I signed up to the Fast Fashion Fast back in June to see if I could go three months without buying anything from the high street. Those of you who read my Buyer's Archive posts will know that I tripped and fell, purse first, into a few.

Taking part made me look at my spending habits, and whilst I have purchased some high street items during the challenge, I'm happy with what I purchased (pictured above) and don't feel too bad about 'failing'.

Because I don't feel like I've failed.

What I have done is reminded myself of what I've known and felt all along. That as consumers we have a huge amount of power to influence the industry by speaking with our wallets. If we buy less, and wear what we have more and for longer, we create less demand, less demand means fewer items ending up in landfill, and less demand on the garment worker at the beginning of the line, not to mention less pollution in the process.

I don't think ethical fashion holds the answer, certainly not yet. I think the price is prohibitive for many and the availability, whilst improving, isn't great. And even when these things improve I don't believe that it will ever take the place of the high street store, but I do hope that one day ethical clothing will make up a greater proportion of the clothing market. Alongside this I hope to see high street and fast fashion stores improving their working practices, closing the gap between them and ethical fashion brands.

In the meantime I've made a promise to myself. To buy a brand new item only if I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I will wear it 30 times or more (I'm already keeping a tally). This is inspired by Livia Firth, and was the catalyst for my #30Wears mini challenge.

Recently I read this article, about reducing waste within the clothing industry.

One statistic was this 'A survey commissioned by Sainsbury’s last spring found that 235m items ended up on landfill sites as people readied their wardrobes for summer.'

235 million items. In landfill. In spring. In the UK.

The same survey by Sainbury's revealed some surprising statistics on recycling, 'The study also uncovered the reasons people do not donate or recycle clothing, with 49% saying they did not think they could because the clothes were worn out or dirty. A further 16% said they did not have time to visit a charity shop, or could not be bothered to sort items, while 6% did not realise clothing could be recycled.'

If you feel you have to buy a particular item, I can't understand why you'd simply throw it in the bin rather than donate it. If it's no longer wearable it can still be recycled, although as the article explains this isn't as straightforward as it might seem, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't bother. Of course the obvious answer is not to buy it in the first place.

So, what started out as an interesting experiment ended in a renewed enthusiasm to 'do my bit' - to buy only what I know I will wear, to buy the best quality I can, to wear my clothes for longer, and to continue to donate and recycle what I no longer need / use / fit into. And I'll continue to buy pre-loved clothes and show that they can be as exciting as a shiny new purchase, right here on this very blog.

I will never apologise for being seen in the same outfit twice, which is something that seems to happen frequently in blogland. I'm not ashamed for featuring clothes I've worn before on my blog. I like to find new outfit combinations for my favourite items, mixing old favourites with new (or new to me) items. I consider nothing in my wardrobe to be disposable, I want to wear every item again, and again, and again.

#onlybuyitifyouloveit #wearitagainandagain

Further reading : Love Your Clothes

I bought a new skirt in June and decided to try to wear it 30 times in three months. Long story short - I did.

I didn't take an outfit shot every time I wore it, some days where dull and blustery, some days I just didn't get the time, but here are some of the outfits.

It's safe to say that I adore this skirt, it's really comfy and easy to wear. I can always tell if something is going to be a wardrobe hit when I start to wear it immediately. And, c'mon, look at those pockets!

I plan to keep this in my autumn capsule. I've tried it on with boots and, as long as they have a bit of a heel, it looks fab.

What do you think? Do you like?

#onlybuyitifyouloveit #wearitagainandagain

Signing up to the Fast Fashion Fast has put a spotlight my spending habits, so I decided to note down any thoughts I had on clothing purchases. These are from the last few weeks.

Having signed up to the challenge, I immediately failed and purchased some hosiery. I was going out for a meal that evening and realised I had no flesh coloured tights, and the occasion and venue called for tights, so I had no choice but to make a last minute dash to Asda to pick up a pack of two for £4.00.

Later I looked at the Falke website, having heard that they are the best for good quality hosiery. I found what I was looking for, for £18.00. At first glance that sounded like an awful lot of money for tights, especially when you consider the £5.90 delivery charge. But if they really do last as long as they say they do maybe it's not so much. I could always search around for a stockist with cheaper postage. Would these tights last as long as 4.5 packs of my Asda tights? It's worth further consideration.

I went to Felixstowe to return an item and thought about popping in New Look, to have a look at their summer tops. Then I remembered signing up to Fast Fashion Fast and kept walking. I have plenty of summer tops anyway.

My summer slippers became uncomfortable. I purchased them last year from Asda and they've been worn a lot, but the soles had compacted and the bit between the toes had started to niggle, instead of buying another pair, I'm wearing my flip flops instead. Admittedly, and I totally see the irony here, these flip flops are a recent Primark purchase, 90p, chucked mindlessly into my basket as I made my way to the till point.

Then I fancied a gingham top to go with my new skirt. I looked on ebay and found one I really liked and won it, and I'll be able to wear it with a number of things already in my wardrobe. I've noticed that when I make an impulse purchase, like my green skirt, I invariably end up buying something else to wear it with.

This top was to wear with my green skirt, I didn't need it another skirt but I really, really, wanted it. I know I'll wear it a lot, and I feel that the more options I have the more I'll wear it, but how many options do I really need? I've always said there is absolutely nothing wrong with being seen in the same outfit over and over again.

I also wanted a plain black top to go with my green skirt - I thought about making one. So far I haven't acted on this. I do fancy making something but I really should do something about my mend pile instead, to make unwearable items wearable again.

I want a floaty summer maxi or midi dress - again I could make one but I don't really need it. I already have a maxi I like, why buy another?

The heatwave made me want some cooler PJs bottoms, I pondered something 3/4 length in a thin cotton fabric. In the end I found some pyjama shorts I forgotten all about. I don't like to sleep naked - what if there's a fire? or an intruder?

The hot weather also had me hankering after some non padded, non underwired bras. Nobody likes sweaty boobs. I looked into ethical underwear brands, and although I admit the search was hardly exhaustive (five minutes Googling), I came up with nothing. If you know of any, do let me know.

I wondered if underwear specialists M&S counted as fast fashion? I'd had it in my mind that, to make things easy, I wouldn't do any high street shopping at all during the Fast Fashion Fast, but not all high street shops fall under the umbrella of fast fashion.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a list... *Googles it* ... there is! On Wikipedia, it's not an exhaustive list I'm sure, but it helps. M&S isn't on it, but most of the shops I frequent on the high street are - H&M, Next, New Look.

It's clear that sometimes I shop for the sake of it, mindlessly. Sometimes I could avoid making a purchase by using something else from my wardrobe, but mostly it's made me really think about the high street and how to tell a fast fashion retailer from a non fast fashion retailer. Some are easy to spot - Primark, Peacocks, Matalan, but I was surprised to see Next listed as fast fashion for example.

Is the criteria absolute or are we to decide for ourselves? What high street shops do you consider not to be fast fashion? Are there any shops that you absolutely won't set foot in?

 I've set myself a little goal to work on within the Fast Fashion Fast challenge  - to wear my most recent purchase 30 times or more before the end of the challenge.

Inspired by Livia Firth and her #30Wears campaign which urges us to ask “Will I wear it a minimum of 30 times?” before making a clothing purchase, to challenge the idea of fast fashion.

I purchased this glorious green skirt as a result of one of my mindless scrolling though the ASOS app moments. I wore it the very next day with a pre-loved tee and my trusty Toms. I keep telling myself that these shoes won't last much longer but they just keep going - these have most definitely been worn more than 30 times!

I wore this outfit to the Suffolk Show. The pockets (look at those pockets!!) came in handy on multiple occasions, I was able to sit on the floor comfortably without fear of flashing my under garments, and, as it's a slightly thicker fabric, there was no chance of it billowing up when the breeze got over excited.

I really enjoyed wearing this skirt. I want to wear it a whole lot more, more than 30 times in fact. It's not that it would hang in my wardrobe unworn otherwise, I just want to wear it and stick two fingers up at those who say you shouldn't be seen in the same outfit twice. Clothes are made to be worn and enjoyed time and time again, they're not disposable.

And I do enjoy a challenge of the wardrobe variety.

How would you style this skirt?

I've signed up for a summer clothing challenge - Fast Fashion Fast organised by Verena Erin from My Green Closet. It basically means no high street shopping for three months - June, July, and August.

When I signed up on June 8th, I'd already purchased a new skirt from ASOS, and I'm going to ignore that fact that just a few hours later I popped to Asda to buy some hosiery - needs must. So I might extend this challenge into September.

Why do I want to do it? Well, I love my charity shopping but if I have a specific item I need (want!) I tend to have a quick look in my local charity shops and then head straight to the high street if I can't find anything. And whilst I'm there I often buy other things too (example, my April clothing purchases).

Also, I can often be found scrolling though my ASOS app when bored and making random purchases. Although my latest ASOS purchase is fabulous, I don't have a lot to wear it with so I'll probably (almost certainly) end up buying more clothes.

I really enjoy second hand shopping, so it'll be fun to see if I can make it through the summer without stepping foot in H&M.

Having signed up to the challenge I'll get emails every few weeks with extra challenges, activities, and encouragement. Blogging about it will make me accountable. Let's see if I can do this...

And a quick thanks goes to Charlotte for not only bringing my attention to this challenge, but for also making me think about where my money goes with her Spending Diaries.

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