What if you DON’T need a new sweater?

It’s that time of year. The time when the leaves start to change. The days grow shorter. And cooler. And you need a sweater even before the sun goes down. And every retailer and influencer alike is more than happy to tell you exactly what new sweater(s) you need to get your hands on this year:

• Must-Have Fall Fashion Trends
• 13 Clothing Staples Every Woman Should Own In 2024
• 12 Essentals that Belong in Your Closet (Nordstrom)
• 11 Amazon Fall Clothes You’ll Want in Every Color (Trave

There is no shortage of fall fashion advice. But what if you don’t “need” a new sweater?

Look, I’m not here to judge anyone. Lord knows my own closet is well-stocked. At last count I had more than 30 (gulp) sweaters. So when I say “you”, I actually mean “me.” It’s me. I don’t need a new sweater.

And yet these past couple weeks I’ve found myself bingeing all the “Wearable Fall Trends” and “What’s In/What’s Out” videos on YouTube and mindlessly watching fall fashion hauls from Amazon, Old Navy, and Free People. (When did a fashion “haul” become normal?)

When you are being fed a never-ending array of deals and urged to grab your “must-have” fall essentials now. it’s easy to get caught up in the moment–which is exactly why I’m pressing pause on potential fall shopping sprees. For now.

My itch to renew my wardrobe this time of year dates back to childhood. Every year, I looked forward to back-to-school shopping with my mom. It was an annual tradition, and the promise of new clothes made Labor Day a little easier to bear.

Shopping was a big deal back then. We only got new clothes a handfulf of times per year: back-to-school. Christmas, and late spring. We didn’t shop just to shop back then. It wasn’t a hobby. Clothes shopping happened when necessary, mostly becasue we’d outgrown or thoroughly destroyed last year’s clothes.

We’d set aside the entire day and head to the mall (ah, the “mall” – there’s nothing quite like a late 80’s shopping mall in New Jersey) where we scoured the racks of JC Penney and Sears for the perfect babydoll dress, just right jeans, and not-too-heavy sweaters. (Although, spoiler alert, they were always too heavy for our non-air conditioned classrooms until at least November.) Then we’d go to Tom McCann for a new pair of shoes and stop at Modell’s for sneakers. And we’d top off the day with Cinnabon or Baskin Robbins.

Kids today have no idea what they are missing.

When my children were little, they went to Catholic school. So back-to-school shopping meant ordering new uniforms online. BORING.

But I do have one awesome memory of taking my daughter shopping before her first day of pre-school. She was two and a half, quite precocious, and apparently, already a budding fashionista. She knew she wanted a pink dress but none of the ones we came across was just right. It was our third shopping trip, and I was running out of stores, when she found the perfect dress Gap Kids Factory outlet. And then she used her persuasive powers to convince me she needed the matching shoes because you “only get one first day of school.” And, “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this!” (Told you she was precocious.)

Every time I look at her picture from that day I smile.

But we are long past the days when any of us have grown out of last year’s outifts. (Thank goodness.) And besides my favorite leggings and sweatshirts, most of my clothes don’t get enough wear to actually get worn out. Sure, some of the styles might be a tad out-of-date, but in the current fashion environment pretty much anything goes.

So shopping is definitiely no longer a necessity.

I recently Iearned that Americans buy an averag of 64 items of new clothes each year. Sixty-four!!! That number alone is way more than my childhood wardrobe. In fact, we are buying four times as many clothes as we did in the year 2000.

Although most people don’t need more clothes than they did twenty years ago, two forces have aligned to propel the fashion industry: fast fashion and social media. Clothing manufacturers are producing over 100 billion pieces per year. Fast fashion companies rapidly churning out new clothes weekly (instead of seasonallly) to both drive and keep up with trends. And then selling these clothes at almost abusrdly low prices that don’t reflect their true costs.

Fashion trends evolve seemingly overnight thanks to social media and fashion influencers who are constantly bombarding consumers with ads and sponsored content even when they aren’t shopping for clothes. Online personalitites regularly film their fashion hauls and unboxings and post photos of them wearing dozens of new outfits each week. While some [of the more ethical influencers] remind their audience that they are trying all these clothes for research purposes and to help their readers/viewes make informed decisions, there’s no doubt that watchng someone you admire constantly model new clothes normalizes the process and makes it easy to overbuy, often just with the click of a button.

What most influencers aren’t telling us, is that they don’t keep the vast majority of the clothes they are hawking. Many of them actually sell the items they are gifted for an additional profit. So just think about that for a minute. Your favorite fashion influencer recommends a pair of barrel jeans (honestly not sure how I feel about this trend yet. I have not tried on a pair of barrel jeans becasue I simply don’t need another pair of jeans right now. Originally, I hated them, but they have grown on me.) and convinces you that you need a pair too. So you rush off to the Gap or Abercrombie or Old Navy and snag yourself a pair. Meanwhile, your virtual bestie has just unloaded hers on Poshmark and pocketed $50.

More clothes does not equal happiness. Nor even more to wear. The more fashion choices you have, the harder it can be to get dressed becasue there’s too much noise and clutetr in your closet. One study found that people don’t wear 50% of the clothing they own. It doesn’t make sense to keep accumulating more things.

Fast fashion doesn’t doesn’t have a very long shelf life. Trendy styles come and go quickly, and cheaply made threads tend to rip, pill, shrink, or simply wear out more quickly. Not to mention, these fabrics are often itchy or ill-fitting and become misshapen in the wash.

Consdiering this, it’s not a surprise that 65% of clothing is thrown out within 12 months of its purchase. Although that actually is shocking!!! An estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste end up in U.S. landfills yearly, which is about 81.5 pounds of textile waste per person per year.

Even if you don’t care about the enviornmental impact, tossing 65% of your clothing within one year does not seem like a sound financial investment. Think of all the other things you could do with that money. Again, I’m talking to myself here.

Luckily, I’ve, finally, developed my own sense of style. This took way longer than it shold have, btw, so if you’re still searching, don’t despair. I blame a brief fashion stint as Cabi stylist for both my overcrowded closet and lack of a fashion identity. But It’s never too late to figure out your style.

I know what I like, what I don’t, what fits me well, and what I will never ever wear again – even if it’s on trend.

Some things you won’t catch me wearing:

• Sequins (too itchy)
• Skinny jeans (I know they’re coming back, but they are not comfortable and I’m not sure why I ever thought they were flattering)
• Strapless shirts/dresses (not comfortable and not the best neckline for my body)
• Motorcycle boots (too clunky)
• Long, flowy dresses (too precious)
• Fashion scarves (too fussy)
• Rust, orange and olive green near my face (make me look sickly)
• Nylon track pants (too swishy)
• Slip dresses (feel like a nightgown)
• Suede jackets (too much rain where I live)
• High heels

Things I love and wear on repeat:

• Basic form-fitting tees in black, gray, white
• Cool graphic tees – bands, cities, sports
• Straight and wide leg jeans
• Cashmere crewnecks
• Classic dresses
• Blazers
• Fun fashion sneakers
• Birks
• Mini A-line or pencil skirts (even though I’m over 50)
• Cozy cardigans
• Elevated sweatshirts
• Mary Janes

Knowing what I like to wear and what makes me feel good makes getting dressed easier. And more fun.

Above I said I’m not buying asnything new for now. But after all my fall fashion content bingeing, this is not to say I don’t have anything on my fall fashion wishlist. Things I’m considering adding to my wardrobe this fall/winter include:

• a denim dress
• a pair of Western style boots
• a barn jacket
• leather jacket
• patterned blazer (I currently have black, navy, white and linen tan)

But I’m in no rush to buy any of them. It’s still 80 degrees here most days. And you can bet I’m going to be very particular about what I do buy. If you’ve got any recommendations, let me know.

One thing you won’t see on that list, a new sweater.

Off we go!