Outfit Repeat Offender

When I first started style blogging I quickly learned a few new-to-me fashion rules. No white after Labour Day? I had never heard that one before! Redheads can’t wear red? For sure we can! And probably the most bizarre of all: you can’t wear the same outfit twice.

WHAT!?

I’ve read blog posts and fashion articles calling outfit repeating “daunting”, “lazy dressing” and “a fashion faux-pas”. Also according to those articles, women are “very self-conscious” (in a negative way) when wearing the same outfit twice, especially when they’re around the same people. People often feel a certain kind of pressure when repeating outfits. Just think about that for a second. It blows my mind.

I feel like the rising of fast fashion and our over-sharing behavior on social media outlets such as Instagram might have even worsened the shame that comes with outfit repeating. I personally have this particular white lace J.Crew dress that I wear a lot when travelling. Hence why it ends up in a lot of my Instagram posts too. I’ve worn it so much that people have started to notice and actually call me out on it. It’s a pretty dress. Why shouldn’t I wear it on repeat?

Just a quick scroll through the explore pages of IG learns you that there are thousands of bloggers/influencers out there that post one or two outfit photos a day for a full year without wearing the same outfit twice. I have so many questions. How can that be real? How do they pay for this? How much waste do they create? Where do all the clothes go? Do they have a second house just to store clothes? Do they really like everything they wear? Again: I can’t wrap my head around this. Except for the infinitely rich or Hollywood famous, who can go through their lives without wearing the same combination of clothes twice? If someone has the answer, please enlighten me.

Personally, I fully believe that you shouldn’t change a winning recipe and that also applies to my wardrobe. If I find a look that I love, you bet I’m going to wear it again and again! I call them my staple outfits. You know, like we all have staple items. This outfit is a good example of that. It’s nearly an exact copy of one of my favorite Spring looks from last year (see here, I even photographed it at the same location!). I swapped the white silk blouse for this cute little white lace number from Whistles, but the rest of the look is identical to how I wore it in 2018. And I still love it!

There’s a whole lot more to say on the subject of outfit repeating, fast-fashion, slow fashion, eco fashion, the pressure to keep up with trends, etc… so I’m going to cut off this blog post here and save the rest of my opinions and talks for another day.

Now, how about you? How do you look at your wardrobe? Are you conscious about how others perceive you and your clothing, either IRL or online? I’d love to hear your opinion too!

outfit details

blouse: Whistles • culottes: H&M • slides: Anna Field via Zalando • bag: Furla ‘metropolis’