I’m not sure I know anyone who is against outfit repeating IRL; it seems like an influencer problem to me. That’s what I said to Ms Katy on her post about normalising outfit repeating. It sounds a little blunt, but you know what I mean. No one cares if you repeat an outfit. It’s sort of like normalising normal to call for the normalisation of outfit repeating. Of course, grown women wear and then re-wear the clothes they buy; it’s not a concern. But, from the responses, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe women who don’t blog feel the same pressures, so let’s talk about that.

Is not repeating an outfit something you worry about?

 

Me? I’m an outfit repeater. Always have been. I’m happy to wear pieces of clothing I like over and over until the time comes to replace them. Long before I had a blog where people would send me clothing for free, I paid for the clothes that built my style. The ones I loved and the ones I didn’t. The trial and error, trends and whims of fashion (as much as it was available to a fat girl at the time). And after a few years, I came out victorious! 

I knew what I liked, and through blogging, often I could choose from new season items for the price of a picture or a blog post. Year after year, my wardrobe would split at the seams with even the carefully selected items. I considered the number of clothes I had reasonable, but compared to what I wear day in and day out, it was out of control. 

I’ve talked about it before towards the very end of my official fashion blogging career. As someone others looked to when purchasing new items, I would receive frustrated messages from people who couldn’t buy what I was wearing. It was out of season or ever years old, and they would get annoyed at me for it. Sure, I get that. But instead of chasing the new thing, I urged people to build a closet of essentials they loved and be mindful of what they bought one season to another. 

 

Outfit repeaters; I was building out and proud outfit repeaters. 

 

I came to hate the waste of bundles of clothing that arrived for no other reason than to show me what was new. The PR emails from brands selling $10 t-shirts made under questionable circumstances. The demands from businesses who considered what I did to be so essential but somehow worth nothing. The pressure and demands of having or sharing what’s new or next. I’ve been part of it all. 

Why? Well, new content is the beast that needs to be fed—having new clothes and photos, not repeating an outfit, for the sake of a blog or Instagram. And I started to say yes to whatever came my way to make it work. It’s something that I see happening to this day. What can you do when you post something new to your blog/Instagram every day of the week? Something has to give in the name content. 

 

But it’s not real. 

 

Step outside of that loop, and there are a few special occasions where people may feel they NEED new clothes. Want them, more likely. But then they get on with their lives. They are working with what they have, mixing and matches between pieces that would never all be the new season (unless a change in body or circumstance required it). I’m sure while there are times when you feel like you just can’t wear this old thing again, that you love the items you have and chose for yourself.

Especially as a plus-size customer. I know a lot of us who tend to keep special occasion dresses or outfit because finding something to wear when a big event is on can be impossible. For my brother’s wedding, I wore something that I’ve had for a while now. It worked, and not once did I give it a second thought; I liked it, I hadn’t found anything else I wanted to wear. Who was to know this wasn’t the first time I wore it. And I’ll tell you now, I will never let this dress go and there will never be a time that I wouldn’t wear it again happily.

I would hazard a guess that most of you reading this are outfit repeaters; happily, proudly and without considering it taboo. Good! That’s exactly what I want to hear. You know why? Because no one cares if you’re an outfit repeater. We all are, that’s the reality of having and owning clothing, of consuming responsibly and spending your money thoughtfully. The people I’m worried about are the ones who aren’t; message me, we need to chat. 

 

 

Check out Katy’s original post and join the conversation on Instagram now.

 

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A post shared by Katy Potaty 🦩 (@katy_potaty)

 

Post Image by AllGo – An App For Plus Size People on Unsplash

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