No new clothes in 2022: two months in and I broke the rules…

Mar 2, 2022 | 4 comments

I slutningen af 2021 gav jeg mig selv det løfte, at jeg ikke ville købe nyt tøj i hele 2022 – med ganske få undtagelser. Du kan dykke ned i udfordringen HER, læse lidt mere om hvorfor jeg hoppede med på idéen om et købestop og ikke mindst hvordan du selv kan være med. Selvom kalenderen siger Marts, så er det ikke for sent at joine! Kort fortalt, så befinder jeg mig et super godt sted med min garderobe, og målet med et købestop er derfor at dykke lidt længere ned i min personlige stil, uden at blive distraheret af lysten til, at tilføje nyt. 

Så hvad har jeg lært indtil videre? Det skal vi snakke lidt om i dagens indlæg.

ENG: At the end of 2021, I gave myself the promise that I wouldn’t buy new clothes throughout all of 2022 – with a few exceptions. You can dive into the details of the challenge HERE, read a little more about why I found the idea of a no-buy intriguing and not least how you can get onboard too. Even though the calendar says March, it’s not too late to join! In short, I find myself in a super good place with my wardrobe, and the goal of a no-buy is therefore to dig a little further into my personal style, without being distracted by the desire to add new items.

So what have I learned so far? We’ll talk a little about that in today’s post.


En vaske-fail og noget om iskolde ankler.

Jeg deler løbende opdateringer om udfordringen ovre på Instagram, og det har været en fryd at se hvor mange af jer som aktivt bruger vores hashtag #nothingnew22! Som I måske ved, så har vi et fokus og nogle del-udfordringer hver måned hele året, og det er så inspirerende at se, hvordan I hver især løser dem. Mit købestop er gået rigtig fint indtil videre – selvom jeg faktisk har købt et par nye ting, så falder de for det første inden for rammerne for udfordringen og for det andet, så er det vigtigt for mig at understrege, at det jo handler om progress not perfection. Bevares, det er meningen det skal være en udfordring, hvor det måske er lidt svært somme tider. Ellers lærer man jo ikke noget. Men som med alle mulige udfordringer så husk, at give jer selv lidt luft og skulderklap undervejs. Og plads til at begå fejl. Plads til, at lade livet være dynamisk – præcis som det jo er, hvilket altid vil være forbundet med din garderobe.

Speaking of fejl. Jeg kom bl.a. til, at vaske én af mine yndlings sweatre fra Le Pirol ved 40 grader i starten af året, så den skrumpede til børne størrelse. Av. Og ja. Dét kan altså sagtens ske for sådan én som mig, der normalt er super forsigtig ISÆR når det kommer til delikate materialer som uld. Så den har jeg erstattet med en ny i helt samme model og farve. Og så har jeg købt et par jeans. Denne vinter gik det nemlig op for mig, at jeg ikke ejer ét eneste par basic jeans med normal ben længde. Jeg ejer seriøst kun cropped modeller. Det har aldrig rigtig rørt mig før, og om det skyldes at jeg generelt tilbringer mere tid udenførs efter jeg er blevet mor skal jeg ikke kunne sige. I hvertfald synes jeg livet er for kort til, at rende rundt med iskolde ankler i vintersæsonen, og jeg er sikker på jeg ikke ville have grebet dette køb an på samme måde, havde det ikke været for købestoppet. Det er nemlig et køb som er mere båret af praktik frem for stil. Så selvom jeg faktisk brød med udfordringen lige i dette tilfælde, så lærte jeg alligevel en vigtig lektie: at give plads til at fokusere på netop praktik og optimering af tøj jeg allerde har, fremfor at bruge krudt på at inkorporere nye, “sjovere” items i min garderobe. Især fordi jeg har nok af den slags allerede.

ENG: A washing fail and something about freezing ankles.

I regularly share updates about the challenge over on Instagram, and it has been a joy to see how many of you actively use our hashtag #nothingnew22! As you may know, we have a monthly focus and some sub-challenges every month throughout the year, and it’s so inspiring to see how you each solve them. My no-buy has gone really well so far – even though I have actually bought a few new things. However they do fall within the rule guidelines of the challenge and secondly, it is important for me to once again emphasize that this is about progress not perfection. Of course it’s meant to be a challenge where things might get a little difficult sometimes. Otherwise you wouldn’t really learn anything from it. But as with all possible challenges please remember to give yourself some space and a pat on the back along the way too. And room to make mistakes. Room to let life be the dynamic journey it is, which will always be reflected within your wardrobe somehow.

Speaking of making mistakes. I washed one of my favorite sweaters from Le Pirol at 40 degrees at the beginning of the year so it shrunk to kids size. Ouch. And yes. Stuff like this happen to me, too. So I have replaced it with a new one in exactly the same model and color. And then I bought a pair of new jeans. This winter it dawned on me that I don’t own a single pair of basic jeans in a regular leg length. I seriously only own cropped jeans. It has never really touched me before (and I do still prefer that slightly cropped style), and whether it is because I generally spend more time outside after I’ve become a mother, I’m not sure. I just know that life is too short to run around with freezing ankles during the winter season. It’s a purchase that is more carried out by functionality than style. So even though I actually (intentionally) broke the challenge in this particular case, I still learned an important lesson: to make more room to focus on functionality and optimization of clothes I already have, rather than using that energy to incorporate new, “more fun” items to my wardrobe. Especially since I’ve got enough of that kinds of clothes already.

Plads til fri leg.

Og så er der altså sket noget ret fantastisk. Noget, som jeg inderst inde godt vidste, ville ske. For det er nemlig lige præcis dét købestop-udfordringer kan, og jeg var lidt inde på det lige før. Det her med, at når man flytter fokus – eller i dette tilfælde helt udelukker et bestemt fokus (nemlig at købe nyt) – så får man mentalt mere overskud og luft. Mere plads til fri leg. Og dét har der været masser af! Jeg styler og sammensætter nye outfits med gammelt tøj som aldrig før, på trods af det hele tiden har været bloggens overordnede fokus. Nu høster jeg virkelig frugten af mit arbejde med min stil og garderobe den sidste håndfuld år, og det føles fantastisk.

Jeg tror de fleste frygter følelsen af at “gå glip” under en udfordring som denne, og det hele afhænger selvfølgelig af hvorvidt du synes din garderobe virkelig repræsenterer dig og dér hvor du er i dit liv. Hvis du ikke helt er der endnu, så står jeg til rådighed som din uvildige garderobe coach. Jeg har lynhurtigt opdaget, at jeg ikke går glip af det helt store. Til gengæld er det blevet (endnu mere) til en leg at klæde mig på hver dag, til alle slags lejligheder. Jeg har en ophøjet ro når jeg kigger ind i min garderobe og jeg glæder mig hver dag til, at tage tøj på. Og lige netop dette vil sikkert vise sig, også i det lange løb, at være den største og vigtigste lektie man kan lære, under et købestop. For som I ved, så er én af modebranchens hovedproblematikker mængden af nyt tøj der produceres, og derfor må og SKAL vi som forbrugere også nedbringe hvor meget vi køber. Vi skal investere bedre, og bruge vores tøj mere. Det er essensen af mit motto REDUCE – REWEAR -RELOVE. Et købestop er ikke for evigt, men vi lærer så mange vigtige ting undervejs.

Hvordan er det gået hos jer?

ENG: Freedom to be playful.

Besides acknowledging a few mistakes, something pretty amazing has happened. Something that I knew deep down would happen. Because this is exactly the magic of no-buy challenges. The fact that when you shift your focus – or in this case completely exclude a certain focus (buying more new clothes) – you free up mental space. More space to be playful and creative. And I’ve truly felt that! I style and put together new outfits with old clothes like never before, despite it having always been the overall focus of my blog and content. I’m really enjoying the fruits of working so intensely with my style and wardrobe the past 6 years and it feels amazing.

I think most people dread the feeling of missing out during a challenge like this, and it all depends, of course, on whether you think your wardrobe really represents you and where you are in your life. If you are not quite there yet I can help you. I have quickly discovered that I’m not actually missing out on anything at all. In return, it’s become (even more) a breeze to get dressed every day, for all kinds of occasions. I have this sense of calm when I look into my wardrobe and I look forward every day to putting on clothes. And this is exactly what will surely prove, also in the long run, to be the biggest and most important lesson you can learn during a no-buy challenge. Because as you might be aware of, one of the fashion industry’s main problems is the amount of new clothes that are being produced, and therefore we as consumers MUST also reduce how much we actually buy. We need to invest better and use our clothes more. That’s the essence of my motto REDUCE – REWEAR – RELOVE. A no-buy is not forever, but we learn so much from it.

How have you guys been doing so far?

4 Comments

  1. Sonny C.

    Mmmmm… I could actually be doing better… I mean, I am on a low buy involving clothing, shoes and bags…and I ended up January with 5 new items which I honestly didnt need. Fortunately I din’t buy any of those type of items through February, which felt SO GOOD! Btw, keep up the great work, Signe. Love, Sonny x

    Reply
  2. marie Kvist

    I ruined a cashmere sweater in the wash when my daughter was a baby. Turned it into baby cashmere joggers. If Emilie is too big, maybe cut the arms of the sweater and use it as leg warmers. My daughter really loved those joggers, had the for a really long time!

    Made it a bit less annoying that I managed to ruin one of my fav sweaters.

    Reply
  3. Sue

    My biggest challenge seems to be finding clothes I feel happy in. I’m unhappy with my current body shape and trying hard to lose some weight and tone up. All the clothes I have and love feel tight at the moment and I’m reluctant to spend my hard-earned cash on larger sizes which will no longer fit as I reach my goal weight. Thanks for your posts which continue to inspire me, Signe 😊 xx

    Reply
  4. Rikke Ebbe

    Det går faktisk slet ikke🤦🏻‍♀️ Jeg har købt en del, som primært skyldes at jeg har taget nogle kilo på😩 Jeg kan simpelthen ikke holde til, at mine jeans strammer, så jeg har købt 3 nye par. Derudover har jeg købt nogle skjorter og bluser. Så man må sige, at det har slået total fejl. Nu kommer foråret, hvor min garderobe skal omstruktureres, så håber jeg at det kan give frisk liv til gamle klude, og det nye jeg har købt er ting der skal/kan bruges hele året. Så marts er måneden, hvor jeg vil forsøge ikke at købe mere🙏🏻 For jeg mangler BESTEMT ikke tøj😅

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like

What to wear when you don’t know what to wear

What to wear when you don’t know what to wear

In one of our recent episodes of the Sustain This Podcast, we talked about the difference between fashion and style. Fashion very much tends to be reflected in our society and culture and it’s kind of what we collectively tend to wear during a specific time period,...

What I packed for 9 days in Copenhagen during summer

What I packed for 9 days in Copenhagen during summer

If you’ve followed me for a while you know that I love packing with intention both to make getting dressed easier at the destination, but also to endure a more stress-free way of travelling in general. If you’re travelling with a carry-on suitcase only this...

10 minimal summer capsule staples

10 minimal summer capsule staples

In today’s post I wanted to present to you my top 10 summer capsule staples, more specifically: maternity friendly summer staples. Most of these items can be worn during pregnancy and beyond which makes them smarter, long-term wardrobe investments rather than being...

Hygge meets fashion: a guide to Danish style

Hygge meets fashion: a guide to Danish style

If you're new around here then hi, I’m Signe - A Danish slow fashion advocate, and today I want to talk you through a topic that is, naturally, close to my heart: Danish fashion & style. Before we get into it, because I feel like people take some things on the...

How to declutter and edit your wardrobe *like a pro*

How to declutter and edit your wardrobe *like a pro*

One thing we often overlook when we’re talking wardrobe editing and decluttering, getting rid of stuff in general, is that the act of decluttering should not just happen to make room for more stuff, but to learn, become more true to your style and achieve a higher...