I'm a strange shopper, I'll admit. Real life shopping gives me palpable anxiety - something to do with crowds and the indecision fatigue when presented with so much choice, so I mostly buy online. I used to think this streamlined my habit ensuring I only ordered what I really needed but my wardrobes are still chock full.
Being an aspiring minimalist but a natural hoarder is a struggle. And thanks to my meticulous laundry habit (I always wash gently at 30 and use fabric softener), I've still got clothes I've owned for well over 10 years.
On average as a nation, we'll spend about £3.5 billion on outfits for an occasion (with 8 million of those ending up in landfill after that one wear), adding to a shopping habit that equates to about 26.7kg of new clothes per person, per year.
Not only is this a waste of money and space, it's a drain on resources and labour (which undoubtedly won't all be ethical either), as well as a threat to our wildlife and planet through production and waste pollution.
It's estimated that clothes will account for over a quarter of our overall climate change impact by 2050, so I challenged myself (with the help of a stylist) to work five new fashion trends out of the contents of my wardrobe.
'Rose prints are set to be huge for AW19,' says stylist Kate Andrews, advising me to team romantic rose separates with some of my staples. So I dug into my 'summer box' to reach for a 90s-style halter-neck, a midi I usually only pair with chunky knits and some black heeled mules I bought back in 2013.
SS19 is all about old-school cycling shorts. 'Just pair it with a weighty shouldered blazer for a downtown cool look,' Kate tells me. So, that's exactly what I did. I rummaged through my wardrobe for the organic cotton shorts I exclusively reserve for working out (with a much less attractive baggy T-shirt) and I'm converted.
'Weaves, appliqué and patchwork hit the SS19 runways hard,' Kate tells me, advising me to pull out any embellishment, basket bags and crochet to recycle the style for this season. Luckily, I have all these things - but wouldn't have necessarily have put them together. For once, my hoarding ways weren't in vain.
Big dress energy took centre stage on the AW19 runways with billowing dresses amping up the drama so I'm encouraged to jazz up a casual dress with accessories to mirror the trend. A patterned headband, printed dress and statement shoes wouldn't be my usual combination but am I feeling it? Yes.
'The SS19 catwalks saw nudes and beige worn head-to-toe,' says Kate, so I collated by neutral shades into a whole look. To be honest, this is probably the most 'me' look because I love block colour and have been rinsed by a colleague for my overflow of rust-coloured clothes so this will make a welcome change from all-out-brown.
We all have clothing combinations we haven't thought of before, so instead of putting myself on a strict shopping ban by avoiding all trends temptation, I'm now going to actively seek new style inspiration to help me work with what I already have. Will I be wearing these outfits out of challenge week? Absolutely.
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