It was all going so well. At the beginning of last year I had smugly declared I would only buy five new wardrobe pieces for the next 12 months (the planet, people). The inspiration came from a crucial report from think tank The Hot or Cool Institute: they crunched the data and discovered that if fashion had any chance of hitting its 1.5°C warming targets, it needed to radically cut production and consumption.
In the West, that amounts to just five new items a year. As a fashion activist, I felt I needed to comply, and announced my intentions to my Substack and Instagram followers. Hundreds joined me online to take up the #ruleof5 challenge.
I survived the January sales (turned off the emails, shut down the fashion ads) and conducted a full wardrobe audit. It was the year I was only going to buy wisely. Each purchase would be weighed and considered, crucial research would be done. I would be a prodigy of shopping virtue.
It was harder than I thought. But while I did spend much of the year in misery and deprivation (oh, for a Phoebe Philo coat, those M&S silver trousers, one of Jigsaw’s Roksanda pieces), I have had more fun with fashion than ever before. Because it turns out, there’s plenty you can do without going to the shops. Plus, while this was ostensibly being done for the planet, the other consideration was money.
Few of us are feeling flush right now and late night Net-A-Porter hauls are the last thing we need. When I announced my plan on social media, the overwhelming response from those who joined me was that they were sick of buying so much stuff: we felt stifled by our own consumption and were desperate to stop. The Rule of 5 became the fashion diet we all needed.
But first – my failure. The year started well: I identified my first purchase as that crucial cornerstone piece, the perfect white shirt. After weeks hunting down exactly what I wanted – boyfriend cut, poplin cotton, organic, independent British designer – I emerged triumphant (With Nothing Underneath).
This was March and I had to work out where to go next. Magazines were full of new season fashion, but I had shopping paralysis. I found myself outside Selfridges, licking the windows, so avoided town. Then somehow I found myself in a shop changing room, trying on a pair of wildly inappropriate gold silk cargo pants. Before I knew it, I was handing over my credit card. A total impulse buy – exactly what I said I wouldn’t do. Disaster!
Elated with shopping adrenaline and the transgression of breaking my own rules, I learned a valuable lesson: sometimes, fashion is just for the hell of it. The important thing now was not to do it again and to wear those damn cargo pants everywhere.
Summer was tough. I longed for newness and realised I used fashion to mark my evolution through life. A new job, a new season, a new chapter, new growth – new clothes marked progress for me. Without shopping I had to find that comfort from other places. I doubled down on fitness, cooking, meditation, swimming and reading. All things that in time began to fill the hole.
I also began to shop my own wardrobe – upcycling old garments, mending others, swapping with friends and renting something new when I needed it. Fashion has so many new industries and businesses popping up to help with this, and they really do work. When I ran into trouble (I lost my flip-flops on the beach, I needed an emergency sun hat) I resorted to second hand. But I was careful to be moderate.
As I made it through the year, I realised I was now wearing 80% of my wardrobe – as opposed to the 20% most of us rely on. My clothes now fit, and all those sample sale purchases have been upcycled into something I’ll actually wear. Of the few things I bought, I made sure they would last. So I have ordered my reward. I’ve always wanted something made especially for me and have dreamed of a house coat. Part opera coat, part dressing gown, it’s a glamorous piece that can be worn with almost anything. Queen of the house coat is Alice Temperley.
Now I have her embroidery team working on a bespoke commission. It’s going to take months but I don’t mind. I’ve learned that really valuable things come to those who wait. One day they’ll bury me in that house coat.
As I embark on a new year, I can’t imagine reverting to my old shopping ways. I’m going to try again in 2024 and hope this time not to make the same mistakes.
Want to join Tiffanie in theRule of 5 challenge? Find her on Instagram @tiffdarke or Substack Rule of Five