Podcast Episode #1: Fast Fashion
What is fast fashion
So what exactly is fast fashion? It can pretty much be defined as inexpensive, trendy type clothing that’s been inspired by ideas from fashion shows or celebrities but it’s made at a super fast speed to meet the demands of customers at a more budget friendly price point. Traditionally, fashion has four seasons, and I’m sure you’ve seen this throughout the years. Typically, those seasons are spring, summer, fall, winter resort and pre fall. The two main seasons, however, or spring / summer and fall / winter. The goodtrade.com reports that fast fashion brands produce approximately 52 micro seasons a year. It’s not uncommon for fast fashion retailers to introduce new products multiple times in a single week to stay on trend.
I’m sure you all have seen this. There are certain websites that you probably frequent right now where you can’t even keep up with the inventory. You go there one day and they have all this stuff. You return the next day to get something out of your shopping cart, and there’s like 1000 new items. That’s pretty much how it works. It can be really exciting because you’re constantly seeing things change and in a world where we really desire fast results, it’s perfect for those really impatient moments where you’re just chomping at the bit to get some really cute pieces of fashion. Especially if you don’t wanna wait a long time for designers to put out a bunch of different versions or even wait for your standard designers to put out plus size options.
It’s hard to determine exactly where fast fashion began. It’s easy to see why people are in love with the concept. Competitors in fast fashion include Gap H and M Forever 21 SheIn and a bunch of other plus size brands and straight sized brands.
Pro’s & Cons of Fast Fashion
Let’s discuss some of the positive positives and negatives regarding fast fashion to see. to determe if it’s right for you?
Some of the positives of fast fashion are:
- It’s inexpensive. Hoo rah. It’s nice on your pocketbook.
- You’re able to stay on trend. Heck, yeah, when they’re releasing stuff a couple of times a week, there’s no way you’re going to miss being a fashionista because they are popping with new styles and designs all the time.
- You have the ability to frequently change your look. So no matter what type of event you’re attending or what you’re doing, when you show up and you’re styling your curves, you are going to be able to change your look either on your mood frequently.
- You can get high end looks for a really low price point. This is really cool because there aren’t many options to do that, so when you can score a dupe, look alike and only spend 1/10 or 1/20 what it would cost to buy an investment piece you’ll get high end looks at this super low price point. This is super advantageous.
- Fast fashion is perfect for people who are weight fluctuate er’s.
Meaning if you are losing weight and you’re in transition either up or down you are a person whose weight fluctuates. Maybe you say, “I’m not buying any new clothes until I’m skinny or I’m not buying any close until my weight levels out”. Guess what with fast fashion, you don’t have to wait for those fluctuations to happen before you make a purchase. You can look good and feel good during the transition, no matter what direction you’re going without a whole lot of financial investment now.
It it’s also perfect for people who don’t have the money to buy investment pieces. College students are a perfect example of this. They’re often on a limited budget and because of what’s going on in the world today with the pandemic, there’s a lot of people who are also financially strapped when purchasing. Fast fashion allows them to buy these clothing items and still look nice, but at a much more affordable price.
- You get to feel the frequent high of retail therapy more often. Now, listen, this goes without saying but I’m absolutely sure you know what I’m talking about. You know, when you buy something, you get that feeling? You get that little euphoria, then it shows up and you put your new clothes on for the first time, it has a huge psychological impact. Looking good and feeling good can go hand in hand and really boost your mood. Even if nobody is seeing you. Like if you look smoking and you feel great. So again, with the fast fashion you’re able to hit that retail therapy high.
Con’s of fast fashion
Now, what are some of the cons of fast fashion?
- It can be made of inferior materials or poorly constructed, basically meaning they’re putting these out at a huge discount quickly compared to what designer investment pieces would go for. Based on that, some of the materials in the fast fashion or either going to be poorly or quickly constructed, or they’re going to be made of inferior materials. I will say this. I’ve been a fit model. So I’ve seen behind the scenes of a lot of manufacturing places. I can tell you I’ve seen rooms where they have the same exact fabric for example denim in multiple sections, meaning the source of the denim is the same exact provider yet then they have different locations in their production warehouse, where they are producing multiple items for different brands, using the same exact denim at different price points. So, I’ve actually seen it’s the same exact denim, and it’s being cut for this brand and sold at one price. It’s being cut and designed another way for another brand. At this price, etc, etc, meaning sometimes even when you’re paying high or low sometimes they’re constructed of the same exact material. The construction process may be more refined on an investment piece because they’re spending more time or they’re paying more experienced skilled workers or allowing them more time to construct each individual item. So when you’re getting fast fashion, they may not. It may have been produced quickly and that can affect quality.
2. Fast fashion may not last more than a micro season or several washes. That’s kind of a bummer, but if you’re only paying 10 or 15 or $20 for something instead of $200 or $300 there’s a trade off for that and that might be just the fact that it doesn’t last as long.
3. The resale value of fast fashion is lower, obviously, because the cost to purchase it and acquire it is lower. So the resale value ends up being lower, whereas investment pieces usually retain their value pretty well.
There’s quick turnover for fast fashion, and this can have environmental effects from carbon emissions, etc. We’re going to talk about some things to combat that in a minute.
Tips to consider when purchasing fast fashion
Here’s a few tips to consider when you’re purchasing fast fashion in order, to offset some of those cons I mentioned.
- Is to wash your clothes in a front loading washer on a gentle cycle and hang dry them to increase their lifespan. This really goes a long way, not just for fast fashion, but for any type of fashion you have, The more you take care of your clothing, the longer life it will have for you, especially if you end up with a fast, fast, fast fashion item that you absolutely love that is sold out and cannot be replaced. That’s a way you can increase its life so that you don’t end up not being able to use it anymore and missing it.
2. Donate, up cycle or resell your fast fashion when you no longer want to wear it. This is super important because even though they’re producing a lot of fast fashion, if when you’re done with it instead of throwing it away, you up cycle, re sell or donate it, then you’re allowing that item to enter the consumer market for somebody else to enjoy so that a new item doesn’t need to be produced in it’s place. My favorite fashion selling & buying app is poshmark it’s a that app is a perfect place. It’s a perfect place for you to resell your items.
If you’re looking , donate, Of course. Look for your best charity. Also up cycling Get creative. You can get fun. Check my YouTube channel and we’ll talk about up cycling your old items and giving them new life to make you feel like they’re a different piece of fashion. You’ll be keeping the item just changing the way it looks or what you’re doing with it to enjoy it for another season.
3. Don’t impulse buy, but rather make a list of items you need prior to entering the store. Maybe because the pandemic you’re not shopping in person. If so, I would say make a list of items that you desire or things that you think you need to purchase before you go online to look at the selections because I’m telling you when you see how inexpensive the selections are and you get online and your wowed with the thousands of styles they have, you are going to go bonkers and want to buy everything if you’re anything like me. I make a list of what I need before I get online or before I go in the store, and that really helps.
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Click here to see the fast fashion retailer I’m really loving right now or check out my Stying Curves online store where you can find a variety of hand selected items that I have chosen just for plus sizes based on my stylist expertise available for purchase.
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