During my senior year of high school, our last assignment in 4th-year art was to create a brand of our own. I designed the brand “Petit et Jolie” which I envisioned would be this small, beautiful boutique that carried classic pieces. It was in that class I decided I wanted to work in the fashion world but from a visual communication aspect. Whatever that meant – I had no idea. I just knew I absolutely loved fashion. I’d spend all my money on pretty magazines and thrifting with my grandma to purchase the one-of-a-kind pieces that I definitely couldn’t afford new. (Which at that time I didn’t know how cool that actually was. To be honest, I loved that we did this miles away from my home only to ensure I wouldn’t run into anyone from school). I always knew my grandma was stylish, but didn’t realize ’til much later I adopted fashion cues from her.

Following my first year in university, I spent the summer in Florence, Italy studying Fashion Illustration. I remember packing for that trip; It was my first time ever abroad. No one had prepped me on how to pack and there really weren’t blogs then to guide me through the process. I literally used a TENT duffle bag (which I didn’t find out ’til years later that’s what is was whilst my parents were clearing out their attic) so that I could fit every single piece of clothing I owned into this bag. It was an absolute nightmare to travel with!!! I can’t count the number of times people in the airport & train station would stop to ask me if I needed help. I must have looked ridiculous. But you better believe I had something stylish to wear every. single. day of class and even had enough to share with my new girlfriends.

I remember my stylish, Italian teacher explaining to me that women in Italy looked so beautiful because they’d buy one or two really great outfits and wear them all the time. That’s how they were able to sustain that way of living. It didn’t really make sense then.

I continued to spend my university days scouring the shops during holiday breaks for the best pieces to make sure I looked my best. Who knew when a recruiter would visit the campus?!

My senior year I headed to Rovaniemi, Finland to do independent research which we later decided would be on sustainability as my professor inspired me to look beyond our way of doing things. We had this tiny class of the most talented + inspiring students around Europe. After studying a completely different way of thinking about design & observing their lifestyle, something clicked. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the fashion & advertising world. I immediately wrote it off and thought how sad it was that we lived a life where we bought things we didn’t need to impress people we didn’t know and in turn were unhappier and poorer for it. Not to mention the amount of waste and carbon emissions we were solely responsible for. I wanted my design work to have meaning. I didn’t want to lie to my clients or consumers in the marketplace.

I headed back to Purdue with a mission + completely changed my plan of moving to NYC after graduation to work with a fashion company.

I realize that I’ve just given you the ENTIRE background to lead to the point I’m going to make now, but I thought it was important to understand why I feel the way I do –

Fast forward eight years and I’ve had a change of heart. I always thought it was either you work in the fashion industry and sell out, or you work in a different industry and pretend that you don’t care about not owning the most stylish pieces. Such a naive girl I was.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve tried to make a point to own less. Moving abroad has definitely helped with realizing how little we need. (I’m proud to report I can now take a two week trip with one carry-on and I have absolutely no shame in wearing the same pieces over again).

So this brings me back to my point that we need to think about fashion differently. It’s absolutely terrifying how much we consume in this fast fashion society. There are so many wonderful companies that already make this lifestyle choice easier – Everlane, Cuyana, Reformation, to name a few.

I’ve been incredibly strict with myself whilst creating a timeless wardrobe over the last few years. I’m still fine-tuning one that really supports simple, classic pieces that truly make me feel beautiful inside and out. I found the less I buy, the easier it feels to invest in a well-made piece.

What are you wearing these days? How have you built your wardrobe? Do you have any rules for yourself whilst shopping?