5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying Any Clothing

Fast fashion has a clever way of making us want things we didn’t know we needed. To try and break the habit, try asking yourself these five questions before buying any new items of clothing.

No matter how much of a hardened ethical shopper we are, very few of us are immune to the pangs of buying clothes on impulse.

It could be seeing an item of clothing on our favourite Instagrammer that we didn’t know we needed. It could be seeing a friend in a beautiful new top that we just have to have. Or it could just be something in a shop that screams ‘buy me’. We’ve all been there.

If you’re looking to become more hardened to the lure of fast fashion, then I have five simple questions that I ask myself every time I go to buy something new. These help me to stop and think and carefully consider if the item is a worthy contender for wardrobe space or an ill-judged piece that’s going to end up languishing at the back of the drawer.

The Questions to Ask Yourself To Help You Stop Buying On Impulse

If you want to rein in your fast fashion spending, then try my five questions to help you become a more conscious shopper:

• Do I Really Need This Item?
• How Often Will I Honestly Wear This Item?
• Does The Item Look Well Made?
• Does The Cost Of The Item Reflect The Cost Of The Materials & Labour Necessary To Make The Item?
• How Am I Feeling Today?

1. Do I Really Need This Item?

I find that with impulse buys I tend to wear them much less compared to purchases I’ve carefully considered and that I know have a need for in my wardrobe. As such, I always ask myself if what I want to buy is an impulse buy or absolutely necessary.

Items that I need won’t be discarded after a few wears or worse, sit in my wardrobe with the tags still on. Apparently, the average person has £200 worth of clothing in their wardrobe that is unworn. Don’t be a statistic.

Sales can cloud our judgment when shopping – especially around key times like Black Friday. One of my top tips to stop impulse buying is if you see a £20 top that was £40, that won’t go with many pieces of your existing wardrobe then don’t tell yourself that you will have saved £20 by buying it. You’d actually be spending £20 on something you didn’t need.

2. How Often Will I Honestly Wear This Item?

Asking yourself if you will wear an item for years to come, or wear it only a few times or for one special occasion is a great way to make more sustainable choices.

I try to buy items I’ll wear for a long time rather than a few months. For special occasions (items I may only wear a couple of times a year) I tend to buy clothes second-hand. Renting your clothes for special occasions through platforms like By Rotation is also an eco-friendly option, and allows you to sustainably scratch that impulse buy itch!

3. Does The Item Look Well Made?

Asking yourself how well the item is made, or if it looks like it might fall to bits after a few wears and washes, is key in helping to see clothing as an investment, rather than something to wear once or twice and then bin.

After all, the rise of super-cheap clothing makes it really hard to stop impulse shopping. This is because many of us are lucky enough that we don’t need to consider the impact on our finances when shopping for cheap clothes.

However, a cheap £7 top that loses its shape and colour after a few washes and needs replacing often will actually end up costing more than a better-made top that you have saved up for. Not convinced? Here’s why cost per wear is important when ethical shopping.

4. Does The Cost Of The Item Reflect The Cost Of The Materials & Labour Necessary To Make The Item?

Although expensive doesn’t go hand in hand with being ethically made, there are some things you can look out for.

For example, a hand-beaded top for £8 may look like a bargain that’s hard to pass up. However, a person being paid a fair living wage would need to be paid more than £8 to hand bead the top. This is before you’ve even taken into account the cost of the materials and production of the top.

Understanding a garment’s true value can help us stop our fast fashion appetite and help stop our impulse shopping habits.

5. How Am I Feeling Today?

There can be a whole host of emotional triggers for buying things on impulse. It could be sadness. Perhaps you’ve had a bad day and want to treat yourself. It could be in response to a good day. Perhaps you’ve wanted to treat yourself after something went well. You could be bored. There are myriad reasons why we might want to shop.

Checking in and asking yourself how you feel that day is the first step in understanding how our emotions affect our shopping habits. Once we understand the drivers behind impulse buys, this is key to helping us stop shopping.

I’ve been asking myself these questions before every purchase. I make sure I’m being completely honest with myself, as it can be easy to justify an impulse buy. I also have a handy demotivational tool to help you stop impulse shopping.

Final Thoughts

The high street isn’t the most ethical place, so these questions won’t transform the high street’s ethical practices. However, they do help me to be a more considered shopper. They’ve helped to change my spending and shopping habits by encouraging me to stop impulse shopping and helping to steer me away from fast fashion. Try them out – they might work for you too.