I did a year long 'no buy' wardrobe challenge, here's what I learnt...

The biggest takeaways after 365 days without buying any clothes

It’s official, to day marks day 365 of my 365 no buy challenge!

After 365 days without buying anything for my wardrobe, in no particular order, here’s what I learned:

Outfit repeating is my definition of true style

I did an entire post to celebrate the rebellious act of outfit repeating, and I stand by it. On the multiple occasions I did repeat outfits it was because I loved them. I noticed a sneaky voice that would tell me this is boring or you need to mix things up to which I would always reply…but why? Wearing the same outfits again and again is something I associate with someone who knows themselves, who knows their tastes.

A wishlist isn’t a shopping list

Creating a traffic light system wishlist where I have to select multiple choice questions totally changed the way I saw wishlists. Instead of acting as a never ending shopping list, it became an invaluable tool to help me decipher both why I wanted something and what deserved space inside my wardrobe. I want things that come into my wardrobe to add something to what already exists, vs adding more noise, more confusion and more options that ultimately sit at the back of the wardrobe with the tag still on.

Being off Instagram helped me solidify my personal style

There’s a lot to be said for taking some time away from the scroll, especially if you want to find out what YOU like when there’s no one to tell you what you should. I took a 6 month break from Instagram in 2024 and not only was I happier, I found way more enjoyment in my clothes because I could drown out the noise of other people’s opinions. There was no ‘what’s hot what’s not’. No new ins, no hauls, I wasn’t being influenced outside of my own preferences. I was able to better understand and become more acquainted with my personal taste.

Our brains needs space to decipher what a ‘full body yes’ actually means

While I understand the concept of a full body yes, I have to admit that before my no buy challenge I could VERY easily convince myself anything I wanted was a full body yes. What I learnt is that even when I think an item is a green light I still need some space between seeing an item and buying it. Thanks to my traffic light wishlist there were so many things on my wishlist that I genuinely believed were a full body yes, only to realize as the year went on, that feeling dissipated. I realized a full body yes has the potential to be a fleeting moment, it can be felt and more often than not unfelt as time went by. As trends came and went I could see how feeling a full body yes in a particular moment in the past was enough to make me pull the trigger, only to see a new trending item a month later and experience the exact same full body yes knowing that previous item had lost its luster. The buy it now button, and websites that tell you when something is low in stock or the last one available are a great example of how easy it is to confuse a full body yes with urgency and scarcity.

I want to prioritize second hand shopping and independent designers/businesses where possible

The pieces that bought the most joy throughout my no buy were antique pieces of jewelry, pieces made by artisans with original designs, often ripped off by the high street (and often the luxury fashion houses). While I’m no stranger to the real real etc id like to get back to thrifting and eBay as a first resort. I have no doubt I will continue to buy knickers from Marks and Spencer, white t-shirts from & Other Stories, and my jeans from Abercrombie’s curve love unless I can find a better alternative. But when it comes to the majority of purchases moving forward I would like anything I add in to be second hand or by an independent designer where possible.

Having more stuff doesn’t make you more stylish

It also doesn’t automatically make it easier to get dressed, if anything it can often add to the confusion. One of the most asked questions from people regarding my no buy (see the video here) was do I think my no buy would have been harder if I had a wardrobe half the size? The answer is no. Speaking from experience, in my twenties I probably had close to double the amount in my wardrobe that I have now and I still felt like I had nothing to wear. I hadn’t prioritized using what I had, instead I associated being stylish with just buying the latest trend. The more I owned the less I felt pushed to be creative with what I had, that and I didn’t have the confidence to normalize outfit repeating in a world that told me newness equaled style and relevance. The goal of a no buy isn’t to wear a brand new outfit every single day, but ironically, I did find myself making so many new outfit combinations. Combinations and looks I don’t think I would have put together had it not have been for the creative constraints my no buy offered.

Make do and mend made me appreciate what I already had

I also wrote about this, and while it’s so ridiculously obvious, making do and mending will make your current wardrobe work so much harder for you, as well as highlighting the pieces that are truly built to last when they receive the proper care and maintenance. Before my no buy I was guilty of buying new shoes vs resoling/rehealing the ones I already had. I’d convince myself getting the same shoe in a different style would be more beneficial than repairing a pair I had that were similar. When something needed repairs I used it as an excuse to buy something new, which is how I ended up with more items that weren’t being worn. During my no buy I hemmed trousers myself, I went to my local cobbler and it felt good to put money back into the hands of skilled craftsman within my local community.

Desire isn’t the enemy, instant gratification is

Longing for something is incredibly romantic, and my no buy reminded me of this. In our ‘buy it now with one click’ culture we’ve stopped entertaining desire, we block ourselves off from it because our priority is having what we want right now. My need for Instant gratification I believe is to blame for many of my past purchases that no doubt have ended up in landfill or went unworn with the tag still hanging in it. Think about when you’re going out with someone, the build up to the first time you hold hands, the first kiss, all things to look forward to, wandering who will make the first move? Desire is key to those things, when you let it build its incredibly rewarding. It’s telling that the things I’ve waited for the longest in my wardrobe are my favorite pieces, because when I wear them i’m reminded of the excitement in the lead up to owning them. The enjoyment I experienced from romanticising those items has been equal to seeing them work hard in my wardrobe, especially during my no buy. I knew for many years I would love to one day own a vintage Hermes Kelly, but I knew it would most likely be something I would have to wait a long time to be able to afford. That being said, I would visit the bag (a la Samantha in SATC …. ‘bye bye Birkin’) at Hermes or in designer preloved stores to indulge in my longing. The desire I experienced in those visits made the build up feel so intense, so exciting, that it felt so good when I did buy that bag many many years after first seeing it.

Prioritizing play is the most important thing to me when it comes to my relationship with style/fashion

Maybe your bored of me saying it, but I will repeat it until me dying breath, my no buy was not a punishment, it was a way to look at my relationship to my wardrobe (which included my spending) but it also reconnected me to my creativity. As adults play is something we stop prioritizing and yet it gives us so much. The feeling I would get when I would try something new using what I had, always felt like magic. It made getting dressed fun and expansive.

Your reasons for doing a no buy mater

If I had gone into my no buy with a belief I was atoning for my past consumption, and I must now experience the ultimate deprivation I would have hated it. Curiosity is what sparked my creativity and making a challenge I was excited to do was really important to me. I wanted to see what I could come up with using what I had, I wanted to reconnect to my artistic expression. There are so many common misconceptions around doing a nobuy and people quickly forget you get to make your own guidelines, guidelines that feel exciting and expansive.

It’s cool to be uncool

Rather than pandering to every single trend, it’s cool to wear the clothes you love when they’re ‘out of style’ (whatever that even means). When everyone started saying ‘oversized’ was out, I felt very comfy and chic in my big shoulder pad men’s blazers. I was content being ‘uncool’ or ‘so last season’. There is nothing more liberating than putting something on that makes you feel good in your own skin, irrelevant of what the fashion magazines or people online are saying. No shade, but when you’re faced with multiple weekly hauls from content creators telling you what’s in and out this season, remember this is how they earn a living. Newness sells, it plays on our insecurity of being left out from the crowd. The most stylish people I know dress for themselves, not the grid. Owning the latest ‘it’ item won’t make you more likeable or fuckable no matter what anyone tells you. You’ve already got it ;)

Wearing the hell out of your clothes is the best way to be sustainable when it comes to your wardrobe

In a world of ‘sustainable brands’, and constant green washing, the most sustainable thing you can do is to wear your clothes. Wear them until they fall apart, and even then, fix them, mend them, keep breathing new life into them. My clothes with holes in that went beyond repair became bag stuffing, or I used them as rags for cleaning. I’ve seen people get rid of everything only to start buying from sustainable brands vs just wearing the clothes they own. I definitely own my fair share of high-street brands that would be considered fast fashion, but I still do my best to, you guessed it, wear the hell out of them! I went to my first clothing swap during my no buy and that was incredible. I met with brilliant people, and took home a couple of pieces I still wear now as well as giving my pieces I no longer wanted to a new home.

My no buy changed my life, not just my wardrobe

I love my wardrobe, and I love the relationship I have to style after doing a no buy, but what I couldn’t have predicted was how my no buy would act as the first domino to fall in what became several life changes. As well as helping me diagnose and get help with some big mental health issues, my no buy offered me cognitive space and time to really think about what I desire at this point in my life. I was able to put the wheels in motion to change careers and to stop climbing someone else’s mountain. I found myself returning to my values while unearthing new ones. I will be forever grateful for this experience and what its taught me.

You can learn more about The No Buy Styling Course here.

Thank you for reading, and for all your support throughout my no buy. I have LOVED hearing about your own no buys and your relationship to style. While my intention is to continue to write about style, and life after a no buy, I also want to give myself permission to explore writing about slower living in general and maybe some other stuff that i’m building up the courage to share.

Thank you for being here

Harry x

P.s. I also made a video on my YouTube channel answering your questions about my buy that people sent me on Instagram which you can watch here.

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While I hope I encourage you to use what you have, if you’d like links to my wardrobe, you can find those here (contains some affiliates). Learn more about The No Buy Styling Course Here.

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