Dilemma. How do you balance wanting to buy better quality/more sustainably/investment pieces with wanting to look modern?

[RaspberryThief]

Prompted by waking up to realise I've had a really grim year and desperately feeling the need for a style reboot, but suddenly feeling quite lost and unsure how to go about it.

For the last few years I've tried to shop more sustainably and better quality. Lots of good quality second hand via ebay, some good quality stuff in the sales. But I've woken up to realise that my wardrobe suddenly feels quite staid and dated. I don't feel the need to be bang on-trend but I do want to look a bit more modern. But I also really hate the idea of buying cheap clothes just to stay vaguely on-trend. I love the idea of buying investment pieces, dressing in really high quality clothes, shopping more ethically, and I hate poor quality fabrics and tailoring, but I still want to feel vaguely stylish and modern.

Given that fashions do move on, is there any answer to this particular dilemma? Or are there brands that are good quality and sustainable but also fairly stylish and modern, that run that elusive thin line between "classic and good quality but boring and frumpy" and "stylish, modern, affordable, but will rapidly look like last year's fashion and the fabrics are rubbish"? I've just ordered some dresses from Mango and Monki (lower price point than my typical high-end high street via ebay/the sales type purchases) and they do definitely look much more stylish, but the fabrics are pretty poor (I refuse to buy polyester full stop, but these are still viscose, or cotton so thin it's practically gauze, and everything is unlined) and I can't really see myself still wearing them in a few years' time... Is there any solution?

^^That was probably not very clear. I just mean, some of my best pieces of clothing are fun and cheap but I wear them all the time because the colour and/or shape suits me and looks current and modern, & therefore imo more sustainable as I literally wear them out

That is a good point vohgue, that wearing clothes to death is the best way to be sustainable. I admit that not all my clothes are from sustainable sources etc but I do try to only buy things I will wear a lot

And also true that even classic items date. A rain mac, a shirt, trousers, all might seem classic but will def have styling which will make them from a particular time. I’m not sure there’s any such thing as a truly classic item anymore because the fashion industry have destroyed that to make themselves money.

I think classics still exist but I don't think it means something that never goes out of fashion. For me, it means something that comes around again and again. What's changed, I think, is that these cycles are getting shorter and faster, which is annoying but has an upside too. There was a time when you might go 40 years or more before something came back into fashion but now I'd say it's now down to around 20 years or sometimes even less - I've recently been getting out things again that I bought around 2005. It makes hanging onto your good stuff much more workable.

That’s an interesting way of looking at it floisme. I agree that the cycles of things coming round again are shorter.

I do struggle with classics a bit as I’ve tried to buy a pair of black trousers for example, which would be classic and never date, but they have dated as the waist will be too high or too low, legs too wide or too slim. It’s frustrating. I agree that they do come kind again, for example, Audrey Hepburns tapered black trousers have been in fashion again but in the 90’s and 00’s would have looked a bit strange

The clothing I wore in the 90s is all back in ... but to me it just feels dated and "old"...

Classics also tend to be quite dull, which is not really stylish unless you work hard to wear them with more interesting and/or stylish things.

Interesting thread op!

I think the whole concept of being "on trend" is dated in itself.

In the olden days (eg past centuries) fashions changed due to new technology, new fabrics/dyes being invented or brought in from overseas sparking a new style or look.

These days fashions change shapes/fabrics/colours for no real reason other than to sell you new clothes. Shapes change just for the sake of it because there's nothing new being invented, it's all being moved around just to make money. What new technology has been invented recently that has warranted necessary changes? I can think of Lycra in the 90s which was a game changer for tights and leggings. I'm sure there are others but not to the extent that necessitate changing trends every few weeks. Why do we need to change our fashions so much? The whole concept of being "out of date" is just made up by the fashion industry! They've created this concept of "being dated" to bully people into feeling ashamed of their clothing (and by extension themselves (self esteem)) and rush to buy more. I remember fashion magazines (when I used to read them in my 20s & 30s) sneering at items they promoted just a couple of issues before, making me feel instantly ashamed at still wearing them and wanting to shop immediately!

I'm the same!

All of a sudden my Karen Millen, Coast stuff is really old fashioned.

I have moved to leather trousers and buttery silk shirts and wearing 'fashionable' accessories.

My hair is out of date too.

Trends last about four years - megatrends about seven. You have more time than you think with bargain buys.

Most megatrends are cyclical. You know them already - man's white shirt, cashmere V, loafers, trench, pencil skirt, parka, etc etc.

Ballet pumps, which in my mind only went out in the wake of the white gym shoe, are already tiptoeing back in, incidentally.

The reason fashion editors bang on and on about this lot is cos they work. And on. So IMHO spend your cash on classics and keep wearing them, and get H&M Conscious for summer/silly stuff.

I think the whole concept of being "on trend" is dated in itself true , its like a uniform. cycling shorts and oversized shirts and chunky dad sandals are everywhere I go, where is the fun in that?

This is interesting and I would agree with a lot of the comments. I would add the question who are your style inspirations? I find it helpful to look at inspirational women and see what elements I can recreate from my wardrobe. So the first couple of photos of a lady I like who is the fashion editor from the Financial Times…. Super chic. Never flashy but cool. Now I think the outfit with the blazer can be recreated… oversized blazer from the men’s section of a charity shop, looser jeans which are a modern cut ( probably new) and then flat classic sandals. The crossbody bag is the “trendy” element which could be recreated easily. When I looked for other pictures I found the one with the jumpsuit and a relative had gifted me some jumpsuits so I was interested in how she wears them. Then I noticed the lady on the left… wide leg trousers and that soft blouse ( not a huge collared one but soft) - flat minimalist sandals and a nice bag. That lady is smoking but isn’t going to look out of date anytime soon. The third picture shows a pretty minimalist core look accessorised with something contrasting. The men’s section again could provide the oversized shirt if you don’t have one. Oversized shirts look good mixed with a variety of items.
Personally I like to play around with my wardrobe to find alternative combinations. I go for a Hi Lo look… eg I have silver ankle boots from Vagabond ( bought as ex display from eBay ) and I like to add them to a conservative day look. A plain white shirt buttoned up under a black dress can look contemporary. Adding a Second hand print t shirt to a pencil skirt or suit looks modern too. I steer clear of some fast fashion looks - I hate the big collars so I’m ignoring those and I’m not doing big sleeves or frills although I already have a couple of jackets and shirts with softer gathers which are a nod to the trend. What am I saying ? Play around… get a cool friend to go through your wardrobe and help you put looks together.

2 other recommendations …. One is a high end fashion magazine about sustainable fashion called More or Less..the second is a podcast on preloved fashion by stylist Bay Garnett called This Old Thing.

Love those looks Divebar. Thanks for the More or Less rec. Not heard anything about Bay Garnett for ages!

@Flosime. I first read about Bay’s Cheap Date magazine years ago ( late 90’s) but I wasn’t in London then and didn’t know where to get it. I do have 2 Cheap Date books though that I’m keeping for my DD… they have an anarchic, fanzine feel. She’s a brand ambassador for Oxfam now I think.

More or Less is produced by a former Vogue editor… it’s a big chunky thing. I had to order it from a bookseller ( it’s v expensive but beautifully done)

Thank you!

@Divebar2021, I'm not keen on those looks. The blazer is too big and the jeans too baggy but otherwise it looks good. The boilersuit is good but I'm no keen on the loose blouse with voluminous trousers or the big shirt with wide trousers.

Maybe it's because I am shortish and wideish.
Will look up More or Less and Cheap Date.

Such an interesting thread OP, thank you for starting it!

Nothing to add because so many much more erudite posters have already expressed their opinions far better than I ever would!

Am following with huge interest.

The pictures were just an illustration of how a stylish look can be pulled together from classic pieces….and can be quite modern looking without the investment of a lot of fast fashion. You could just as easily go for a cropped jacket with the wider trousers or keep the blazer and make the trousers more streamlined… in that case a 7/8th length trouser is more modern than a full length. Cutting off jeans or taking up trousers is an easy fix. ( if the cut is right) A flat sandal or trainers would make it go in one direction whereas a block heel or an ankle boot would send it in another direction. Heels might be your thing and might work with the right jeans.

I used this picture as inspiration for a shopping trip when it was very rainy. I had red patent boots already ( … hers were probably not M&S .) A black blazer from Arket I bought for a job interview. I didn’t have the basket which looks like a PITA to carry so substituted for a slouchy bag from Cos.

I’ve pretty much worn the same style since the 1980s and regularly get compliments on how I’m dressed. As pp have said, find what suits you and tweak it. Weirdly the most contemporary part of my look right now is the silver hair.

@Divebar2021, you are right. I have jeans, a too big blazer and a cross-body bag, and sandals. What's stopping me.

I also have a boiler suit, and a few shirts. No loose trousers but they'd swamp me, loose-ish will do.

Thanks. You're an inspiraation.

I love this thread. @Divebar2021 you’re my new style crush. So many interesting suggestions.

Interesting thread, I agree accessories make a good bit of difference. At the moment leather bags feel wrong to me, and makes everything feel prissy, I prefer an oversized fabric tote instead.

Don't underestimate sunglasses, they can really switch things up and so long as you take good care of them (good quality ones at least) they last forever, I've recently dug out a twenty year old pair from Prada that suddenly feel very now.

I think jeans are the most cyclical of all, not helped by the perfect fit myth which means by the time you've finally settled on 'the one' you have to reboot your search not much later for the perfect fit in a new silhouette, wash or colour and sometimes it even varies per season, eg. white denim in winter and years later it'll be white in summer. I've vowed not to buy new denim as a result (either deadstock or secondhand) and just judge on wether I like the fit.

I wish I could do that borntobequiet I really do. The trouble is a) I'm fickle and b) a lot of what suited me in the 80s wouldn't suit me now. But with hindsight, there are probably have 2 or 3 basic looks that I've always returned to.
My style history probably goes something like: hippy, punk lite, androgyny, hippy/boho, post baby wilderness, va va voom (Don't think I'll be going back to that but it was kind of fun) androgyny again....

But also each time it's been a bit different e.g. my second hippy phase was much more glamorous than the first, and right now I'm back with androgyny except I have curves to navigate that weren't there last time.

Also, wrt prissy, to feel current I don't think it's necessary to move with the current wave of what's covetable but to not feel out of step it's always good to analyse what that is in reaction to. So at the moment for me anything prissy, overly polite, formal, fitted, etc. feels completely out of step, it'll return at some point, but right now it just doesn't make sense in the post pandemic mindset after a year of comfort wear and wanting to appear more approachable after the masked look. I'd wager it's also why a lot of the classics and capsule wardrobe 'icons' suddenly feel not quite right alongside everything else.