Real Talk: Normalizing Outfit Repeating

We often get asked where the outfits in our photoshoots come from. To be honest, most of them come from our closets! We’re big proponents of shopping what’s already inside your closet first before looking to buy new. This is one of the biggest ways to be more sustainable and mindful about fashion and reduce your impact on the people and planet we live on.

During our launch party event, our founder, Christina Bullock, was wearing one of the dresses as seen on one of the models in our shoots. After Christina from Joyasol and Ayesha from Re/Make gave a short talk, we opened it up for questions. One of the questions they received was if the dress Christina was wearing was the same as the one the model was wearing. Christina was happy to report it was!

This then opened up a discussion about normalizing repeating outfits and promoting slower fashion through reuse, repair, and getting creative with what’s already in your closet.

Christina Bullock of Joyasol and Ayesha of Remake Christina Bullock of Joyasol and Ayesha of Re/make at our Launch Party

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Our model wearing the same dress from Hill House!

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So often our culture and social media puts pressure on what's new and in-trend for the season and not repeating the same outfit twice. While we admit it is fun to go shopping and to try new looks, this cycle of fast fashion and overproduction can be both damaging to the environment (see here) and our people (more on that here).

When looking to buy something new, ask yourself these questions:

Do I already have something like this in my closet?
Can I see myself wearing this item more than a handful of times?
Is this something that will only be in style one season or can I wear this year after year?
Is this something that is made from sustainable materials (like linen, organic cotton or hemp) or is it made from petroleum/synthetic fibers (like polyester)?
Where was this garment made and were the workers paid living wages?

While we’re not perfect, this is a good starting point and things to consider before buying new. Obviously, it’s a bonus if it’s sustainable and ethically made, but most important is that you can see yourself using it more than a few times and more than one season!

That being said, here are some similar items we’ve owned for a while, used in our photoshoots, and continue to wear on repeat!