Fashion Acts of Self-Love
By Nona Dimitrova published 13/02/2025
Today, self-love and self-care are often packaged up as something you can purchase. A sweet treat. A blueberry matcha. A face mask. A massage. A new top. Big marketing has conditioned us to think that treating ourselves and making ourselves feel better, is something that can be achieved by buying something new. Even self-care isn’t safe from the shackles of capitalism, who would’ve thought? You can read more about our feelings on this sentiment in our no-buy year cheat sheet.
As usual, we’re here to challenge this idea. There are so many acts of self-love and self-care you can add to your to-do list during this month of looooove, that don’t involve adding more things to your inventory. It could be something as simple as giving yourself time to be outside and move your body - a quick walk after work. Or even dedicating some time in your day or week to journal your thoughts and feelings. I was recently speaking to someone about how I truly believe the time I’ve dedicated to journaling over the last few months has made me a much better communicator and so much more in tune with my feelings.
As you may know, our forté is fashion, and more specifically, your wardrobe, so here are a few fashion acts of self-love you might consider adding to your roster. You know, those things we all know we should do and know would make us feel better, but we just keep putting off and putting off.
Fashion Acts of Self Love
Take Your Clothes to a Tailor
This one’s great if you want to feel like you have something new, without actually buying something new. It’s an act of self-love because you know it’s something you should do, and it’s something that would make you feel better in the long run, but you just can’t get around to it.
Really calling myself out here, but whether it’s a pair of jeans you need to get shortened, a dress you’d like to get taken in, or something that needs a little TLC and repair, do it! Having clothes that fit the way you’d like them to fit will only make you more in love with your wardrobe than you already are, and only make you want to wear them more.
Upload Your "Pile" to Vinted/Depop/etc
Once again, calling myself out with this one. If you’re anything like me, and you’ve got a pile of clothes sitting in the corner of your hallway you’ve been saying you’ll either upload to [second-hand site] or take to a charity shop, set aside some time in your calendar to do it on an open day! Personally, it’s on my calendar for this weekend. Don’t call me, don’t beep me, let me get through this once and for all (until, well, someone buys something, and I have to deal with it all over again and go to the post office).
Not only might you end up with a little bit of extra cash, but you’re simultaneously clearing your space, and you know what they say: clear closet, clear mind.
Wardrobe Audit
Is your wardrobe feeling a little crowded? Are you sifting through a billion tops you don’t really want to wear before you get to one you do want to wear? Don’t mean to make this sound like an infomercial, but good these are questions to ask yourself (I’m asking myself as I type this). This might be a good time to set aside a couple of hours to do a little wardrobe audit.
Audits don’t have to be wasteful; it doesn’t all have to be about culling stuff to make space for new stuff; I personally think they’re a really slow, mindful activity, where you’re truly engaging your attachment and perception of the things you’ve chosen to purchase over time. Go through your closet section by section– tops, bottoms, coats, etc.-- and ask yourself things like when the last time you wore it was, what’s stopping you from wearing it if you’re not, how it makes you feel, where you were in life when you bought it, etc. Then decide whether that’s something you’d like to keep or cull (refer to idea #2 if you’re culling haha). This is also a great opportunity to use these insights to inform any potential future purchases.
If you’re after more questions, you can ask yourself about your items, here are some helpful articles we’ve written in the past, populated with a huge bank of questions:
⭐10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying New
⭐ Radical Fashion Exercises to Connect With Your Closet
⭐41 Questions to Understand Style
⭐11 Questions to Pin Point your Style
Wardrobe Skincare
Whether this means cleaning and balming your leathers (jackets, bags, shoes, DOCS!!!), cleaning your suede (jackets, shoes), debobbling your knits, refreshing your trainers with Crep Protect (cannot recommend this enough), or taking your coats to the dry cleaner (be honest, when’s the last time you did this?), do it! Do it all at once, just to get it over with.
These things ensure that our beloved items last so much longer. Hey, you could even do a face mask while you do this: clothes and their owners who skin care together, stay together– get it? Because they last longer?
None of these things have to be tedious at all. It doesn’t have to be done begrudgingly, like when your flatmate makes you deep-clean your bathroom on a hungover Saturday morning. You can put on a podcast, a show, or some music and really make a night out of it. If you have a friend who just loves spending time with you, you could even invite them over to keep you company.
Let us know how you get on!
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