But what has actually influenced your wardrobe shopping choices?

[DeHumanaeMentisApatheia]

There are intermittent threads asking for lists of where people shop - I’m not sure how compelling these are for readers. (And where the OP takes no active role in the thread it’s hard to believe they’re not just some sort of AI generated thing.)

Surely the crucial thing is what shapes a person’s tastes and preferences - all the more so for mature women who have more hinterland. Whether that’s your parents’ interests when you were a child, or shopping with friends as a teen, or a revelation at university or in early jobs. As much as life stages, health, environment, finances.

My ‘reading Vogue from 13’ history is all over S&B.

What influenced you, before ‘influencers’? And how does that affect how you shop now?

I don’t think any of us are immune to internalised misogyny. Men spending lots of money on clothing for themselves or on their hobbies isn’t looked down on.

I think you're both right, but I think it gets combined with a dose of moral superiority about indulgence. That it's seen as wasteful and sort of dissolute to spend money on something just because it's edifying to you in some way, or that it's morally bankrupt to spend x on a coat when you could buy one for y and they'll both keep you warm.

I was on a recent handbag thread and someone came on with the usual, why would you spend money on a bag when you could transport your keys in a used ziplock (or something similar) and then added a blanket, but I think all designer stuff is hideous. I thought that was very broad and asked whether that included Alexander McQueen's final collection, and she replied that she'd googled it and thought it was beyond hideous.

But I'd bet any amount of money that the very same person wouldn't say that about another art form but felt it was a sign of moral superiority to put down this one.

But will the cheap coat actually keep you as warm and will it last many years? In 1992 my mother spent £700 on a black wool/cashmere silk lined ankle length coat. She wore it for 25 years, gained some weight so it got tight and passed it onto me. It’s been my everyday coat for the past few winters and is warm and perfect. Now maybe this is an example of clothes being better made in the past but I can’t see a polyester coat keeping me as warm or still being worn by my children in 30+ years. I don’t think it’s necessary to buy designer to get good quality but I think it’s much more economical to buy better in the long term (and this can be second hand). I’m not a huge handbag lover so probably wouldn’t collect designer bags but I certainly don’t look down on those who do.

That attitude has sometimes seen me flouncing from a S&B thread, vowing never to return …

Sometimes their attitude reminds me of 13-year old me turning up my nose at learning to sew or cook because I’d decided I was a feminist. But in my defence, I was also a child (albeit a child who already loved clothes and fashion so there was a lot of cognitive dissonance going on - not that I knew what that was!)

Oh, I don't disagree, but I guess if you've never experienced the higher quality coat, you wouldn't know that?

Re handbags. I'm much more of a clothing/shoe person, but occasionally there's one that catches my eye. I did return the one from that thread, although (whispering) might have replaced it with a Phoebe Philo one 🤗

And I do agree with @Floisme about a lot of shaming coming from women, and while clothing comes in for a special kind of vitriol, I see it on threads about food, enjoying Christmas or any other holiday, putting out an autumn wreath. It's like there's a subset of posters determined to shame people for getting any kind of enjoyment out of anything above a basic survival level.

Oh yes I do get the occasional handbag obsession but I have very few bags. Wouldn’t be keen to build up a collection. Knitwear and shirts are however another story!

Other women (especially those with a mannish /androgynous style) and gay men. Occasionally lookbooks. Fabrics and cuts that feel good and wearable. Never, probably wrongly, think about my body or height.

Interesting …

So do you essentially spend your days in vintage Yves Saint Laurent?

Interesting thread, I have slowly read everything over the last few days.

I never wondered what influenced my fashion choices but I have always had very strong preferences. I love floral patterns most and patterns in general. My first favourite garment was a pair of corduroy shoes, ditsy floral pattern. I think I was about four. I also love textures, especially hairy coarse wool and woolen tweed.

On the other hand I don’t like jewellery. Zero interest in stones, gold or anything sparkling, up to the point that I had my ear lobes re-pierced as an adult because I haven’t worn earrings for years. I found my niche in enamel jewellery and now I have a small collection, everything from Frey Wille through Pandora, to some small independent designers.

I’m very easy to dress, petite but still within the standard length range, small boobs.

No seamstresses in the family, I come from a line of STEM people :-) my mother is a physicist.

Feel very strongly about plastics in clothing, both cheap and expensive, it doesn’t matter. The devastating health and environmental impacts are the same. It always surprises me how little awareness about this issue is among fashion-conscious people. I assume it must be people with less at stake - older and childless maybe?

I prefer buying second hand, also for environmental reasons.

I forgot to add that I am not in the UK and my garment choices tend to stand out compared to what is considered the Scandi style.

I have the same love of florals in interior design and we have several Swedish designers that are IMO the best in florals - Josef Frank, obviously, Gocken Jobs and Dagmar Lodén are the three names worth mentioning.

One thing that doesn’t suit me is big tote bags - they look ridiculously oversized because my frame is so small. Another one - ruffles, frills, puffs. I look like Seinfeld in the Puffy Shirt

I’m afraid I cannot agree that older and childfree people have less of a stake in the survival of the planet …

I doubt that ‘not having children’ makes a person more inclined to have a wardrobe filled with synthetic fabric sportswear. And the majority of my close friends from my own generation shop primarily secondhand.

Well, this thread shows an opposite trend, but you give me hope for my children.

It honestly doesn’t matter if it’s sportswear or designer, they both shed microplastics. One could argue that buying designer plastic is actually worse because it implies having a budget that can buy better choices, time and education about the problem.

What a great thread ,
Over the years what has influenced my wardrobe choices -
70s my mum was a keen seamstress , Saturdays were often spent looking at simplicity patterns and fabrics . I wore what she made me.
Early eighties I bought just seventeen every week , my favourite bit was the photos they took of regular people in the street asking them where they came from. In the 6 form we all wore charity shop oversized black grey mens wool coats and doc martens.
Late eighties , nineties saw me working and I bought a few expensive Laura Ashley dresses which I styled with oversized jumpers , other wise I wore jeans or leggings and didn’t put much thought into it. My main influence being what was actually available to buy - small town not many shops, and not very much money .
y2k - 2015 , marriage weight gain kids - definitely lost my way a bit . Wore some frightful things from Whitestuff . I suppose there was a bit of a school-gate influence .
present time . I’ve retired lost a bit of weight and my influences have mainly been instagram . I’ve discovered a love of second hand and follow accounts that love charity shops , shopping their wardrobes and experimenting a bit .

Comments about polyester are fair enough but I’m not engaging with speculations about age and whether or not posters have children.

I think I am being quite generous speculating about objective reasons for ignorance rather than blaming it directly on ill will or egoism.

News, data and studies about plastic pollution and accumulation of microplastics in human organs have been in available for a long time, so it’s not some kind of new instagram GenZ back-to-nature trend. The problem won’t go away (unfortunately).

I don’t want to turn this interesting (albeit depressing) thread into something else, there is a lot of solid information out there and I can of course talk and share resources till the cows come home because this IS a serious problem that affects everyone on the planet.

What people who have considerable budget to buy fashion can do is buying a microplastics filter for their washing machines. Bosch makes one that fits all models because it is fitted onto the waste water pipe. There is also a bag (Guppy bag) that can be used for washing clothes containing plastic. I have the bag option and it works considerably well, A single bag survives at least 50 washing cycles.

I’m still not engaging with your speculations @CortieTatbut thank you for the positive and useful suggestions

I’m into fashion and love buying new clothes. I converted the spare bedroom into a whole closet just for my clothes. I definitely don’t do the whole capsule wardrobe thing. I would say I am typically influenced by normal people that I see out looking nice, and I think to myself “oh she looks great in those trousers, I think I might get some like that” and then I search for some online and buy them. I don’t follow any specific fashion influencers or read magazines, or care about particular fibres or brands. I just go on if I like how they look.

I go with what fits. I have a very difficult body to dress. Bulky (but lean) calves from a childhood and youth of competitive swimming and cycling. The years of only being to find skinny jeans in the shops were difficult. Big shoulders from the swimming and now, weight training. Long torso - my “waist” is considerably lower than what either tops or bottoms are usually designed for. Size 9 feet.

I'm one of the posters who said I wouldn't automatically rule out polyester. It doesn't mean I have a lot of it, but it does mean what I said - that I wouldn't automatically rule it out.

I think the thing is that it's very easy to judge others' choices when you're only seeing one aspect of the picture. I do have children, but I would hope I'd be essentially the same person with some sense of personal responsibility even if I didn't. And, truthfully, while I can do what I can to minimise microplastics, in my house and in the environment, putting the burden on individual consumers rather than the producers can be a bit pointless and judgemental. It might make you feel superior, but does it really change the world?

Do you never buy a takeaway coffee? Do you drive (tire particulates are a major source of microplastics)? Do you buy clothing in natural fibres that's manufactured and shipped from China? Packaged food from supermarkets? Of those things the only one I do is drive, and very occasionally at that. And, yes, I do have a filter on my washing machine (you can get them for Mieles too).

Do you not own any workout clothing?

It's great to provide information, less great to judge.

I disagree regarding the consumer aspect - it is very sad and disheartening but the UN Plastic Treaty talks have failed miserably this year, the plastic business is so profitable that not a single country is willing to commit. So it’s down to consumers and grassroot movements to vote with their wallets.

Limiting plastic clothing as much as possible is easy for people with high incomes and interest in fashion because the alternatives are out there, it’s not like UPF in food - it’s not addictive, it’s not ubiquitous, the alternatives are usually more attractive.

Judging is a common grassroot/consumer strategy and a very effective one - how many people still wear fur?
What about #metoo?
Together with raising awareness it’s one of the few tools people have to change the world actually. I’ve posted information and links before and I am always happy to do this again.

Do I drive and have some plastic at home? I do because I have less choice, I live in the middle of nowhere so public transport is limited. Clothing and plastic packaging are low hanging fruits and given the huge overproduction of clothes globally consumers can do a lot.

A Miele microplastic filter is not available in my country, I have Miele equipment at home so I would definitely buy it. GuppyFriend bag works reasonably well and I only have a few garments that go into the bag.

edit: typo

@CortieTat I am older and childless (thanks for that category) and I only wear natural fibres. My relatives and friends with children are racking up a quantity of plastic based wear ranging from football kits to fast fashion from the likes of Shein.
Be careful how you stereotype generations

It’s whatever works and I think as a civilisation we are being too careful when talking about environmental crises. And I am truly grateful that you are aware of the problem.

Returning to historic influences (mine in this case), seeing an article in The Guardian on the photographer Gordon Parks, I find it almost impossible to stop gazing at this photo and thanking all the gods that my parents each separately chose the UK rather than the US.

But I bet this little girl grew up to be as beautifully dressed as the woman she’s with (don’t know if it’s her mother).