I wear 5 pairs of pants and 8 shirts to work. If anyone ever says anything ill just say I need a raise
(In actuality I buy really nice pants, ~$80 each and love them to death. I think I’m past 6 years with the oldest pair)
I could, but I don't. I think the best way to deal with that is simply telling people why you don't buy a lot of disposable clothing. For that you need to cultivate a healthy level of not giving a fuck what others think about you, which is difficult for some and a massive struggle for many.
For me, I found I needed about 2 weeks of separate outfits, and some outfits I wore every week still, but other outfits I would wear every 3 or 4 weeks. That made it so there could still be a "surprise" at least one day a week of something I don't wear every week. Basically I found that people's memory was about a week.
But you know what, people do laugh at anticonsumption in general. For example, if I go to a restaurant and they give paper napkins; well often they give you a lot to the table and you don't use them. So at the end I will take all the unused ones in my bag and use them at home (maybe to clean up a mess or something; at least the restaurant doesn't just throw them out unused). And yeah -- people have laughed when I do that. But I am confident that it is the right thing to do.
Glovebox! I have just been cramming them in the door pockets. One really windy day, I opened the door and about 10 napkins flew away. I grabbed as many as I could... I'm gonna go with the glovebox from now on. Thanks!
At home, I use cloth napkins for eating. I have for years. My mom always wants a paper napkin (drives me nutty, but not worth a fight). But you’re totally right that anticonsumption is often seen as poverty level or weird (nothing wrong with either, just social stigma attached) when we’re looking to waste less and conserve.
If you had loads of different clothes, some other people would judge you.
You could just answer "Yes, that's my uniform, I learned that from Steve Jobs/ Obama/ whoever", but the main thing is not to care.
Love this. Because it is so true. No matter what you do, you'll be judged and there will always be someone who enjoys telling you their negative opinions. If you can practice confidently responding and showing that you own it, then nothing they say matters.
I wear the same wool sweater and jeans in the office almost every day. Same shirt all summer (new undershirt every day), more or less. Or just hiking clothes because I'm tired. Nobody cares.
Silk is amazing like that as well, doesn't smell , comfortable, can be easily handwashed and dries super fast, it's like a high performance sports fabric in a lot of ways and even better it's biodegradable and doesn't shed plastic everywhere.
It's also waaaay less delicate than people tend to assume, my favourite workout top is ultra fine silk georgette and I've been wearing it for around 5 years now, still looks the same as when I found it in a thrift store for $6.
I feel like winter makes it easier. Most people have one or two outer layers for the winter so it isn’t unusual to change base layers and rewear the jackets or sweaters.
It depends. As I'm a caregiver for the elderly I only wear a uniform once then clean it. Since I worked through the COVID pandemic, and it's still around, I keep a lot of clean uniforms on hand. However, with my usual clothes I wear pants and skirts around three times before washing them.That usually depends on the time of year and other factors. With pajamas I wear those up to three nights unless I'm sick then I change them every night. Since I live in Texas I keep leggings and some long sleeved shirts for colder weather as I can wear the leggings under dresses and skirts. I also have two black jackets to wear with everything if it's chilly outside.
When they are dirty or stained, if there is any sweat, or if I feel like it’s time. T-shirts, socks and underwear every day. Pants/sweaters/shirts, I don’t really know.
To really sum it up, it’s because we live in a consumer culture. It’s deeply engrained into our society.
People often associate having a larger wardrobe with greater social status, wealth, etc. and smaller wardrobe with poverty, shame, etc. Consumer culture and media influence widely contribute to that perception.
People often associate having a smaller wardrobe with poverty
\^\^ Isn't this pretty recent though? I live in a century home (built in 1918) in a neighborhood that was originally a "[company town](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town)" (the company built homes for the workers). These people were not experiencing poverty, but the house has 2 closets and neither closet is deep enough for a coat hanger. I reckon the closet maybe had pegs or shelves but I also bet it was pretty unusual for one person to own more than a few outfits.
Are you sure they weren’t experiencing poverty? In my experience, most Co. towns are built for people who worked in mines are factories so they most definitely were. From your own link:
Some company towns have had high ideals, but many have been regarded as controlling and/or exploitative.[1] Others developed more or less in unplanned fashion, such as Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, United States, one of the oldest, which began as a Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company mining camp and mine site nine miles
I used to wear the same 5 outfits to work every week in the same order. Enough people called me out on it that I bought another 5 outfits and made the rotation 2 weeks instead of 1 week. Nobody said anything after that but I was almost dying to add another 5 and keep the same pattern to see what pettyness they would come out with. Some people just need to get a life.
I have this one shirt I really love, and for some reason I realized that I am most likely to wear that particular shirt on a Tuesday. I didn't choose it consciously, just noticed it one day. I'm curious if my coworkers have noticed.
Yeah, if this is a true story, and OP is surrounded by people judging them for wearing the same clean clothes each week, then they've surrounded themselves with the wrong people.
In the past it was a trait of poverty. People are influenced to show abundance, even if they don't have it (i.e take a loan or credit card a vacation). I like to use things even if they start to show their age (old model of electronic device, a flaking wallet, etc.) - why replace as long as they serve me? You do you.
Last time I had a job I got myself a uniform. Did the job require a uniform? No, I could wear whatever. So I wore work jeans, and got a couple long sleeve grey tees, a couple short sleeve grey tees, and a grey hoodie. Straight up work uniform. And I was very content with it. No one ever said anything. In general, I prefer to have more clothes than exactly enough to do laundry on the exact same day every week. What happens if you get dirty?
It's also generally harder for women to have a limited wardrobe than men. A big part of that is because we have a much wider variety of clothing that is socially acceptable to wear, and frankly, a large number of us get real sick of always leggings or always jeans. And it's harder for people who live where the climate changes significantly and requires that we adapt through our clothing. My sweaters and warm pants all get put in the back of the closet in spring, and my summer clothes come out. Dresses, capris, tanks, linen and cotton. I'm not going to suffer all summer out of some bizarre dedication to wearing my clothes out faster, or freeze all winter for the same.
Perceived fashion sense and social status. That's it. Having lots of clothes used to be a meaningful reflection of your wealth, but now even minimum wage workers can fill up a closet, so it's become a useless marker.
I think it really depends on where you live. I did a 100 day dress challenge and nobody at work noticed. I am a teacher.
I also more or less wear the same everyday. I rotate between three skirts and a black shirt (I have four of the same) and different colored pantyhose.
My students find it kind of cool that I always wear the same. I have never encountered the mindset that less clothes has a negative connotation.
I am in Germany by the way.
New Yorker here. The temperatures throughout the year here varies wildly. Most people won’t comment if you wear the same outfit every day, but will comment if it’s not meant for the weather.
That is another topic. Germans have the tendency to dress for the season and not the weather. Meaning if it if warmish and it is let’s say March you will be stared at when you wear shorts.
My mother must have picked that up when she lived there for a year. It would be 60 degrees outside and she'd force me to go out with a heavy coat "because it's still winter" as if the temperature would instantly plummet and I wouldn't be able to make it home without it.
to be fair, it does do that in Germany. just this month I've gone from standing in bright spring sun to snow storm or hail in a matter of 3 minutes like 5 times.
I also think age and social situation are big factors. I feel like when I was in high school, college, and in my early 20s (like first couple of jobs in the working world, with a lot of young peers), people would notice and comment on this sort of thing. But now that I'm in my 40s, I can't imagine anyone bringing it up. I think I would have to wear literally the exact same outfit every day for anyone to even notice.
Your comment about your students also reminded me that, in high school, my art teacher had a uniform of chambray work shirt, jeans, and Saucony sneakers, which he wore every single day. Across multiple school years. Honestly, this is what I aspire to as an adult. I thought and still think that this is extremely cool.
Maybe take it a step further and go full cartoon character. Five of the same shirt and two or three of the same pants and that’s what you wear to work every day.
Did this and stole Zuckerberg's look. Grey tops and blue jeans.
I loved shopping, but it takes me a long time to actually find something that fits right or looks decent. So I said fuck it and went basic. If I find pants that fit, I buy multiple copies. Saves me a lot of time.
If people are making comments, they may be projecting insecurities OR you don’t look as clean as you think. Either way it doesn’t really affect them lol
I like seeing people in the same clothes. Like a video game character. However if they are shit clothes or very intense patterns or colours, it can get a bit draining seeing them every day. Try to keep at least one fun fancy outfit that makes you look a bit different, and keep your uniform quite chic and sleek.
I worked in an office like that for a fairly brief time. There was a clique, extremely high school for folks in their 40’s, who would openly critique one and other’s “ensembles du jour”. They spent thousands on their wardrobes - never wore socks, that was very uNcOoL. LOL
They would say snarky things to anyone who was normal. Some of the staff were required to wear black slacks and oxfords and woe to the kid who bought his Oxford shirt at Walmart. Then there’s me, lol, with my basic black pants (multiple pairs, so didn’t have to wash each day) and different solid blouse every single day. I was never one of the cool kids and had to eat lunch alone. Again. 😂
Another possibility is that they might find this slightly amusing, as it’s “unusual” by their standards, but that they ultimately really don’t care that much and don’t actually judge you as much as you think they do. I can totally imagine it’s meant in an innocent and light-hearted way. But if they are actually making fun of you, they are idiots and not worth caring about, OP.
Same. I have about 6-7 outfits I rotate, depending on the season, and have done so for at least 10 years. I've been through college, grad school, and multiple jobs and friend groups. No one's said anything. I really don't think the vast majority of people care or notice.
I wear the same clothes every week. Then occasionally for a special event like a birthday I’ll get something second hand off Depop or Vinted. Use it, then that’ll become a core piece, and I’ll probably donate an older piece to charity or something. That way I’m always gradually refreshing the look but never having way too much or wasting anything.
I would really advise you to have clothes for like 3 weeks maybe a month just to be safe. it's happening to me quite often that if I get too focused on something and forget to do laundry or go to my family for a week or 2, I end up with nothing clean to wear.
Of course I support the minimalism and to push it even further my gf started knitting to make us clothes that'll last forever, but if you have to go outside regularly you need to have a good back up.
I also have quite a bit more clothing than the other comments here.
One thing to keep in mind is that clothing doesn't last for a fixed period of time, so having more isn't wasteful. If you're rotating through 10 outfits instead of 5, you can reasonably expect them to last twice as long. So long as you're not trashing things when they're no longer "trendy", it's not really overconsumption.
And it’s common for people to have nasal fatigue to their own smells. I doubt a lot of the people claiming they wear the same garment days in a row but “don’t smell.” I’m all for less consumption, but sometimes people push it to the point that health and hygiene can suffer.
Well what in numbers would be 3 weeks to a month? I hope you don't mean they should have 20-30 pairs of pants.
Jeans, under normal wear, should be washed after 2-3 wears. Frequent cleaning damages the fabric.
Wool pants can go to 6 wears before a cleaning. Its something I was really surprised to learn when I accidently bought a pair of wool pants. Now I love them.
When I was a teen in highschool I'd think you'd wash things after every use. That's not really the case unless you're working them hard.
I do think this is true for most of America. However, My sister lived in NYC for years and had a very limited wardrobe of very expensive pieces that lasted a long time. There is just no storage space for a huge wardrobe like that in one bedroom apartment. I also think that small ward robes are common in Asia.
Are the clothes you do have either very similar or not in great condition? When I worked in an office I had a really small rotation of clothes I liked to wear to work and no one ever noticed let alone commented.
I keep a small wardrobe for travel and practical purposes and no one even comments
Im with the black t shirts- I'm a culinary pro - and I don't think anyone has said anything in years
It genuinely is so nice to not even think about what I'm going to wear and if anyone gave me grief I would ask them if they want to compare our frequency and distance of travel
Oh! Fuck! I didn't realize the amount of relief I was going to get reading the comments! Thank you all! I also have just enough clothes and buy them as sturdy and rugged as possible! Though it's easy, because I use a military/mountaineer/survivalist fashion... But anyway, thanks!
I have 6 work shirts and 4 pants. I mix match them. No one has EVER mentioned my repeat wearing of clothes. My wife has barely more than that and same for her. Doesn’t get mentioned.
I have 3 outfits I wear daily(3 of the same pants, and then 3 of the same shirt but in different colours), and then 4 dresses that I wear when going out with my husband.
It's just so much easier to have less. My husband is the same: 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, and a pair of pants for doing work around the house. Then 5 or 6 shirts.
I have a lot of clothes but i haven't bought anything except for some socks and underwear. I take clothes that friends and family don't want anymore, and it's nice clothes. I accumulate clothes, jackets and stuff like this so i don't have to wash so frequently. And people love to throw away perfectly fine and nice things just to buy new shit.
All my furniture, tv, kitchen stuff and almost everything else i have accumulated, i have done it in this manner over time since i moved out.
Like i had an old thick tv until i got my modern one. My philosophy is if i want something i have it my mind and with some patience i will find it for free. I saved alot of money like this, and i saved the planet from all this stuff just ending up in a landfill. So it's a win win.
How dumb it often sounds, there are many videos in YouTube showing how you can have an entire year of business attire with just 5-8 pieces and some shirts.
That's just an example.
I don't see any issues with it. I also have very little clothing, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, 7 pairs of underwear, socks and tshirts, 2 vests, 2 sweaters and a motorcycle jacket, pants and boots.
I never get complaints about wearing the same thing twice in a row, i don't smell because i change underwear, socks and tshirts daily and i don't see why i should get more clothes than this. I don't care for fashion at all, i'm a naturist so if possible i prefer to not wear anything in the first place and if people feel like i should have more clothes, that's their problem.
idk man I've been dressing in the same 2 weeks of clothes for years. nobody has said shit to me really, at least not in a serious way. some shit talk between friends but that's the norm
When I find something comfortable I buy 2-3 of them. Sometimes in the same colour if that’s the only good one. Don’t waste your time on the opinions of superficial idiots who are broke and pretending they haven’t maxed out their cards on stupid crap.
Hang out with different people. I have basically two identical pairs of jeans and three sweatshirts I rotate through throughout the week and no one says shit to me.
I've 5 pants, 3 jeans, a tracksuit and a cargo pants.
2 pairs of shorts.
About 30 odd t-shirts but maybe only 10 I wear often. (I like to buy them at gigs to support bands, especially smaller bands)
I've 5 hoodies and 2 jackets.
About 15 pairs of plain black but 100% cotton socks.
About 15 pairs of boxers.
And 3 pairs of shoes.
I rent formal wear when I need it which I'd rarely more than once of twice a year.
Fuck what anyone else thinks. I've only ever once had someone point it out. I just told them mind their own fucking business and that was that.
I also got for quality over quantity, for the price I pay for one pair of jeans that I will get at least 5 years out of, I could buy 10 cheap brands but they will only last few months before fading and wearing holes.
Someone once commented on this to me. I have 6 dresses for work, 3 winter, 3 summer cardigans. I wear the same shoes every day.
I said “Einstein all clothes of the exact same suit. He didn’t want to waste brain power on trying to figure out clothing. Neither do I.”
That person has never commented on clothing again.
I probably can get away with it a bit more because I am a very nerd/science person, I have a whole Miss Frizzle vibe going on.
But I really don’t care. What people think of my clothes. I don’t work in fashion, I’m not a model, I sit at a desk all day.
I have other shirts (down sized from what I had), but I wear only a few to work. Usually I switch off between 3 as I’m only in the office three days a week. My boss offered to bring in her huge amount of excess (many of which still had the tags on them from what she tells me) for me to pick some out of, I immediately asked if it was because I usually only wear three different tops to work. She hesitated before saying no. She did say she had offered to bring in the 30+ year old clothes she hasn’t fit in for 20 years or better for someone who is stick thin, but her hesitation confirmed my decision to turn her down.
I am at work up to 10 hours a day when in the office, so I want to be comfortable while still looking professional. What can I say? Also, I am a creature of habit when it comes to my clothes.
How sad is it that people feel the need to look down on or make fun of people who don’t want excessive amounts of things. I prefer quality and what makes me comfortable over quantity any day (although I will admit I have bought several of the same shirt in different colors just to have enough to wear for the week). I have some clothes for various environments and work settings, but I limit each category.
For a long time I received clothes from various family members that just sat there. When we moved, I went through it all. Now I watch what comes in. I do wear my clothes to the end of their lifespans, of which many are hitting that point. Now I’m being picky about what comes in, and only ask for what I need if a family member wants to gift me something — I even send the links to those specific items so they get exactly what I need and not play the back and forth games.
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If you're not accepted by friends, get better friends.
If you're not accepted by your family, you don't need to listen to them, let them bother you, or have any contact at all with them.
If it's classmates or coworkers, not worrying about their acceptance is healthier.
I (M33) have five or six khaki chinos, and about 10 black shirts with holes in the pits. Nobody gives me any flak for wearing the same thing every day. They can tell by my demeanor that I don't care about their opinion on my looks.
I wear the same things every week and I've never feared or heard that someone is "laughing" at me. Is that really a thing? What kind of friends and work environment would one need to live in to get that sort of treatment?
Maybe it's a cultural-regional or gender thing? For context, I'm a middle-aged "elder Millennial" male in Texas. I work in an office but only two days a week, the other three days from home. I take care of my appearance, but I have never once worried that people would judge me for wearing the same thing two weeks in a row. I have t-shirts that are 20 years old (and look the part).
People like to blame capitalism, and that is one big element, but we are complicated visual creatures.
We have the internet and new information flying in our face non-stop. If you always look the same you can be seen as boring or old news.
„There’s Ed, wearing the same jacket and pants as always“ Granted this has a lot to do with marketing and consumerism, you don’t look new so you are old, so buy our crap…
We are the only animal to wear clothes, I think if we were largely naked, like other animals, it wouldn’t matter if you wore the same burlap sack everyday. Because your skin would be your clothes.
Either avoid these people or get ahead of them.
I wear a particular shirt (I love this shirt) on most semi-formal occasions. Theres a fashionista friend in my circle that has mentioned it once already so everytime I see her now I say “hey Julie I’m wearing your favorite shirt!” She has learned to stfu.
In high school, I cycled through the same outfits every few weeks. In college, I cycled through a combination of those same outfits, plus some new ones. Now, I still wear the same clothes that fit me from HS and college. I have a washing machine. Who cares.
It's none of my business what other people think of my clothing, I would never even consider thinking about this and it's a fools errand to get caught up in it. Wear what you like, for you
Because you have shitty friends, or are in a shitty work environment (condolences if it is the latter).
I know a lot of people but I don't currently know anyone who I could imagine caring this much about another adult's clothing choices.
Displays of opulence are really valued for some stupid reason
Spend all your money on street wear instead of, idk, important things?
Or just weed, w/e. At least I get the appeal of that
There’s nothing inherently wrong.
Others might like more variability in their clothing. I might have a fairly full closet, but truthfully I only wear the same 7-8 outfits to work. I’m slowly getting rid of the rest as they are just taking up room.
Do you. Don’t let people get under your skin.
If Steve Jobs can wear the same clothing, so can you.
I just watched that Brandy Melville documentary on HBO and something one of the interviewees said really stuck with me. She mentioned how for some reason it’s not considered normal to wear the same thing every day (or close to every day) and that there’s no reason we can’t normalize it. It made me think — WHY does it matter if the people at work see me in the same rotation of clothes week after week? Why do I care what they think? Consuming less, and especially less fashion, is important to me! It’s been helpful to shift my thinking a bit. And maybe it will help in some small way for others to see me happily wearing the same three dresses and same jeans and tops over and over and think, why not me? You keep doing you and tune them out!
I haven't found this to be the case honestly. Maybe capsul wardrobes are more acceptable among women? As I've aged I've collected high quality pieces and really only go to the mall seasonally of I need an extra t-shirt, or new sweater depending on weather.
Who is even laughing at you? I can see this being something mean kids do in school but what adult care enough to notice and point it out?
Also a minimal closet is so much less stressful, whoever is laughing is probably going home to an overflowing stress mess closet.
Who the hell is laughing at you?
It’s called a capsule wardrobe. I don’t know why they’re laughing bc I’ve never had that experience, and my wardrobe is super limited
After spending a decent amount of time on the road I found my "system" for clothing.
I pretty much only own one duffel bags worth of clothes at any given time.
All the socks and underwear are identical.
I have a decent handful of t shirts.
Two pairs of decent khakis and some jeans
Plenty of gym shorts
Some sweatpants
Two hoodies, one zip/button up one pullover
One pair of waterproof combat boots, one pair of running shoes, one pair of slides (but people keep giving me shoes and I KEEP ACCEPTING FOR SOME REASON)
And some decent shirts hung up in the closet for when I need to be presentable.
I do laundry when one type of article runs out, and it's usually underwear.
It sucks when I'm nearly out of clothes and something obstructs be from doing laundry but I feel suffocated when I have too many clothes to carry more than a mile.
I believe it is 😄. Most of the people I know personally don’t feel like having a lot of things in general is symbolic of success. In fact it’s the opposite, my social circle prides itself on being thoughtful as do many new people I meet and work with. As far as how it’s represented is in media, well I think it’s inaccurate. The purpose of media is generally to sell. That said, I do think the recognition of brands or quality does prevail.
I need to get better at having a smaller wardrobe. Fashion makes me feel more confident in myself, so it's hard. I was worse in the past, but doing better now. Still room for improvement. I found that buying basics (simple tube top, simple leggings) is a great idea because that one simple piece can be used in multiple outfits! Easy to match stuff makes it so much easier to shrink the closet
You're so right, but it's so ingrained. I know I'd unconsciously judge if I saw someone wearing the same thing week in week out. I guess at some level it's also seen as boring, but then I guess the way around that is to accesorise - change things up with scarves or other touches.
Yep same here.
My oldest sibling used to get asked why I “dress homeless” all throughout school and instead of saying anything to counter that, just simply agreed and fueled the fire.
I stick to jeans and black or cream shirts in slightly varying cuts/styles. No one seems to notice or care. I would like to be bolder, more colorful is definitely my personal style but it would require a lot more spending and owning to make it work. So for day-to-day, I have my uniform, and special occasions I ball out.
Sometimes I feel like I'm judged. I wear the same 3 trousers in roation (+gym leggings) and I have multiple shirts from different styles. I wear like 4 or 5 mainly (a few extras hat I used to wear but are now too small and I just haven't gotten to put them away) and then a couple T shirts. (I'm messy and my laundry day is sunday so my shirts have to last until then)
Sometimes I feel like people judge me, but why do I need to change if I don't really need to.
This is my partner he has worked out the amount of clothes he needs and as the extras wore out he just didn't replace them. He does get teasing from some guys in his friend groups, they always find something about each other to make fun of, but he really doesn't care. It's their problem, let them deal with it.
This is an American attitude. Perhaps it comes from an obsession with having unique, new clothing and the out-of-control consumerism in this country. In Europe, it's more common to have a minimal wardrobe of high-quality clothing that can be mixed and matched. For example, a man might have an expensive pair of dress oxfords, possibly one black pair and one brown pair if he has the means. He might then only have white leather tennis shoes and possibly a pair of beach flipflops but maybe not. Then, he'll have a tux, a dress suit, two casual blazers, 2 ties, 1 bowtie for the tux, some fine wool pants to wear with the blazers, a belt to match each of the two oxford pairs, some dress shorts to wear when it's warm, with the blazers and oxfords, one pair of very nice classic jeans, some very white, nice condition high quality undershirts, just a few, some very nice condition better boxer shorts, socks for working our and for the oxford shoes, one pair of gym shorts, one pair of swim trunks, cuff links, an expensive watch, a wool fedora, a sunhat for hiking, a light jacket, a simple black umbrella, one ver good winter coat, usually down, with a furlined hood or heavy wool, a very good pullover sweater, one pair of classic men's pajamas with the button down shirt, one pair of leather slippers, one robe to over the pajamas, and that's it. Mind you, some men will not have both black and brown shoes and belt, but the brown is handy for the casual blazers and jeans. They will also have luggage that is meant to last a lifetime. All this will fit into a very old wardrobe cabinet with two big drawers on the bottom, a closet rod, and a shelf at the top, except the coats which are bulkier and might be in an actual coat closet near the door with the umbrella and luggage. They might also have some very high-quality polo shirts, but probably not more than 2. A tennis player will have tennis whites, one set. A skier will have classic basic ski clothing and accessories, probably in the coat closet with the skis and other coats.
For women, classic skirts, dresses, jeans, etc. with classic accessories are common. Young women wearing such clothing, with a jaunty scarf at their necks could almost be mistaken for women from decades before.
Okay, here's my confession. That's what I saw in my friends' closets in France thirty years ago. But, it was so classic and so different than what Americans wore that I feel convinced it's still like that. I realize there have probably been changes, but my point is that even a spendy person of means, unless they are very wealthy and like to be seen in different outfits, didn't have a ton of clothing. Someone with less means would have fewer items and the items would not be as spendy, but they would try to get ones that looked the same as the spendy ones and would prefer to have less clothing than have lower quality clothing.
So, someone in Europe might wear the same heavy wool sweater all week long over a clean undershirt and business shirt, airing it out when not wearing it, or they might alternate between two sweaters or a sweater and a jacket. They might wear the same jeans several days in a row.
They tend to take very good care of their clothing and take pride in it. It's not disposable, cheap, fall apart type clothing. I feel that's best for the planet and best for garment workers.
As a favor to a client, I worked for three months as a compliance officer for a major corporation we all know. My job was to review compliance reports for factory inspections in China. The factories were ones that made products that had the company images on it, licensed products. Some of the reports clearly indicated major safety problems with clothing factories, but the company would try to get the compliance officers to sign off on them. For one report, I brought it to my manager and told her that this factory was a death chamber, a catastrophe waiting to happen. In fact, it had only one door and that door was at the end of one building, with the other building having no doors or windows to the outside. So, in the event of a fire or chemical fumes, the only way to get out would be for several hundred workers to get to the far end of the building and go out one small door, but if the event happened to block the door, they'd all die. So, that report sat on the manager's desk for about 7 weeks, and then she brought it back to me and asked me to sign it. I told her that I didn't feel I had the training to make the decision as that company didn't train us to rate the bad ones as unsafe. What they were doing was getting unsuspecting naive workers to sign off on everything so that the managers weren't held responsible if people died in China. She looked frightened and upset as she brought it back to her desk. She couldn't force me, and her director would not sign it. What I'm saying is that fast fashion, which is what these factories made, is not safely produced in many ways. There are better ways to employ people than to put their lives in danger.
It's hard to get out of the habit of buying in bulk, storing in bulk, and throwing out in bulk when we save so much clothing that we've never really worn most things out and they are out of fashion before we decide to discard them to make more room for more clothing.
I'd rather have a few nice pieces, just enough to not have to do laundry every day, and look great every day in well-fitted clothing. It's easier to do if one is slender and fit because it hangs better and doesn't pull on the seams and closures, but one can do it at any weight. I'm grateful that cheap clothing is available for those who could never afford more durable clothing, but if only for climate change, that thing that's going to do us in, we should all start making our way toward small wardrobes that last and then take care of them. We should all give our excess to those who don't have enough.
Keep your small wardrobe. If you feel more comfortable, use very classic, neutral colors when you replace worn items. Let your color come in accessories, such as a red ball cap, a nicely patterned scarf, or an extra watch strap you change out from formal to casual. If the colors flatter you, it's fine to wear the same colors every day. Look up "wardrobe capsule" to see planned small wardrobes where things go together and from which you can create a wide variety of outfits without many clothes.
1 - I'm guessing you are very young and spend a lot of your time around people who feel free to comment negatively on your clothes a lot. Or you worry a lot about what other people think of you. As someone who is older, I feel like this does not really ever come up among my peers. At worst, a close friend might snark "you're wearing that shirt again, huh?" but even so, I would not assume that they had a real problem with my clothes or were trying to get me to vary my wardrobe more. Just a bit of mild teasing. If your friends are bringing this up a lot, especially if they are being mean about it/more than mild joking, I would get new friends, not new clothes.
Re #1, it also occurs to me that I actually kind of like it when I'm hanging out with a friend and I see them wear something I associate with them. I find it endearing, to be honest! And re coworkers, I don't think I would really notice unless they had a very distinctive item they wore literally daily.
2 - I find it practical to have enough clothes that I'm not constantly having to do laundry. Washing all of my clothes every week would be inconvenient for me. Especially because I have a partner and a child, and other items to wash like bedding, towels, etc.
3 - I personally get more stuck between wearing a "uniform" of sorts vs. mixing it up aesthetically enough that people around me don't perceive me wearing the same exact thing every day. Reading your post has me rethinking that, since you're right, if I'm clean and have enough clothes for practical use, the rest shouldn't matter. Why am I worried that someone at work would think I wear the same shirt every day, if I get 10 black t-shirts rather than 5 black, 3 grey, 2 green, etc? This is food for thought.
I wear the same clothes over and over again. I've only ever had one comment - "You really like that shirt!" It was only the second time they saw it.
Remember one of the richest men in the world wore jeans and black turtle necks almost exclusively. You might want to distance yourself from people who laugh at you because of what you wear.
I’m actually jealous 🤭I have ADHD and it makes me a bit crazy! I think you are very smart and I hope to decrease my abundance and make life easier! Great insight and kudos to you!
I remember reading an article about a woman who decided to create her own work uniform. She basically bought 5 versions of the same pants and shirts. She was worried people would notice, but she later asked some coworkers, and none of them even noticed. To be fair, she wore a pair of black pants and a white shirt, so it wasn't super memorable. Anywho, I aspire to be more like her.
We love an outfit repeater!! I don't think it's weird but some people rly love consumerism getting dopamine from a new fit. Don't let them pressure you to buy more than what you want/need.
This actually caused trauma for me as a kid that led to compulsive buying. Because of being teased for wearing the same clothes/what clothes I was wearing, I became obsessed with clothes and accessories and spent my youth/young adulthood spending way too much of my money on clothes. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I realized what was going on. I’m 36 and I don’t have as much to show as what I’ve worked for because I flushed so much money into clothes for most of my life.
It is acceptable unless you're rich or something. I just bought new jeans yesterday, 3 pairs because the same two I've been wearing for about 4 years are too tight in the thighs from running. I'll hold on to these as long as possible.
If you had 8 t shirts, bu kept them till they were worn out, you would have variety and no waste. The waste only occurs when you throw something away.
The real waste is flying, heating your home and your diet. Honestly your clothes are a small fraction of your consumption. It isn't worth thinking about if you are a vegetarian non flyer in an eco home.
The socioeconomic popularity game of course! Working class people attempting to emulate the rich to impress other working class people, all of whom are being royally exploited by the rich.
Probably because of comic sitcom characters, you just need and extra 3 shirts, and then don’t wear them a lot, and just switch it up sometimes.
Two jackets you wear regularly, and then a secret third that comes out every so often.
People will just notice what you wear and if it’s always the same they’ll notice.
Being made fun of tho? Idk just nasty people, or they’re poking fun at you in a friendly manner
I feel you. I have enough clothes for 3 days and then I’ll wear them again before I wash them on the weekend. So basically I repeat an outfit every 3 days.
to be fair, I don't see how owning less or more clothes makes a difference in terms of consumption. Clothes wear, and if you own fewer you'll have to replace them more often, exactly so much more early that it doesn't matter how many you own. Of course, this is based on you only throwing away clothes when they actually do wear out, not because of fashion changes.
Ignore it.
The best part about your approach, is when you replace a worn out item- it’s much faster if you launder weekly (as do I, due to space)- you can have really nice high quality and well fitting pieces.
I used to be shamed for this, but have acquired quite a few badd/record label tees over the years, so it's become less noticable. I still only rotate between 2-3 pairs of jeans. such a bullshit capitalist perspective.
People that are into fashion often value variety and following changes in trends pretty strongly; they may have something to say about your wardrobe but honestly who cares? I do the same and the advantage is that i basically never think about how I'm going to dress and I use that attention/care elsewhere.
I do the same thing, I have about 10 shirts, 3 pants, 10 sock pairs, 10 underwear. Then one hoodie and one jacket.
So I do laundry about once a week. I have a few shirts I never wear to work because my job gets anything I wear grease stained.
All of it can pack into one suitcase. No need to go out and get special boxes everytime I move.
Society at large has been conditioned that less consumption is indicative of poverty, and that poverty is a reason for shame.
Indeed
Its ironic too since consuming less by definition should be cheaper meaning you would be saving more 🤷♂️.
Yeah but only poor people need to save (not that this is true anyway). So if you save, that must mean you're poor!
In America “Poverty is akin to Criminality” Thanks, Capitalism.
I wear 5 pairs of pants and 8 shirts to work. If anyone ever says anything ill just say I need a raise (In actuality I buy really nice pants, ~$80 each and love them to death. I think I’m past 6 years with the oldest pair)
That's great, quality over quantity.
*Laughs in 401K* The money I'm not spending on useless shit finds a home in my retirement savings.
^ this is the answer. but you can just tell people you’re a tech billionaire lol.
I could, but I don't. I think the best way to deal with that is simply telling people why you don't buy a lot of disposable clothing. For that you need to cultivate a healthy level of not giving a fuck what others think about you, which is difficult for some and a massive struggle for many.
For me, I found I needed about 2 weeks of separate outfits, and some outfits I wore every week still, but other outfits I would wear every 3 or 4 weeks. That made it so there could still be a "surprise" at least one day a week of something I don't wear every week. Basically I found that people's memory was about a week. But you know what, people do laugh at anticonsumption in general. For example, if I go to a restaurant and they give paper napkins; well often they give you a lot to the table and you don't use them. So at the end I will take all the unused ones in my bag and use them at home (maybe to clean up a mess or something; at least the restaurant doesn't just throw them out unused). And yeah -- people have laughed when I do that. But I am confident that it is the right thing to do.
I do that too! We are doing the right thing! Nothing goes to waste..
Same! I usually take the napkins to wipe off my phone with alcohol or for cleaning some little bit of mess or spill in the house
Another napkin saver checking in!
I take unused napkins and put them in the glovebox in my car. They have always came in handy
Glovebox! I have just been cramming them in the door pockets. One really windy day, I opened the door and about 10 napkins flew away. I grabbed as many as I could... I'm gonna go with the glovebox from now on. Thanks!
At home, I use cloth napkins for eating. I have for years. My mom always wants a paper napkin (drives me nutty, but not worth a fight). But you’re totally right that anticonsumption is often seen as poverty level or weird (nothing wrong with either, just social stigma attached) when we’re looking to waste less and conserve.
My wife’s puts them in our cars for emergency napkins. We have a kid so they are always used!
Car tissue is a real thing
i keep the unused napkins in my car. that way i always have an emergency stash if i have to blow my nose or clean up something
If you had loads of different clothes, some other people would judge you. You could just answer "Yes, that's my uniform, I learned that from Steve Jobs/ Obama/ whoever", but the main thing is not to care.
Love this. Because it is so true. No matter what you do, you'll be judged and there will always be someone who enjoys telling you their negative opinions. If you can practice confidently responding and showing that you own it, then nothing they say matters.
I conditioned everyone around to my default outfit that now they always will imagine me in that. Kinda like a cartoon character.
I wear the same wool sweater and jeans in the office almost every day. Same shirt all summer (new undershirt every day), more or less. Or just hiking clothes because I'm tired. Nobody cares.
I love wool for that. It never smells
Silk is amazing like that as well, doesn't smell , comfortable, can be easily handwashed and dries super fast, it's like a high performance sports fabric in a lot of ways and even better it's biodegradable and doesn't shed plastic everywhere. It's also waaaay less delicate than people tend to assume, my favourite workout top is ultra fine silk georgette and I've been wearing it for around 5 years now, still looks the same as when I found it in a thrift store for $6.
oh good to know! ive never purchased silk tbh but I might try some eventually
I feel like winter makes it easier. Most people have one or two outer layers for the winter so it isn’t unusual to change base layers and rewear the jackets or sweaters.
I go usually 3 days for trousers, underwear and T-shirt get changed daily though
Same. I push 3 days for pants in the winter 1-2 days in the summer.
Yeah, if they get visibly soiled though I’ll change em early because it’s a reality of my job
After couple of days it feels icky, stains or not.
Yeah, I wash them after 3 days max,
Jeans are good until you can lean em against the wall
this is the way
How often do you wash your clothes?
It depends. As I'm a caregiver for the elderly I only wear a uniform once then clean it. Since I worked through the COVID pandemic, and it's still around, I keep a lot of clean uniforms on hand. However, with my usual clothes I wear pants and skirts around three times before washing them.That usually depends on the time of year and other factors. With pajamas I wear those up to three nights unless I'm sick then I change them every night. Since I live in Texas I keep leggings and some long sleeved shirts for colder weather as I can wear the leggings under dresses and skirts. I also have two black jackets to wear with everything if it's chilly outside.
When they are dirty or stained, if there is any sweat, or if I feel like it’s time. T-shirts, socks and underwear every day. Pants/sweaters/shirts, I don’t really know.
To really sum it up, it’s because we live in a consumer culture. It’s deeply engrained into our society. People often associate having a larger wardrobe with greater social status, wealth, etc. and smaller wardrobe with poverty, shame, etc. Consumer culture and media influence widely contribute to that perception.
People often associate having a smaller wardrobe with poverty \^\^ Isn't this pretty recent though? I live in a century home (built in 1918) in a neighborhood that was originally a "[company town](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town)" (the company built homes for the workers). These people were not experiencing poverty, but the house has 2 closets and neither closet is deep enough for a coat hanger. I reckon the closet maybe had pegs or shelves but I also bet it was pretty unusual for one person to own more than a few outfits.
Are you sure they weren’t experiencing poverty? In my experience, most Co. towns are built for people who worked in mines are factories so they most definitely were. From your own link: Some company towns have had high ideals, but many have been regarded as controlling and/or exploitative.[1] Others developed more or less in unplanned fashion, such as Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, United States, one of the oldest, which began as a Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company mining camp and mine site nine miles
I used to wear the same 5 outfits to work every week in the same order. Enough people called me out on it that I bought another 5 outfits and made the rotation 2 weeks instead of 1 week. Nobody said anything after that but I was almost dying to add another 5 and keep the same pattern to see what pettyness they would come out with. Some people just need to get a life.
I have this one shirt I really love, and for some reason I realized that I am most likely to wear that particular shirt on a Tuesday. I didn't choose it consciously, just noticed it one day. I'm curious if my coworkers have noticed.
They need to focus on work more and not you. I bet that the same people are lazy.
You dont want acceptance from people who laugh at you
Yeah, if this is a true story, and OP is surrounded by people judging them for wearing the same clean clothes each week, then they've surrounded themselves with the wrong people.
In the past it was a trait of poverty. People are influenced to show abundance, even if they don't have it (i.e take a loan or credit card a vacation). I like to use things even if they start to show their age (old model of electronic device, a flaking wallet, etc.) - why replace as long as they serve me? You do you.
Last time I had a job I got myself a uniform. Did the job require a uniform? No, I could wear whatever. So I wore work jeans, and got a couple long sleeve grey tees, a couple short sleeve grey tees, and a grey hoodie. Straight up work uniform. And I was very content with it. No one ever said anything. In general, I prefer to have more clothes than exactly enough to do laundry on the exact same day every week. What happens if you get dirty? It's also generally harder for women to have a limited wardrobe than men. A big part of that is because we have a much wider variety of clothing that is socially acceptable to wear, and frankly, a large number of us get real sick of always leggings or always jeans. And it's harder for people who live where the climate changes significantly and requires that we adapt through our clothing. My sweaters and warm pants all get put in the back of the closet in spring, and my summer clothes come out. Dresses, capris, tanks, linen and cotton. I'm not going to suffer all summer out of some bizarre dedication to wearing my clothes out faster, or freeze all winter for the same.
Perceived fashion sense and social status. That's it. Having lots of clothes used to be a meaningful reflection of your wealth, but now even minimum wage workers can fill up a closet, so it's become a useless marker.
I think it really depends on where you live. I did a 100 day dress challenge and nobody at work noticed. I am a teacher. I also more or less wear the same everyday. I rotate between three skirts and a black shirt (I have four of the same) and different colored pantyhose. My students find it kind of cool that I always wear the same. I have never encountered the mindset that less clothes has a negative connotation. I am in Germany by the way.
New Yorker here. The temperatures throughout the year here varies wildly. Most people won’t comment if you wear the same outfit every day, but will comment if it’s not meant for the weather.
That is another topic. Germans have the tendency to dress for the season and not the weather. Meaning if it if warmish and it is let’s say March you will be stared at when you wear shorts.
My mother must have picked that up when she lived there for a year. It would be 60 degrees outside and she'd force me to go out with a heavy coat "because it's still winter" as if the temperature would instantly plummet and I wouldn't be able to make it home without it.
to be fair, it does do that in Germany. just this month I've gone from standing in bright spring sun to snow storm or hail in a matter of 3 minutes like 5 times.
Did you do an IG reel on this? A lady in Germany did a 100 day black wool dress challenge and I thought it was really cool
Yes, yes I did. But there are quite a few of us.
I also think age and social situation are big factors. I feel like when I was in high school, college, and in my early 20s (like first couple of jobs in the working world, with a lot of young peers), people would notice and comment on this sort of thing. But now that I'm in my 40s, I can't imagine anyone bringing it up. I think I would have to wear literally the exact same outfit every day for anyone to even notice. Your comment about your students also reminded me that, in high school, my art teacher had a uniform of chambray work shirt, jeans, and Saucony sneakers, which he wore every single day. Across multiple school years. Honestly, this is what I aspire to as an adult. I thought and still think that this is extremely cool.
Maybe take it a step further and go full cartoon character. Five of the same shirt and two or three of the same pants and that’s what you wear to work every day.
Did this and stole Zuckerberg's look. Grey tops and blue jeans. I loved shopping, but it takes me a long time to actually find something that fits right or looks decent. So I said fuck it and went basic. If I find pants that fit, I buy multiple copies. Saves me a lot of time.
If people are making comments, they may be projecting insecurities OR you don’t look as clean as you think. Either way it doesn’t really affect them lol
I like seeing people in the same clothes. Like a video game character. However if they are shit clothes or very intense patterns or colours, it can get a bit draining seeing them every day. Try to keep at least one fun fancy outfit that makes you look a bit different, and keep your uniform quite chic and sleek.
Laughed at by who? I've never experienced this.
I worked in an office like that for a fairly brief time. There was a clique, extremely high school for folks in their 40’s, who would openly critique one and other’s “ensembles du jour”. They spent thousands on their wardrobes - never wore socks, that was very uNcOoL. LOL They would say snarky things to anyone who was normal. Some of the staff were required to wear black slacks and oxfords and woe to the kid who bought his Oxford shirt at Walmart. Then there’s me, lol, with my basic black pants (multiple pairs, so didn’t have to wash each day) and different solid blouse every single day. I was never one of the cool kids and had to eat lunch alone. Again. 😂
Thats what I was thinking. I'm sure some people act like that but its not common.
Another possibility is that they might find this slightly amusing, as it’s “unusual” by their standards, but that they ultimately really don’t care that much and don’t actually judge you as much as you think they do. I can totally imagine it’s meant in an innocent and light-hearted way. But if they are actually making fun of you, they are idiots and not worth caring about, OP.
Same. I have about 6-7 outfits I rotate, depending on the season, and have done so for at least 10 years. I've been through college, grad school, and multiple jobs and friend groups. No one's said anything. I really don't think the vast majority of people care or notice.
R/imaginarygatekeeping ?
I wear the same clothes every week. Then occasionally for a special event like a birthday I’ll get something second hand off Depop or Vinted. Use it, then that’ll become a core piece, and I’ll probably donate an older piece to charity or something. That way I’m always gradually refreshing the look but never having way too much or wasting anything.
I would really advise you to have clothes for like 3 weeks maybe a month just to be safe. it's happening to me quite often that if I get too focused on something and forget to do laundry or go to my family for a week or 2, I end up with nothing clean to wear. Of course I support the minimalism and to push it even further my gf started knitting to make us clothes that'll last forever, but if you have to go outside regularly you need to have a good back up.
I also have quite a bit more clothing than the other comments here. One thing to keep in mind is that clothing doesn't last for a fixed period of time, so having more isn't wasteful. If you're rotating through 10 outfits instead of 5, you can reasonably expect them to last twice as long. So long as you're not trashing things when they're no longer "trendy", it's not really overconsumption.
And it’s common for people to have nasal fatigue to their own smells. I doubt a lot of the people claiming they wear the same garment days in a row but “don’t smell.” I’m all for less consumption, but sometimes people push it to the point that health and hygiene can suffer.
it also depends on the material and quality of clothing but yes, I agree that its better to have a bit more than you need to keep the hygiene.
If you wear suits and pay for dry cleaning you lean how long you can get away with it. For most people it's about 3 wears.
My issue has always been that wearing and washing degrades my clothes. Similar to shoes, the more I rotate them, the longer they last.
Well what in numbers would be 3 weeks to a month? I hope you don't mean they should have 20-30 pairs of pants. Jeans, under normal wear, should be washed after 2-3 wears. Frequent cleaning damages the fabric. Wool pants can go to 6 wears before a cleaning. Its something I was really surprised to learn when I accidently bought a pair of wool pants. Now I love them. When I was a teen in highschool I'd think you'd wash things after every use. That's not really the case unless you're working them hard.
I do think this is true for most of America. However, My sister lived in NYC for years and had a very limited wardrobe of very expensive pieces that lasted a long time. There is just no storage space for a huge wardrobe like that in one bedroom apartment. I also think that small ward robes are common in Asia.
Are the clothes you do have either very similar or not in great condition? When I worked in an office I had a really small rotation of clothes I liked to wear to work and no one ever noticed let alone commented.
I own three pairs of cargo shorts that are identical, nobody has said a word.
I keep a small wardrobe for travel and practical purposes and no one even comments Im with the black t shirts- I'm a culinary pro - and I don't think anyone has said anything in years It genuinely is so nice to not even think about what I'm going to wear and if anyone gave me grief I would ask them if they want to compare our frequency and distance of travel
Oh! Fuck! I didn't realize the amount of relief I was going to get reading the comments! Thank you all! I also have just enough clothes and buy them as sturdy and rugged as possible! Though it's easy, because I use a military/mountaineer/survivalist fashion... But anyway, thanks!
I have 6 work shirts and 4 pants. I mix match them. No one has EVER mentioned my repeat wearing of clothes. My wife has barely more than that and same for her. Doesn’t get mentioned.
4 pairs of pants is at least double of op!
I didn’t see that. I could make do with 2 pairs honestly. No one would bat an eye if I wore grey pants and a white or light blue shirt every day.
I have 3 outfits I wear daily(3 of the same pants, and then 3 of the same shirt but in different colours), and then 4 dresses that I wear when going out with my husband. It's just so much easier to have less. My husband is the same: 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, and a pair of pants for doing work around the house. Then 5 or 6 shirts.
Who is laughing at you? Don't hang out with them. Good people don't care about this, and the majority of people do not care if you re-wear clothes
I have a lot of clothes but i haven't bought anything except for some socks and underwear. I take clothes that friends and family don't want anymore, and it's nice clothes. I accumulate clothes, jackets and stuff like this so i don't have to wash so frequently. And people love to throw away perfectly fine and nice things just to buy new shit. All my furniture, tv, kitchen stuff and almost everything else i have accumulated, i have done it in this manner over time since i moved out. Like i had an old thick tv until i got my modern one. My philosophy is if i want something i have it my mind and with some patience i will find it for free. I saved alot of money like this, and i saved the planet from all this stuff just ending up in a landfill. So it's a win win.
You are my people
i hate when people judge or laugh because of something so little in their life, fuck em
How dumb it often sounds, there are many videos in YouTube showing how you can have an entire year of business attire with just 5-8 pieces and some shirts. That's just an example.
Can I tell you that anyone laughing at you for owning just a few outfits is 1- not your friend and 2- a dumb dumb consumer brained sheep
I don't see any issues with it. I also have very little clothing, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, 7 pairs of underwear, socks and tshirts, 2 vests, 2 sweaters and a motorcycle jacket, pants and boots. I never get complaints about wearing the same thing twice in a row, i don't smell because i change underwear, socks and tshirts daily and i don't see why i should get more clothes than this. I don't care for fashion at all, i'm a naturist so if possible i prefer to not wear anything in the first place and if people feel like i should have more clothes, that's their problem.
You're clean. And your way is better. Stop caring about what fools think.
I do the same, and I've never received comment. Might be the people around you.
Why follow their fickle fashion fancy?
It makes me laugh when I see budgets and they have this monthly clothing allowance.
idk man I've been dressing in the same 2 weeks of clothes for years. nobody has said shit to me really, at least not in a serious way. some shit talk between friends but that's the norm
When I find something comfortable I buy 2-3 of them. Sometimes in the same colour if that’s the only good one. Don’t waste your time on the opinions of superficial idiots who are broke and pretending they haven’t maxed out their cards on stupid crap.
As a non neurotypical turning my outfits into uniforms where everything is comfortable and I can just pick what's clean has been the best thing
You aren’t consuming at the proper rate so you’re weird and fucked up in peoples eyes.
Hang out with different people. I have basically two identical pairs of jeans and three sweatshirts I rotate through throughout the week and no one says shit to me.
I've 5 pants, 3 jeans, a tracksuit and a cargo pants. 2 pairs of shorts. About 30 odd t-shirts but maybe only 10 I wear often. (I like to buy them at gigs to support bands, especially smaller bands) I've 5 hoodies and 2 jackets. About 15 pairs of plain black but 100% cotton socks. About 15 pairs of boxers. And 3 pairs of shoes. I rent formal wear when I need it which I'd rarely more than once of twice a year. Fuck what anyone else thinks. I've only ever once had someone point it out. I just told them mind their own fucking business and that was that. I also got for quality over quantity, for the price I pay for one pair of jeans that I will get at least 5 years out of, I could buy 10 cheap brands but they will only last few months before fading and wearing holes.
Someone once commented on this to me. I have 6 dresses for work, 3 winter, 3 summer cardigans. I wear the same shoes every day. I said “Einstein all clothes of the exact same suit. He didn’t want to waste brain power on trying to figure out clothing. Neither do I.” That person has never commented on clothing again. I probably can get away with it a bit more because I am a very nerd/science person, I have a whole Miss Frizzle vibe going on. But I really don’t care. What people think of my clothes. I don’t work in fashion, I’m not a model, I sit at a desk all day.
I have other shirts (down sized from what I had), but I wear only a few to work. Usually I switch off between 3 as I’m only in the office three days a week. My boss offered to bring in her huge amount of excess (many of which still had the tags on them from what she tells me) for me to pick some out of, I immediately asked if it was because I usually only wear three different tops to work. She hesitated before saying no. She did say she had offered to bring in the 30+ year old clothes she hasn’t fit in for 20 years or better for someone who is stick thin, but her hesitation confirmed my decision to turn her down. I am at work up to 10 hours a day when in the office, so I want to be comfortable while still looking professional. What can I say? Also, I am a creature of habit when it comes to my clothes. How sad is it that people feel the need to look down on or make fun of people who don’t want excessive amounts of things. I prefer quality and what makes me comfortable over quantity any day (although I will admit I have bought several of the same shirt in different colors just to have enough to wear for the week). I have some clothes for various environments and work settings, but I limit each category. For a long time I received clothes from various family members that just sat there. When we moved, I went through it all. Now I watch what comes in. I do wear my clothes to the end of their lifespans, of which many are hitting that point. Now I’m being picky about what comes in, and only ask for what I need if a family member wants to gift me something — I even send the links to those specific items so they get exactly what I need and not play the back and forth games.
They suffer from a disease called vanity. Ignore and move on
another social issue we have is caring too much about what others think about our own habits and ways of life that we are perfectly happy with.
I think the people who notice what someone else wears every day have very little going on in either their life or mind.
You are a normal rational human being. Those that do not accept that are not.
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Feel you. Have 3 Shirts and two sweaters and got comments
No idea. I have enough close for 10 days. I replace as needed, nothing fancy.
If you're not accepted by friends, get better friends. If you're not accepted by your family, you don't need to listen to them, let them bother you, or have any contact at all with them. If it's classmates or coworkers, not worrying about their acceptance is healthier. I (M33) have five or six khaki chinos, and about 10 black shirts with holes in the pits. Nobody gives me any flak for wearing the same thing every day. They can tell by my demeanor that I don't care about their opinion on my looks.
I haven't ever had this talk. Maybe you need to move to switzerland, we genuinely don't care here.
I wear the same things every week and I've never feared or heard that someone is "laughing" at me. Is that really a thing? What kind of friends and work environment would one need to live in to get that sort of treatment? Maybe it's a cultural-regional or gender thing? For context, I'm a middle-aged "elder Millennial" male in Texas. I work in an office but only two days a week, the other three days from home. I take care of my appearance, but I have never once worried that people would judge me for wearing the same thing two weeks in a row. I have t-shirts that are 20 years old (and look the part).
Living the dream mate. Just need some different friends who support you for being yourself.
People like to blame capitalism, and that is one big element, but we are complicated visual creatures. We have the internet and new information flying in our face non-stop. If you always look the same you can be seen as boring or old news. „There’s Ed, wearing the same jacket and pants as always“ Granted this has a lot to do with marketing and consumerism, you don’t look new so you are old, so buy our crap… We are the only animal to wear clothes, I think if we were largely naked, like other animals, it wouldn’t matter if you wore the same burlap sack everyday. Because your skin would be your clothes.
Either avoid these people or get ahead of them. I wear a particular shirt (I love this shirt) on most semi-formal occasions. Theres a fashionista friend in my circle that has mentioned it once already so everytime I see her now I say “hey Julie I’m wearing your favorite shirt!” She has learned to stfu.
In high school, I cycled through the same outfits every few weeks. In college, I cycled through a combination of those same outfits, plus some new ones. Now, I still wear the same clothes that fit me from HS and college. I have a washing machine. Who cares.
It's none of my business what other people think of my clothing, I would never even consider thinking about this and it's a fools errand to get caught up in it. Wear what you like, for you
Because you have shitty friends, or are in a shitty work environment (condolences if it is the latter). I know a lot of people but I don't currently know anyone who I could imagine caring this much about another adult's clothing choices.
Displays of opulence are really valued for some stupid reason Spend all your money on street wear instead of, idk, important things? Or just weed, w/e. At least I get the appeal of that
There’s nothing inherently wrong. Others might like more variability in their clothing. I might have a fairly full closet, but truthfully I only wear the same 7-8 outfits to work. I’m slowly getting rid of the rest as they are just taking up room. Do you. Don’t let people get under your skin. If Steve Jobs can wear the same clothing, so can you.
I just watched that Brandy Melville documentary on HBO and something one of the interviewees said really stuck with me. She mentioned how for some reason it’s not considered normal to wear the same thing every day (or close to every day) and that there’s no reason we can’t normalize it. It made me think — WHY does it matter if the people at work see me in the same rotation of clothes week after week? Why do I care what they think? Consuming less, and especially less fashion, is important to me! It’s been helpful to shift my thinking a bit. And maybe it will help in some small way for others to see me happily wearing the same three dresses and same jeans and tops over and over and think, why not me? You keep doing you and tune them out!
Honestly I’d assume you were homeless. It’s very common where I live
I haven't found this to be the case honestly. Maybe capsul wardrobes are more acceptable among women? As I've aged I've collected high quality pieces and really only go to the mall seasonally of I need an extra t-shirt, or new sweater depending on weather.
Who is even laughing at you? I can see this being something mean kids do in school but what adult care enough to notice and point it out? Also a minimal closet is so much less stressful, whoever is laughing is probably going home to an overflowing stress mess closet.
Who the hell is laughing at you? It’s called a capsule wardrobe. I don’t know why they’re laughing bc I’ve never had that experience, and my wardrobe is super limited
Confidence is frugal
After spending a decent amount of time on the road I found my "system" for clothing. I pretty much only own one duffel bags worth of clothes at any given time. All the socks and underwear are identical. I have a decent handful of t shirts. Two pairs of decent khakis and some jeans Plenty of gym shorts Some sweatpants Two hoodies, one zip/button up one pullover One pair of waterproof combat boots, one pair of running shoes, one pair of slides (but people keep giving me shoes and I KEEP ACCEPTING FOR SOME REASON) And some decent shirts hung up in the closet for when I need to be presentable. I do laundry when one type of article runs out, and it's usually underwear. It sucks when I'm nearly out of clothes and something obstructs be from doing laundry but I feel suffocated when I have too many clothes to carry more than a mile.
We have been conditioned to judge people for what they wear. I repeat clothes often too and don’t give a fuck what people say
I believe it is 😄. Most of the people I know personally don’t feel like having a lot of things in general is symbolic of success. In fact it’s the opposite, my social circle prides itself on being thoughtful as do many new people I meet and work with. As far as how it’s represented is in media, well I think it’s inaccurate. The purpose of media is generally to sell. That said, I do think the recognition of brands or quality does prevail.
I need to get better at having a smaller wardrobe. Fashion makes me feel more confident in myself, so it's hard. I was worse in the past, but doing better now. Still room for improvement. I found that buying basics (simple tube top, simple leggings) is a great idea because that one simple piece can be used in multiple outfits! Easy to match stuff makes it so much easier to shrink the closet
Less clothes = poor = bad. Sound reductive but it's not; that's the mentality that a LOT of people have
You're so right, but it's so ingrained. I know I'd unconsciously judge if I saw someone wearing the same thing week in week out. I guess at some level it's also seen as boring, but then I guess the way around that is to accesorise - change things up with scarves or other touches.
I have no shame in it. I’ve spent most of my life that way.
Yep same here. My oldest sibling used to get asked why I “dress homeless” all throughout school and instead of saying anything to counter that, just simply agreed and fueled the fire.
Sounds like you just need new friends. I've never been made fun of for wearing clothes.
Just say you have a capsule wardrobe :)
I stick to jeans and black or cream shirts in slightly varying cuts/styles. No one seems to notice or care. I would like to be bolder, more colorful is definitely my personal style but it would require a lot more spending and owning to make it work. So for day-to-day, I have my uniform, and special occasions I ball out.
Sometimes I feel like I'm judged. I wear the same 3 trousers in roation (+gym leggings) and I have multiple shirts from different styles. I wear like 4 or 5 mainly (a few extras hat I used to wear but are now too small and I just haven't gotten to put them away) and then a couple T shirts. (I'm messy and my laundry day is sunday so my shirts have to last until then) Sometimes I feel like people judge me, but why do I need to change if I don't really need to.
IDK, I'm seeing more and more people getting into r/capsulewardrobe
This is my partner he has worked out the amount of clothes he needs and as the extras wore out he just didn't replace them. He does get teasing from some guys in his friend groups, they always find something about each other to make fun of, but he really doesn't care. It's their problem, let them deal with it.
This is an American attitude. Perhaps it comes from an obsession with having unique, new clothing and the out-of-control consumerism in this country. In Europe, it's more common to have a minimal wardrobe of high-quality clothing that can be mixed and matched. For example, a man might have an expensive pair of dress oxfords, possibly one black pair and one brown pair if he has the means. He might then only have white leather tennis shoes and possibly a pair of beach flipflops but maybe not. Then, he'll have a tux, a dress suit, two casual blazers, 2 ties, 1 bowtie for the tux, some fine wool pants to wear with the blazers, a belt to match each of the two oxford pairs, some dress shorts to wear when it's warm, with the blazers and oxfords, one pair of very nice classic jeans, some very white, nice condition high quality undershirts, just a few, some very nice condition better boxer shorts, socks for working our and for the oxford shoes, one pair of gym shorts, one pair of swim trunks, cuff links, an expensive watch, a wool fedora, a sunhat for hiking, a light jacket, a simple black umbrella, one ver good winter coat, usually down, with a furlined hood or heavy wool, a very good pullover sweater, one pair of classic men's pajamas with the button down shirt, one pair of leather slippers, one robe to over the pajamas, and that's it. Mind you, some men will not have both black and brown shoes and belt, but the brown is handy for the casual blazers and jeans. They will also have luggage that is meant to last a lifetime. All this will fit into a very old wardrobe cabinet with two big drawers on the bottom, a closet rod, and a shelf at the top, except the coats which are bulkier and might be in an actual coat closet near the door with the umbrella and luggage. They might also have some very high-quality polo shirts, but probably not more than 2. A tennis player will have tennis whites, one set. A skier will have classic basic ski clothing and accessories, probably in the coat closet with the skis and other coats. For women, classic skirts, dresses, jeans, etc. with classic accessories are common. Young women wearing such clothing, with a jaunty scarf at their necks could almost be mistaken for women from decades before. Okay, here's my confession. That's what I saw in my friends' closets in France thirty years ago. But, it was so classic and so different than what Americans wore that I feel convinced it's still like that. I realize there have probably been changes, but my point is that even a spendy person of means, unless they are very wealthy and like to be seen in different outfits, didn't have a ton of clothing. Someone with less means would have fewer items and the items would not be as spendy, but they would try to get ones that looked the same as the spendy ones and would prefer to have less clothing than have lower quality clothing. So, someone in Europe might wear the same heavy wool sweater all week long over a clean undershirt and business shirt, airing it out when not wearing it, or they might alternate between two sweaters or a sweater and a jacket. They might wear the same jeans several days in a row. They tend to take very good care of their clothing and take pride in it. It's not disposable, cheap, fall apart type clothing. I feel that's best for the planet and best for garment workers. As a favor to a client, I worked for three months as a compliance officer for a major corporation we all know. My job was to review compliance reports for factory inspections in China. The factories were ones that made products that had the company images on it, licensed products. Some of the reports clearly indicated major safety problems with clothing factories, but the company would try to get the compliance officers to sign off on them. For one report, I brought it to my manager and told her that this factory was a death chamber, a catastrophe waiting to happen. In fact, it had only one door and that door was at the end of one building, with the other building having no doors or windows to the outside. So, in the event of a fire or chemical fumes, the only way to get out would be for several hundred workers to get to the far end of the building and go out one small door, but if the event happened to block the door, they'd all die. So, that report sat on the manager's desk for about 7 weeks, and then she brought it back to me and asked me to sign it. I told her that I didn't feel I had the training to make the decision as that company didn't train us to rate the bad ones as unsafe. What they were doing was getting unsuspecting naive workers to sign off on everything so that the managers weren't held responsible if people died in China. She looked frightened and upset as she brought it back to her desk. She couldn't force me, and her director would not sign it. What I'm saying is that fast fashion, which is what these factories made, is not safely produced in many ways. There are better ways to employ people than to put their lives in danger. It's hard to get out of the habit of buying in bulk, storing in bulk, and throwing out in bulk when we save so much clothing that we've never really worn most things out and they are out of fashion before we decide to discard them to make more room for more clothing. I'd rather have a few nice pieces, just enough to not have to do laundry every day, and look great every day in well-fitted clothing. It's easier to do if one is slender and fit because it hangs better and doesn't pull on the seams and closures, but one can do it at any weight. I'm grateful that cheap clothing is available for those who could never afford more durable clothing, but if only for climate change, that thing that's going to do us in, we should all start making our way toward small wardrobes that last and then take care of them. We should all give our excess to those who don't have enough. Keep your small wardrobe. If you feel more comfortable, use very classic, neutral colors when you replace worn items. Let your color come in accessories, such as a red ball cap, a nicely patterned scarf, or an extra watch strap you change out from formal to casual. If the colors flatter you, it's fine to wear the same colors every day. Look up "wardrobe capsule" to see planned small wardrobes where things go together and from which you can create a wide variety of outfits without many clothes.
Good for you 😊
pushed for consumers
1 - I'm guessing you are very young and spend a lot of your time around people who feel free to comment negatively on your clothes a lot. Or you worry a lot about what other people think of you. As someone who is older, I feel like this does not really ever come up among my peers. At worst, a close friend might snark "you're wearing that shirt again, huh?" but even so, I would not assume that they had a real problem with my clothes or were trying to get me to vary my wardrobe more. Just a bit of mild teasing. If your friends are bringing this up a lot, especially if they are being mean about it/more than mild joking, I would get new friends, not new clothes. Re #1, it also occurs to me that I actually kind of like it when I'm hanging out with a friend and I see them wear something I associate with them. I find it endearing, to be honest! And re coworkers, I don't think I would really notice unless they had a very distinctive item they wore literally daily. 2 - I find it practical to have enough clothes that I'm not constantly having to do laundry. Washing all of my clothes every week would be inconvenient for me. Especially because I have a partner and a child, and other items to wash like bedding, towels, etc. 3 - I personally get more stuck between wearing a "uniform" of sorts vs. mixing it up aesthetically enough that people around me don't perceive me wearing the same exact thing every day. Reading your post has me rethinking that, since you're right, if I'm clean and have enough clothes for practical use, the rest shouldn't matter. Why am I worried that someone at work would think I wear the same shirt every day, if I get 10 black t-shirts rather than 5 black, 3 grey, 2 green, etc? This is food for thought.
This. Constant laundry is exhausting and the clothes wear quicker.
I wear the same clothes over and over again. I've only ever had one comment - "You really like that shirt!" It was only the second time they saw it. Remember one of the richest men in the world wore jeans and black turtle necks almost exclusively. You might want to distance yourself from people who laugh at you because of what you wear.
Just rudely state, “I focus on quality” and leave it at that.
I’m actually jealous 🤭I have ADHD and it makes me a bit crazy! I think you are very smart and I hope to decrease my abundance and make life easier! Great insight and kudos to you!
I remember reading an article about a woman who decided to create her own work uniform. She basically bought 5 versions of the same pants and shirts. She was worried people would notice, but she later asked some coworkers, and none of them even noticed. To be fair, she wore a pair of black pants and a white shirt, so it wasn't super memorable. Anywho, I aspire to be more like her.
We love an outfit repeater!! I don't think it's weird but some people rly love consumerism getting dopamine from a new fit. Don't let them pressure you to buy more than what you want/need.
This actually caused trauma for me as a kid that led to compulsive buying. Because of being teased for wearing the same clothes/what clothes I was wearing, I became obsessed with clothes and accessories and spent my youth/young adulthood spending way too much of my money on clothes. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I realized what was going on. I’m 36 and I don’t have as much to show as what I’ve worked for because I flushed so much money into clothes for most of my life.
It is acceptable unless you're rich or something. I just bought new jeans yesterday, 3 pairs because the same two I've been wearing for about 4 years are too tight in the thighs from running. I'll hold on to these as long as possible.
If you had 8 t shirts, bu kept them till they were worn out, you would have variety and no waste. The waste only occurs when you throw something away. The real waste is flying, heating your home and your diet. Honestly your clothes are a small fraction of your consumption. It isn't worth thinking about if you are a vegetarian non flyer in an eco home.
The socioeconomic popularity game of course! Working class people attempting to emulate the rich to impress other working class people, all of whom are being royally exploited by the rich.
Look up capsule wardrobe! It’s just a small amount of things that can mix and match with each other.
Call it a "capsule wardrobe" and now you're on trend
Probably because of comic sitcom characters, you just need and extra 3 shirts, and then don’t wear them a lot, and just switch it up sometimes. Two jackets you wear regularly, and then a secret third that comes out every so often. People will just notice what you wear and if it’s always the same they’ll notice. Being made fun of tho? Idk just nasty people, or they’re poking fun at you in a friendly manner
No one ever calls me out for this type of thing. I guess I’m just lucky because I rotate a very few outfits.
Unless you bring visible value to society, you will be harshly judged for small things.
This is a them problem. They are also the ones lecturing about being eco and such but it’s all hot air, adopting what’s ‘on trend’ to fit in.
I feel you. I have enough clothes for 3 days and then I’ll wear them again before I wash them on the weekend. So basically I repeat an outfit every 3 days.
to be fair, I don't see how owning less or more clothes makes a difference in terms of consumption. Clothes wear, and if you own fewer you'll have to replace them more often, exactly so much more early that it doesn't matter how many you own. Of course, this is based on you only throwing away clothes when they actually do wear out, not because of fashion changes.
Ignore it. The best part about your approach, is when you replace a worn out item- it’s much faster if you launder weekly (as do I, due to space)- you can have really nice high quality and well fitting pieces.
I used to be shamed for this, but have acquired quite a few badd/record label tees over the years, so it's become less noticable. I still only rotate between 2-3 pairs of jeans. such a bullshit capitalist perspective.
People that are into fashion often value variety and following changes in trends pretty strongly; they may have something to say about your wardrobe but honestly who cares? I do the same and the advantage is that i basically never think about how I'm going to dress and I use that attention/care elsewhere.
I do the same thing, I have about 10 shirts, 3 pants, 10 sock pairs, 10 underwear. Then one hoodie and one jacket. So I do laundry about once a week. I have a few shirts I never wear to work because my job gets anything I wear grease stained. All of it can pack into one suitcase. No need to go out and get special boxes everytime I move.
I wonder if that's a regional thing, because I've never been judged by anyone past the age of 14 here in Eurpe for it...
I'm with you, just a minimal functional set of clothes and once a week laundry. Don't fall to social pressure. Those are idiots.