Written by Ashlee Finke

Graphic by Hannah Tom

A concept that has been bothering me recently is this agreement we have as a society that you should not wear the same outfit multiple times. This unspoken rule forms the idea that it is embarrassing or weird if you wear the same thing to an event that you wore to a past event. From experience, many issues emerge with this idea that you always have to be in something new. I’ve even started feeling self-conscious about my own style. Repeating outfits is something I love doing; finding a specific outfit that looks best on me naturally means I am going to wear it multiple times. I think it is quite silly to suggest that you should feel embarrassed to wear clothes that you purchase and that you feel confident in. This is something we have unfortunately normalized as a society, which is why I want to share a few reasons that we should all be outfit repeaters.

If you discover an outfit combination that you love and feel confident in, then why not wear it? Who cares if people are going to see you in an outfit multiple times? You are not wearing it for them, you are wearing it for yourself! If there is an outfit that makes you feel the best, then you should wear it as often as you like. Personally, my winter repeat outfit is a turtle neck layered underneath a crew neck paired with jeans. When spring rolls around, I wear a basic tank top, jean shorts, and tennis shoes. Those outfits are my solid go-to's when I am feeling very “meh” and I am not sure what to wear. I wear so many variations of those outfits; however, to me it is timeless and I feel comfortable every time. I challenge everyone to find those go-to repeat outfits that make you feel your best!

Beyond the personal liberation repeating an outfit brings, there are big-picture benefits to re-wearing your favorite pieces. For starters, it’s more sustainable to repeat outfits. When you are consuming less clothes, it results in less product produced. We have all hopefully started to realize how awful fast fashion companies are, not only to their workers but to the environment. When you are wearing the same pieces multiple times, you are not throwing anything out and you are not overconsuming clothing. Keeping clothes out of landfills helps the environment which is our ultimate goal. When we consume less clothing, we are contributing less to this major issue attacking our world. This will also save you money, which is always a plus!  So instead of buying that top, you are only going to wear once for $20, you can spend it on coffee or a new book that you have been wanting to buy!

Disclaimer: I am not an anti-shopper. I love shopping but I have started to become more mindful of how much I shop. I think everyone should reflect on how they consume and make sure they have not fallen into the TikTok trap of micro trends and overconsumption. So, I greatly encourage everyone to start wearing outfits over and over again!