I am a pretty big believer in avoiding fast fashion where I can. Fast fashion is pretty much destroying the fashion industry as we know it with shelves upon shelves of designer “dupes” and it’s opened up this broader culture where people once again think it’s 100% acceptable not only to buy fakes BUT to sell fakes. I’ve seen SO many influencers over the last year selling fake Gucci belts as “dupes”, but that’s a discussion for a different blog post. Fast fashion is also a HUGE environment killer. If you believe in the Paris Climate Agreement but are STILL wearing forever21, I hate to break it to you, but you’re HIGH key a part of the environmental crisis facing our planet. If you don’t believe me, the read THIS post on why you should invest in your denim. It’ll give you the reasons why buying ONE pair is better and how it’ll save you some $$$ in the long run. ALSO do you know how much water goes into ONE pair of jeans… like seriously consider that the next time you swoop up 5 pairs on clearance from American Eagle.
Alright, my opinions on why fast fashion is bad aside (which if you want I will make a whole post dedicated to this). There are 3 places where I break my fast fashion rules. 1. Aritzia, 2. White Poplin/Eyelet Shirts and 3. Uniqlo.
1. Aritzia
I love Aritzia dearly, and many many Aritzia pieces make up a substantial part of my wardrobe despite it still being considered fast fashion. Aritzia is one of the fashion fast exceptions because they are Canadian and I keep my Aritzia pieces for ever. The majority of the things that I pick up from Aritzia sit in my wardrobe for years and years and years. Aritzia unlike Zara, Forever21 and H&M does in some part not copy other peoples designs. There are distinctly Aritzia silhouettes or takes on trendy items that remain very much the Aritzia aesthetic. Aritzia also keeps a HUGE amount of their pieces in stock year-in and year-out. There are staple styles (that aren’t basics) that you can find each and every year in the most updated colours, something that you will never ever find at Zara or Forever21.
2. White Poplin/Eyelet Shirts
White poplin or cotton, will discolour. There is no amount of money you can invest in a poplin shirt to ensure it won’t discolour much to my dismay. It’s a sad reality that unless you dry clean your poplin or use a SH*T ton of chemicals on it, it’ll likely discolour at some point within a year or two. Hence, I prefer to buy the H&M versions and wear it until it rips and gives out on me. Still not great but I still try my best to buy the best quality out of what makes sense price point wise. It pains me to do this because I really don’t like supporting fast fashion retailers, but I’m not at a place financially where it makes sense to invest hundreds of dollars into something that needs hundreds more dollars worth of maintenance to last… even leather pants are less maintenance.
3. Uniqlo
Ugh ok, I wouldn’t shop at Uniqlo except they make heat tech which is a huge part of why I’ve stayed warm this winter…. I use Uniqlo heat tech as long johns/ layering pieces to keep me snuggly and warm. Genuinely guys, if there was a better alternative I would jump on board but they are actually the best.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Let me know if you like posts like this and if you want to see my fast fashion rules!
xoxo Steph
