I see something I like, I see if I can afford it, I buy it. That’s the way I used to shop for clothes. You know how that story ends: with a closet full of clothes that I only liked for a week or that just don’t work together to make outfits that fit into my life. I started building capsule wardrobes for myself back in 2012, and it’s saved me a lot of stress over the years.

Now I’m not saying to go out and buy yourself a completely new wardrobe. I love slow fashion brands, but the most sustainable way to shop is to not shop at all. Rather, shop your own closet. See what’s already there that you love, that’s well-made, that fits you now, and that you can wear repeatedly. Once you’ve made a pile of those pieces, see what you need to fill in the holes in your capsule. Maybe they can be filled with secondhand items from brick-and-mortar thrift shops or from sites like Poshmark, Depop, or Noihsaf Bazaar. Better yet, you can trade your slow fashion pieces on my favorite app, Lucky Sweater. As far as the clothes that no longer fit into your life, you can resell them on the sites listed above, or you can donate them via a Take Back Bag from Trashie.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not shaming anyone for shopping new. I’m one of the last people on Earth with the right to do that. It’s just that if more and more of us begin to shop mindfully (or even learn to make some of our own clothes!), the healthier it is for our planet. I’m not saying that I buy from all sustainable fashion brands either. Unfortunately, most of us can’t afford to do that. My closet is a mix of slow and fast fashion. As with everything else, it’s important to try to find balance.

If you are shopping for some new staple pieces, here are the links to my picks from these images. Maybe you get some inspiration from them, or maybe they’re not your style at all! When I help people curate their clothing, it’s about them, never about trying to convert them to my style. And again, the idea is not to go out and buy an entirely new wardrobe. It’s to think about building a mindful closet that you love and feels like you, that doesn’t waste your money, and that hopefully helps to reduce waste if more of us are intentional about how we get dressed.

I can always help you style your own sustainable capsule wardrobe if you’d like some guidance. Click here to learn more.

Amour Vert is my new go to for socially and environmentally conscious style. The site has everything I love from cute summer dresses, to the perfect-fitting jeans, to carryall totes. For every tee they sell, Amour Vert plants a tree in partnership with American Forests, and they’re at 130,000 trees and counting! The company also has a zero-waste philosophy and only uses sustainable fabrics and low-impact dyes. Who out there can’t get behind great style AND great ethics?

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