Though many may roll their eyes at mundane news articles on Meghan Markle, I relish in the break from the tabloids’ incessant vitriol.
This week’s welcome, breaking (and boring) news was that The Duchess of Sussex arrived at the WellChild Awards sporting the exact dark green P.A.R.O.S.H. dress she had worn during both the photo call to announce her engagement to Prince Harry and their subsequent interview at Frogmore Cottage.
Though admittedly even Meghan picking at a hangnail would be enough to send papers into a flurry, repeated outfits in the public eye always get tongues wagging. In most cases, the re-wearing of a near-£500 dress is hardly news, but royalty (of the literal and celebrity kind) in clothes we’ve already seen has always captured the public’s imagination. Harper’s Bazaar have an entire gallery dedicated to every article of clothing Kate Middleton has reworn, as well as one dedicated to general celebrity outfit repeats.
Tiffany Haddish was crowned America’s thrifty sweetheart for rewearing her $4,000 Alexander McQueen dress an unprecedented five times (still probably not quite enough to properly justify its cost-per-wear) and Keira Knightley became a prudent legend when she was spotted in a customised version of her (albeit Chanel) wedding dress on multiple occasions.
We are obsessed with famous people daring to wear something more than once, as it feels relatable: a ‘celebs – they’re just like us!’ moment of fashion faux pas or frugality. But if anything, in recent years we have become ‘just like them’, with insatiable appetites for new outfits, our wardrobes slowly morphing into ceaseless conveyor belts of polyester.
A need for new outfits per post has been an issue for fashion bloggers and influencers, our newest type of celebrity, for several years. But it’s something that increasingly affects anyone with an Instagram account.
Though not necessarily privy to the same massive amounts of money and freebies from designers, having platforms and audiences of your own online (however small) has meant that outfit repetition has become a much-missed thing of the past for many. According to 2017 research by environmental charity Hubbub, 41 per cent of all 18-25-year-olds feel the pressure to wear a different outfit every time they go out, unsurprisingly rising to 47 per cent for young women.
Last year, research by Barclaycard showed almost one in 10 Brits partake in a rising trend called ‘snap and send back’ – buying clothes solely to post a photo of them online, and then sending them back immediately for a refund. They stated it was in part fueled by the hashtag #OOTD (outfit of the day).
The rise of social media has coincided with the rise of sites that seem to exist only to provide cheap, one-off garments that are made to be snapped in once. E-tailors Miss Pap, I Saw it First, Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing all have whole sections on their sites dedicated to dresses for a fiver, and Missguided came under fire this year for releasing a bikini that cost just £1.
The fact that not purchasing a new outfit for just one month is posed as a challenge shows how normalised constant spending on clothes has become
Back in the day, cost-effective alternatives like George and Primark were cheap, but you were still expected to wear your purchases more than once. Not everyone is #blessed with #gifted items, but with fast fashion showing no signs of slowing down, your bank balance no longer stands in the way of ensuring you can keep up with the Kardashians.
The ramifications of fast fashion on the environment are well known. The apparel industry accounts for 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and is the second largest industrial polluter after oil. Workers are continually exploited in the creation of cheap garments.
There have been several attempts to combat the wastefulness: recycling initiatives by shops like M&S, H&M and Intimissimi reward shoppers with money off for donating unwanted clothes. Breathing life into worse for wear clothes through upcycling is a re-emerging trend. Thrift shopping is experiencing a boom, and this year saw Oxfam launch Second Hand September, a campaign encouraging consumers not to buy new clothing for 30 days.
The fact that not purchasing a new outfit for just one month is posed as a challenge shows how normalised constant spending on clothes has become.
The days of investing in classic pieces feel increasingly far away . Staples like the ‘little black dress’, the ‘plain white tee’, and a sturdy pair of multi-wear jeans simply aren’t valued in the same way they were a few years back. But quality over quantity is sustainable for your wallet and more importantly, the world.
And, if all else fails, there is always the option of simply sharing fewer pictures.
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