Rekindling Old (Sartorial) Flames

Bysophie milner

We live in a culture where speed is king. We want every little thing right now – no, yesterday – and it goes for fashion too. Trends can’t come in quick enough. Designers are struggling to keep up the pace of throwing out 9 collections per year (thank you Raf Simons for citing this pressure as a reason for stepping down at Dior) and the high street is snapping at the toes of the runway, creating cast-offs and copies faster than ever before. As a fashion blogger obsessed with clothes, on a high street budget, armed with an ASOS premier account, it’s easy to get swept up in it all, drowning in the ever-increasing New In sections, saved baskets overflowing their virtual brims. What’s that sound? Oh, just my wardrobe rails groaning under the pressure of the sixth off-the-shoulder top I’ve bought this season… I’m guiltier than most people I know for buying similar incarnations of things, or something that I bought a few seasons back, but I’m trying to slow down the pace and be more savvy with my shopping.



We live in a culture where speed is king. We want every little thing right now – no, yesterday – and it goes for fashion too. Trends can’t come in quick enough. Designers are struggling to keep up the pace of throwing out 9 collections per year (thank you Raf Simons for citing this pressure as a reason for stepping down at Dior) and the high street is snapping at the toes of the runway, creating cast-offs and copies faster than ever before. As a fashion blogger obsessed with clothes, on a high street budget, armed with an ASOS premier account, it’s easy to get swept up in it all, drowning in the ever-increasing New In sections, saved baskets overflowing their virtual brims. What’s that sound? Oh, just my wardrobe rails groaning under the pressure of the sixth off-the-shoulder top I’ve bought this season… I’m guiltier than most people I know for buying similar incarnations of things, or something that I bought a few seasons back, but I’m trying to slow down the pace and be more savvy with my shopping.
This bomber jacket was rediscovered by accident. Visiting my family back up in the midlands, I didn’t bring any warm clothes because I figured yeah it’s summer, it’s warm and yeah! No? No. I was wrong. After going through old hoodies from my emo-goth days (why is my mother still keeping hold of them?) this jacket was hanging there from the varsity trend that dominated SS13. And it was perfect. More perfect now than it was back then. (Well, when you’re freezing your arse off in the height of summer without a jacket, I think even one of those emo-goth hoodies would have sufficed, but you get the picture.) But there’s something so satisfying about rekindling an old sartorial flame. Like finding an old toy you used to be obsessed with. An old diary. Listening to your old favourite song. Hooking up with your ex from high-school when you accidentally bump into him on a night out in your hometown. Wait, no, that’s too weird…
Maybe if we shop a little wiser, invest in more quality pieces, stop falling in the trap of trends (or at least, try) we’ll get to enjoy the pieces we own more, and for a little longer.
Here’s some buy now, wear forever favourites

I’m wearing Topshop Bomber, ASOS off-the-shoulder top (Similar), Topshop Jeans, Topshop Mules, Topshop Bag, ASOS necklace 
Photography by Rebecca Spencer 

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4 Comments

  4. Last year, after I bought a cheap shirt that I wore one time and then it literally fell apart, I started cleaning out all the fast fashion stuff out of my wardrobe and started rebuilding it with classics. It's not just about saving money, it's about the environmental impact of where it all goes when things fall apart or go out of fashion three months later.

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