buying of this item was a fun story from your life. Your wardrobe become invaluable and you just don’t want fast fashion anymore.
Great analysis! I've found that being more intentioned with my purchases has caused me to spend much less on clothing, while still getting really good value out of more expensive items (cost per wear).
6:50 I'm wearing that Uniqlo tee right now. I have the pink, purple, yellow-brown and green ones. It is the perfect tee for disgustingly hot and humid Canadian summers because it allows plenty of airflow, it dries extremely quickly, and it doesn't pick up odours or scents from my fragrances.
I really like smaller brands because i feel like i can get the same '$150 quality' a mainstream brand has for half the price. There are plently of really good instagram brands with high quality clothing and owners that can directly communicate with you who care.
Buy quality, and only stuff that really fits you.
I moved out when I was 17, and my budget was really small at first, so I thought about every cent I wanted to spend like 5 times before I did it, so that I would not have a problem with food and rent. That kinda stuck and even though I don’t have to anymore, I still most of the time just walk out the store, and if I really think about something a lot, I go back to buy it :)
Absolutely agree with everything in this video, other than me trying to focus more on high performance/durability to price and trying to make the price hurt enough that I can use my stuff for a longer time and feeling comforatable I don't "need" a new jacket or shoes because "I spent so much on it". Also trying to make sure they are well-cleaned and doesn't look torn to pieces after wear, so that I can donate the T-shirts or pants down the line instead of dooming them to the landfill.
Now boomer shooters on the other hand I just can't stop buying them I love Ultrakill and Turbo Overkill and Postal and Severed Steel and-
The ultimate trick is to have little space for storing your clothes, because the more space you have the more you'll buy to fill that space. It's easier to feel like you have enough clothes when you have a small closet that is already packed than when you have a walk-in that is still half-empty. (and if you already have a walk-in why not turn it into a cozy reading corner!)
I like this tip. Classic
i think something that helps with overbuying, at leastit does for me, is having a fairly small closet or one wich only fits the clothes that u have rightnow, so ur kind of forced to sell or give away an item of clothing when u buy new ones. this makes buying new clothing a bit more painful without relying on cost
This is a great rule! For people like me who buy and sell vintage clothing we have similar rules of sacrifice. Since clothes are so cheap in our community it's very easy to over-consume. Whenever we add a new a item to our wardrobe we have to remove an item to make room. Which essentially makes us think about the item and are wardrobe as a whole. Is this item so good I that I can replace it something? It's a pretty fun way to keep recycling the wardrobe!
I like that approach! Cool to have something which evolves or becomes more refined over time, and lets other people enjoy your cool stuff when you're done with it 🔥
Great video. I think these kinds of rules are good for a certain period of time, allowing you to tune your style and giving you time to breathe.
I find that asking myself “what problem does this solve for me” helps to weed out a lot of purchases. 90% of the time, the answer is “a lack of this item”, which is not a problem of any kind.
As I work in a very dirty environment for a long period of time, I don't get the time to really flex my techwear. I have to focus on things I can really use. Anything with multiple uses or can be converted to and from a form is a win for me.
The most experienced thing in my wardrobe is a pair of shoes I bought for resale, it was a pair of shoes I was looking at for a while and it went with my style. I bought it coz it went with my style and I really liked the way it looked. I bought it coz it was something I was invested in(not an investment)
Just wanted to let you know your work here is really appreciated. I'm the last person on this planet to be considered a fashion freak or someone invested in styling, but I really love your channel and all the content you're creating. It is genuinely interesting, funny, and gives some practical knowledge and tips. Thanks for that!
Thanks so much, really appreciate the kind words 🤩
I had a lot of fast fashion from being a broke student and when I got a full time job I decided on a 1 in 2 out policy which cut my wardrobe in half and made me really think about my purchases. Now I have a 1 in 1 out, unless there is a gap or clothes for sports.
already started doing this and it's genuinely made me spend way more responsibly and commit to buying clothes i actually really want.
draining yr bank acct responsibly
Hey Antwon, great video here. I like the concept of price floors, its almost a reminder that you should spend money on what you like and not feel bad. Taking more care in your purchases is crucial to a collector of any sorts. The whole buying because it’s on sale is hard to entangle. I saw these ACW boots half off to $275 and thought wow these are discounted to my price range, in my size and sick. But then I started thinking - would I buy at full price and definitely not - I worked at a fashion company and wardrobe is very good for next few years, but also - would I prefer this $275 impulse ACW boots or the Tom Sachs Boring shoes for $220 I’ve been eyeballing? One is on sale, the other hype, but I lined up as my next purchase. When i get to this point i try and close my browsers.
I have a very similar purchasing thought process to yours at the end of the video. I do have vague mental price ceilings for various items to try to contain my spending though. I asked my mom what her limits were for clothes and doubled them and I’ve just kind of stuck to it since highschool.
I used to read a french men’s fashion blog in 2011.
One thing they kept repeating was:
« Invest in good quality clothing, even if it’s more expensive, even if you don’t have much money. »
« Save some money, buy less pieces that are:
- Timeless
- Good quality
- Good looking
- Coherent in your wardrobe.
If you’re starting from scratch, focus on basic and versatile items, with neutral colours.
You cannot look good without having good fundamentals first.
You’ll look better, feel more confident, take care of your clothe better, they will last longer and keep their shape and colour longer, so you’ll end up spending the same or even less, long term, while looking better.
So it’s better for your wallet, and the environment.
You cannot lose by doing this.
But you need patience, to do that over 2, 3, 5 years, depending on your budget.
Of course, you can spend less on basic pieces, thrifted and second-end clothe, but for anything that is not a t-shirt, or underwear, take the habit of looking for 3 digit prices (in US dollars/euros/pounds) that have a coherent price/quality ratio.
And yes, for outerwear, it’s more like 450-500 euros minimum for most decent quality wool/leather jackets/coats.
In the end, in 12 years, I only regretted one or 2 150€+ grabs.
I remember wearing hoodies for the past 15-20 years. Nobody ever told me anything about it.
The first time I bought a 140€ blank hoodie, I got 5 compliments in the first week-end I wore it.
And it was a basic from a small unknown (but quality brand).
People aren’t willing to wait, save, take the risk and invest in less, but better clothing.
Really useful video. "Buy once, cry once" can definitely be a thing but doing a decent level of research first before hitting the buy button is *always* a good idea.
I admit I rolled my eyes a bit at the start of the video but I’m glad I watched the whole thing. Even if you’re already a fiscally conscious consumer, it’s nice to brush up on the general philosophy. I thought you did a good job tying different threads all together at the end too.
The whole different price range for each garment point stuck out to me. Some items are more overpriced than others lol. I always would go into basic sportwear type shops and wonder why so many of these very basic looking jogging pants (and hoodies)had a price tag of $100+ for what looks like a few bucks worth of material
Such a thoughtful vid! A rule of thumb that I use is to think about the versatility and diversity of the items I purchase (tying into the theme of "use value"). If I plan on buying some new trousers, they better be a different color/fit/texture/material than any of the other things I already do have, that way when I wear them I'd actually appreciate "selecting" them as opposed to anything else out of my closet (diversity). But if the new item is so far out there that it does not fit with much of my wardrobe (i.e. bright neon orange for me), then I'd probably not get as much out of it (versatility). These two checkpoints keep me from buying too much stuff, regardless of price.
Good way of looking at things for sure. Another criteria: if those trousers are the same as some of your existing things, are they a direct upgrade in some way (i.e. maybe they look better, nicer material etc.), in which case you could get rid of the older pair and improve your wardrobe without bulking it out at all
Also limit the amount of things you buy. Cap the amount of shirts you own at 10. Pants - 1 in every neutral colour. Black,Navy,Beige,Grey,Tan. Jackets capped at 4 maybe 5 jackets. Everything should work with each other.
My approach is to spend on what I consider ethical manufacturing, which also includes resale items and I keep a minimal wardrobe by applying a 5 item rule (5 shirts, 5 polos, 5 t shirts, 5 pairs of pants, etc.
Sounds like a sensible approach - also means you have to think more about getting clothing that actually works with the rest of your wardrobe
One of my top-3 topics for Ant’s videos along with acr reviews and “haha look at this trash from taobao”
I like your concept of “will I get the most out of the item” but there’s a problem of expectation vs reality. E.g. I bought aoku aasb bag last year and expected it to be perfect to be worn over the shoulder during summer. But the construction turned out to be more of a Fanny pack type which is fine until you sit somewhere. So now I’m constantly switching between “over the shoulder” and “under the belly” which partially led me to buying sp29 (because pockets obviously)
Going through the same thing with 3a-2 myself lol. Looks cool but pretty awkward to carry when full tbh
I do found that rule very interesting, i'm doing a different version of this rule : "I buy what i like, truly like, what i know i'll wear, no matter the price, could be 10€ or 240€ jacket, i'll buy it cause i like it and i'm sure of myself, if i'm just a bit hesitating, i'm not even taking the product in hand", So now i may not have luxury stuff all around but i have very different piece of clothing all around, so i can pull up as many different outfit and style i want.
If I hesitate for even a moment or have second thoughts walking to the register it gets put back
This makes sense psychologically. I've fallen into it myself without even knowing it was a 'rule' of advice. If you buy cheap crap you're gonna know its cheap crap, and the enthusiam about it will reflect on that. If you buy a nice more expensive piece you're going to be excited about it. I once got a small haul on Shein, threw it in my closet and havent even thought about it again since. I have no excitement to wear any of it. But the one-of-a-kind $150+ stuff i've bought off depop, I treat like treasure. I'm excited to wear it and I hang it on open racks just so I can look at it. Im in 'awe' of my good clothes. And I love them. This rule really does work
honestly the 150 rule makes a lot of sense. But I get the same effect without the same crying of my budget by just keeping a window in my browser full of clothing I'm considering buying. And culling it once a week. And if something manages to stay in their for a couple of months? then I buy it. It stops me from impulse buying and lets me feel if an object is something I really like. Because lemme tell you as someone who's got bad impulse control? A monetary sacrifice does not stop an impulse purchase ;-; It's great cause it does actually work for stuff like thrifting! Because you can apply it to like an item you haven't found in particular but know you want like this specific type of jacket and it's something you've wanted for a while, so that thrifted piece is still decently thought out
I do the same thing. I keep a browser or favourites list open. If the item is still there months later (or I come to my senses), the list then gets amended.
I can see the logic behind this rule, however as a person who owns both end of the spectrum (a lot of cheap items, but also a lot of high price items) I can say that in many cases buying timeless pieces from fast fashion retailers is a better choice, at least in my opinion. For example, my favorite T-shirts are from Uniqlo, one of my most worn jeans is from Zara and i always keep a Uniqlo packable down jacket in my gym bag during spring/summer/early autumn. I always ask myself "will i wear this item enough to justify the price".
But fast fashion is bad for the workers who produce the clothes, and bad for the environment because of overproduction, which makes the clothes end up in landfills. We can't consume like this much longer. It ain't it.
@@ApricusInaros The overproduction and clothes being dumped into the landfil are mostly due to trends, which i am not a big fan of either. However, i don't think it is that much of an issue if you buy your basics there and wear them until they aren't wearable anymore. Sure the working conditions are still an issue, but it is still the better option economically. Also some clothes are harder to find from more higher end brands.
Great vid. Funny and well thought through.
Even some balance in the arguments.
Bravo, Sir, top draw. 👏
I kind of break the mold. I have a lot of cheap stuff I pretty much never wear and maybe shouldn't have bought so I kind of agree but then a moment comes up and I'm like what can I put together and I'll find something I bought two or three years ago and never wore and make it work. So I don't know where does that put me?
someone please help me with budgeting my family is starving:
t shirt: $150
hoodie: $150
jorts: $150
underwear: $150
toe socks: $150
crocs: $150
I've argued for *years* that nearly everything you buy that isn't something you outright "need" should hurt a bit. It's always better to save up for something you truly adore than it is to buy loads of stuff because it's fairly cheap, and not really love any of it. People argue that that's elitist, but at the end of the day, "poor" people aren't buying from Shein. They know better. They know that they can't afford to buy things that fall apart after two washes, or that they will probably only wear twice because the fabric and fit tend to be crappy. The vast majority of fast fashion buyers are middle class consumers, who say they can't afford better clothes. What they really mean is they can't afford to buy better clothes all the time.
I'm pretty lucky. My monthly clothing budget looks more like a lot of people's yearly budget. I still only buy a handful of pieces a year, not counting basics like tees. Yes, that means I have to put a lot of thought into each piece I do buy, but once you get used to thinking that way it's not that hard. After your mid-twenties, you should have a pretty good idea what suits you best. I have a few main "ideas" and I buy different permutations of those ideas. I also stick to a color palate that I very, very rarely deviate from. If you stick to a color palate it's very easy to work in pieces that are a bit more experimental. It also seems like you have more than you really do because you can make far more different outfits with fewer pieces.
At the end of the day, buying less isn't really that difficult. It just means putting in more thought. Instead of buying a bunch of clothes for fun, you're going to spend time window shopping instead.
Ill just say that i love how good quality your videos are.
I unknowingly used this rule when buying my Cycling kit. I don’t buy cheap cycling kit now I get discount on the item but keep in mind the MSRP of it to assess the value
When I started getting into fashion, I bought EVERYTHING. It somehow worked out financially, but drained my bank account.
So I made up a check that really works well for me:
2 steps, image them like 2 triangles.
The first triangle is the cool-nice-unique triangle.
Find 3 people who are honest with you, one who you trust with their statement about the item being unique, one for it being cool etc.
If 2 of them agree on the item, it's a good pick-up. Say it's nice and cool, might be a bit basic, but that's alright. If it's unique and cool but doesn't look too nice, who cares, it's still a statement piece - but if it's just unique, it might be ugly and uncool. If it's just nice, it's lame. And so on.
The second triangle is the space-money-need triangle.
Do I have space and money for it? Doesn't matter if I actually need it. Do I need it and can afford it? I'll make place for it somehow.
So ideally, all 6 aspects are checked, 5 aspects is a no-brainer as well, 4 is meh and anything less is a dumb purchase.
It always works! Example:
The third winter jacket that I bought in a season, a puffer jacket. Was it a good looking (nice) and trendy (cool) piece? Yes. Not unique, but does not need to be.
Did I have the money and the space for it? Yup. Did I need it? Nope. Do I kinda regret this 4-point purchase? Yup.
Now, pants. I needed a new pair. Found one that was a 6-point purchase, and I still love that I got them.
Easy as that :)
Ah interesting! I like the crowd-sourced approach to make sure you're not going off the rails, so long as you're not exclusively going off what other people think when it comes to something being cool or not.
this basically answers my problem of buying $1 junk on aliexpress and having a shit ton of unused stuff in my room
On the other hand, $150 would get you a lifetime supply of $1 AliExpress junk!
I feel like a genius for figuring this out five years ago
As far as impulsive purchases go, potentially a dangerous trap is buying something you end up having no great uses for, only to buy what you need in order to pull it off, instead of finally learning your lesson.
I wear various sizes depending on what I'm going for and how I'm layering, it also sucks to find something would've been better off in a different size.
Thrift store masterrace!
Fast fashion really fucks my brain, know people who struggle with money for food at the end of the month but online shopping/fast shopping while walking past smth in the city is so deeply entangled in their brains it doesn't strike them as weird because 'I could always send it back/return it'
0:58 Try the lululemon men's underwear 5 pack for 118$, they are insanely good
So those $12 shirts from Walmart that I haven’t worn yet should be donated ASAP? And not replaced. So I’ll only buy stuff I’m going to love from now on. Live and learn
Make a list of what you want, write the list again a few weeks later, and again, buy the ones or just one or two that are still on your list after a couple of months, hope for the sales maybe
People will try and create workarounds, but the bottom line is that you have to learn to have some level of self control, for example even if you delete all the apps on your phone to stop yourself from being distracted your still likely just going to get distracted by something else and you will need to learn self control.
Went on a clothes diet, didn't buy anything for a year. Now I buy second hand, that are natural fibers, and have to have something in my current wardrobe that is worn out. I have several pieces over 10 years old, my jackets are all wool or leather and more than 10 years old.
How about putting 50/100$ in the piggy bank towards a grail item every time you feel the urge to buy something that it’s non just the same? That might work.
Last of all, if you like something you can still repair your clothes.
If you can sew and get a cheap sewing machine, you can renew your clothes quite well and it will feel more special to you due to its history.
Off topic, but I hear you reppin' Persona 5 music and I appreciate that. 🔥 🎶
Jackets are also my favourite article of clothing, but I live in a Mediterranean climate combined with my lifestyle means chances to wear them are few, I only have two though, I manage to window shop mostly.
its a great rule but there are definitely exceptions, being underwear/tshirts but even still quality is the highest priority. for underwear/socks calvin klein and tommy hilfiger are the perfect quality for price at around 30-50 a pack. and for tshirts the uniqlo airism is the go to, $25cad each and theyre my favourite shirts ive got 5 and thats all i need
My underwear is Reebok, my socks are Reebok, my pants Amazon Essentials, my black shirts are Walmart's George Brand, Old Navy sweaters; cheap.
The only "branded" things of higher quality that I buy; Adidas shorts, Adidas sandals, Crocs sandals, Adidas wind breakers, Timberland winter jackets, Nike/Vans/Converse shoes that will last years.
And then there is people like me, saving brutally for 3 months just to afford a 100€ piece.
The only fast fashion I by nowadays is from Uniqlo, or maybe socks and underwear from hnm or pull and bear
Not necessarily with regards to thrifting but I often buy items second hand from depop etc. This often means you can get access to better quality or more expensive brands and items but at more affordable prices. Admittedly this won't be applicable to all styles though
I think brand reputation is more important than price
I've spent a $180 on a sophnet hoodie that ripped after 1 wear. never buying that brand again lol. Also bought a $190 (on sale) margiela belt has started to fall apart after wearing it regularly over just 1 year.
so I think if your looking for quality and long lasting pieces you need to exclusively buy brands that are known specifically for their quality/craftsmanship. or if you want to buy eco friendly then look for brands that are known for that and have transparency around their manufacturing, uses natural earth dyes, etc.
I actually do think the 150 dollar price point makes sense financially even if you are not that well off. I actually depends more on the living costs in your country.
Let me elaborate (I will consider that 1 dollar equals 1 euros since it is my currency, I live in France) :
- if you want a good quality pair of jeans, most prices start around the 100 euros mark (think Levi's and such : for this price you get something produced in poorer countries, and designs that are mainstream and not innovative). That price point will include brands that try to be priced the same to "compete" but are of poorer quality. So, chances that you put your money in a brand that hires good designer and/or use quality products would definitely be more realistic at 150. So, 150 seems like the price point at which you would have eliminated most mainstream fashion options, thus making the purchase a conscious one, and the reality of paying 50 euros for the "same" item of clothing is realistically making you sweat a bit XD. If the pair is from a good designer, chances that your item will stay fashionably relevant longer also increases!
- if you want a good pair of sneakers, most brands are also already around the 100 euro mark. So it would not be quite a conscious purchase. At 150 however you are *starting* to hit the top range, like one of a kind collabs
I hope this helps!
i enjoyed this video! and appreciate the thought and effort you put into every video! thanks for sharing:)
There's an opposite/inverse to this argument. Ironically enough, one of my favorite pieces in my closet is a $2k Balenciaga jacket, and I absolutely love it but will rarely actually take out of my closet. Meanwhile I wouldnt think twice about throwing on a $30 shirt from Hot Topic. Just because something is better it doesn't necessarily mean I'll be more inclined to wear it. In fact, the higher the cost the less I'll end up wearing it as far as day-to-day stuff goes.
I can appreciate that - when you've got something nice you really don't want to ruin it, but it's not doing you any good sitting in your wardrobe 99% of the time! I guess it depends on why you bought the item - a luxurious-but-delicate shirt is best kept for occasions for sure, but I'd like to think something harder-wearing like a jacket deserves to be shown off whenever you need it. That doesn't mean I'd rock Balenciaga to hike up a mountain, but there's a balance to be had for sure where you really feel like you're putting all that $ to good use.
@@ThisIsAntwon Well rounded answer considering someone like me could never afford to buy a 2k jacket just for it to sit in the closet. The analogy that always gets used by the older generations about buying shoes but never wanting to get them dirty comes to mind. Shoes are inherently going to get dirty, they're designed for it (or used to be atleast lol), they're the only piece of clothing that actually touches the floor. Imagine buying a rain jacket but never wanting it to get wet. I don't mean to be insulting but one must come from an incredibly privileged position to be able to afford something (whatever it is, be it a car or a toaster) that expensive just to never really use it. Another analogy is money. Money is worth literally nothing until you spend it, until then it's just paper or numbers in your bank account. The same applies to the 2k jacket. I suppose some people see more value in using something rather than simply owning it, again most likely due to privilege and background.
Enjoyed the vid btw. Your points about buying items that "don't quite fit" because they're on sale is something i'm guilty of. You feel like a g when you save p but later on you're a doof when you realise you don't ever wear the item.