Did you know that the average American spends nearly two thousand dollars a year on clothing? This is likely because our clothing consumption patterns in the northern hemisphere have adjusted to prioritize the sale and purchase of low-quality fast fashion pieces.
Fast fashion is appealing, because it teaches consumers that they can buy trendy clothes for cheap as long as they make peace with the idea that it will only last a use or two. Clearly, however, this is bad both for the long-term health of the planet and for consumer wallets.
Capsule wardrobes are the panacea from wasteful overconsumption of cheap clothes. Capsule wardrobes encompass the practice of thoughtfully planning out your wardrobe in a way that prioritizes quality and durability. While better clothing construction is the central focus when choosing pieces to include in your capsule, a capsule wardrobe that is thoughtfully arranged also leaves plenty of room for trendy accents.
But the reason capsule wardrobes have not taken off is because people associate high quality with high prices. Even less appealing is the idea that conscientious wardrobes cannot accommodate trendy garments. This is just not the case!
In fact, here are 8 clothing brands that you can use to build a better, trendier, cost-effective capsule wardrobe!
Edikted
Edikted is a trendy online boutique that focuses on bringing trendy clothing from online to your doorstep with emphasis on inclusivity and diversity. Sometimes, when it comes to buying the latest trends, you can sacrifice quality for convenience, but that adds up in the long run.
Edikted is a clothing brand that brings trends from digital platforms like Instagram and TikTok to you. If you have seen it online, then you can probably find it on Edikted’s thoughtfully curated selection of online fads.
Francescas
Francescas is a great brand for layering. If you live in a cold climate, then you know that layering is essential for survival, but it is also a classic fashion silhouette. Even those fashionistas living in warm areas can benefit from the flattering flexibility of strategically layering your garments.
Layering helps you look “put together” when you are actually just getting cozier! To avoid looking “schlumpy,” you focus on centering your outfit around a statement piece item that has either the heaviest texture or most eye-catching pattern or color. Then, take a complementary approach when it comes to choosing the rest of your ensemble.
Francescas is a great resource for accessories, too. Classy gold pieces and cute, unique resin earrings can be found in Francescas’ wide selection of casual trendy clothing.
ReBag
Every woman knows that a designer handbag is the ultimate indicator of luxury. There are countless pop culture references that try to convince us as much, anyway. But just as ubiquitous is the knowledge that designer bags are prohibitively expensive!
Because we use our purses every day, they get a LOT more mileage than any other article of clothing or any accessories save for our shoes and undergarments. So you want to have a couple in you arsenal that you know are worth the sizeable investment.
There are a lot of online consignment options to choose from. When you are looking for a used designer handbag, ReBag has plenty of designers to choose from. You can also trust that the bag you purchase will be vetted by one of their luxury designer specialists.
Marika
Not every piece in your wardrobe should be aimed at being stylish in the office. Some should help you be a little sporty, too!
When you need athleticwear you can sweat in for a long time to come, you can look to Marika. There is a cute athletic set for everyone to accommodate a variety of different physical fitness levels. The best part of Marika is how durable their fabric is—no pilling here, folks!
And that’s important when it comes to athleticwear, which tends to be quite demanding on fabric. Despite the great quality, Marika regularly has two-for-one sales.
Ann Taylor / Loft
Women that are too small or too short or too wide or too tall…really, if you are “too much” of anything, traditional sizing paradigms at fast fashion boutiques just won’t cut it for you.
Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft both provide extensive sizing options for those underserved ladies that can’t find professional pants that fit at affordable prices. One of the most attractive features of Ann Taylor’s extended sizing paradigm is that it is seamlessly integrated into the existing site.
This means that Ann Taylor’s extended sizing is more democratic than most other retailers. That is, it is not its own separate section where there are only certain garments available in petites or plus sizes.