When I first started working back in 2014, I was still figuring out my style. Every weekend, I would go to walk around the shops at Orchard Road (Singapore’s biggest shopping district) after my morning yoga class. Whenever I saw a piece of clothing I liked and felt suited me, I would buy it. I bought at least one item every week. This went on for about 5 years. I felt lured to every top cutting I did not have, and every outfit pattern out there. It certainly didn’t help that there were so many gorgeous influencers popping up.
Along the way, I am happy I figured out my style after a few years. However, I definitely had an addiction to clothes shopping/retail therapy. I purchased things when I was stressed/sad/happy/felt like celebrating etc. Indeed, I had wasted too much money and time on clothes shopping. Money that I could have spent on something more fruitful like investing. Time I could have spent picking up a new skill.
My wardrobe was definitely a bursting rainbow of clothes and I was really sick of having so many clothes but really nothing much to wear. Also, not all the colours or styles suited me – I only bought those colours and styles due to trends. I was sick of it and sick of the time spent constantly sorting out clothes in my wardrobe. I wanted change.
Does this sound like you?
If so, I am happy to let you know that I have successfully curbed my clothes shopping addiction and have not bought more than 5 clothes in the past 6 months! This speaks a lot for someone who used to buy a piece of clothing every week (and over the years, gave bags and bags of unwanted clothes away because I did not wear them).
It is not easy to break a bad habit like obsessive clothes shopping and it usually requires strategies and more than 1 step to break one. Figuring out how to break my clothes obsession habit was indeed quite a process that lasted me YEARS. Along the way, I figured out what worked and didn’t work – It did not take me just one or two steps to break my clothes obsession habit. It look me a total of 12 steps – 8 steps to have a closet I loved that suits my daily life, and 4 more steps to maintain my closet, so I won’t ‘relapse’.
Here are the 12 steps that I followed to curb my clothes obsession and clothes shopping addiction, for good.
(P.S. There is a ‘Stop Your Clothes Obsession’ worksheet at the end of this article that you can download for free after you have read through this article.)
1. Shortlist your colors
First, create a Google Slides, Powerpoint File or Canva Design and title it something along the lines of ‘My Personal Style’.
Then, look at your wardrobe and identify ALL the colours you currently have. Display them all out in SQUARES, just like the little squares in the following screenshot:
Image 1: The rainbow of colours I had in my bursting wardrobe before I started taking action to stop my clothes obsession
For each coloured square, you can also include in the amount of clothes you have for each colour, just like what I have done above.
After laying all the colours, shortlist your ‘capsule wardrobe’ colours and categorise them into the following sections:
-
- Base Colour (this tends to be navy or black)
- Coordinating Neutral Colours (usually these are grey, beige, white, nude)
- Accent Colours (these are the colours that will ‘pop’. You can select 3-4 of these)
Once you have selected your colours, you can display them in the following grid. This grid helps you see at a glance which are the base colour, coordinating neutral colours and accent colours)
Image 2: Base, Coordinating Neutral and Accent Colour Palette Template
Now go back to your wardrobe and put aside the colours that are not part of the capsule wardrobe colours you have chosen.
Tip: Your eventual capsule wardrobe colours may not be what you have initially chosen. I suggest you do up your colour palette and wait a week to see if you still like the colours you have chosen. If not, change the colours you do not like and wait another week again! Here’s the iterations I did with my colour palette before I finally settled on a palette that I am content with and have been sticking to for 2 years.
Image 3: The iterations I did to my closet colour palette
2. Identify your body type
Only keep clothes that suit your body type and shape. Be honest with yourself on what your actual body shape is and shortlist clothes that suit your body type. Clothes should be all about helping you feel confident and your best self. Clothes that are made for a different body shape have a high chance of not looking great on you.
The most common body types are Apple, Pear, Rectangle, Hourglass. Here is a table of each body type and the type of clothing they suit best:
| Body Type | Attractive Features | Suitable Clothing For Your Body Type |
|---|---|---|
| Pear | Your shoulders and bust are narrower than your hips. You probably have slim arms and a defined waist. Your waist most likely will slope out to your hips. Stylists often recommend clothing that shows off the waistline. |
A line skirts and dresses Culottes Darker bottoms Lighter or Brighter tops Off Shoulder tops Sleeveless tops |
| Hourglass | Your hips and bust are nearly equal in size and you have a well-defined narrower waist. Your upper body and legs are proportionate to each other. You most likely have rounded buttocks, and your shoulders may be slightly rounded. |
Invest in a good bra Choose clothing that shows off your curvy silhouette Opt for simple, clean garments, which don’t clutter up the silhouette Avoid drawing attention to the hips and shoulders in order to maintain the natural balance of your body’s silhouette Steer clear of straight cuts and boxy styles, that hide the waist Avoid shapeless and loose clothing as well as eye-catching embellishments |
| Apple | If your shoulders and bust are larger than your relatively narrow hips, you have what’s known as an inverted triangle or “apple” shape. Stylists may recommend tops that have some shaping around the waist and more open necklines, or clothing that shows off your legs. |
Any vest, coat or jacket that hits at the hip or upper thigh. A-line coats or straight, knee-length trench styles (without the waist belt) will be super flattering. |
| Rectangle | If your waist measurements are about the same as your hip or bust, and your shoulders and hips are about the same width, you have what’s called a “banana” or rectangle body type. Stylists will probably point you toward off-the-shoulder tops, tube dresses, and belted waists. |
Fit-and-flare. The fitted waist defines your midsection, while the roomier skirt adds a little flounce to each step. Belted. A flowy dress contrasted with a belt is a great way to cinch the waist and create an hourglass silhouette. Puff sleeves. |
Out of the items that are suitable for your body type, pick out what you like to wear best. Keep more of those pieces.
3. Keep clothing that help you feel like your best self
There are certain pieces of clothing that make us feel like a million bucks, even if those pieces of clothing are really not expensive at all. Somehow these pieces of clothing just make you feel sharp, confident, sassy, fresh, and most importantly, like yourself. A tip to figure out what type of clothes you gravitate to the most is to select 3 keywords that best describe how you want to feel and portray yourself to the world. Do you want to feel light, fresh, clean, sharp, bohemian, confident, sassy?
Write 3 descriptions down that best describe how you want to feel. For me, I always want to feel sharp, sassy and light – having 3 keywords to describe how I want my style to be helps me keep myself in track and is highly useful in stopping me from purchasing clothing that are not aligned with my style – eg I wont get that really stylish anhydrous but heavy jumpsuit, because I do not enjoy wearing such heavy pieces of clothing and I do not want to have such a thick piece of clothing in my closet.
Here are some keywords that you can use to describe how you want to feel.
- Sleek
- Sharp
- Sassy
- Light
- Fresh
- Rugged
- Androgynous
- Feminine
- Bohemian
- Quirky
- Beachy
- Serious
- Cool
- Preppy
- Sporty
4. Understand your current lifestyle
As much as you love the look of certain pieces, you will not reach out to them if they do not suit your lifestyle.
Do you hate ironing? You should try to reduce clothes that require ironing.
Are you always working from home? Lucky you – You should keep more clothes that make you feel comfy at home!
Do you work a 9-5 job and need to be in the office often? You should keep clothing that help you look sharp at work.
Do you hate the time spent buttoning your clothes up? Don’t get clothes with buttons!
Are you always out and about? You should keep more clothes that won’t touch the dirty toilet floors when you are in public toilets.
5. Time spent caring for clothes
Are you lazy (like me) and want to spend as little time as possible ironing or steaming your clothes? If so, keep more wrinkle-free clothing.
Do you like to hand wash your clothes? If no, toss away clothing made of delicate materials like silk – you will likely not wear such clothing due to the time required to take care of them.
Do you travel often? You should reduce clothes that require ironing and also keep more clothes that dry quickly.
6. Only keep good quality materials
Do not keep clothes that are made of cheap, plasticky materials like polyester or rayon. Such clothing trap sweat (This is terrible if you live in a humid climate) and look really cheap most of the time too. You can easily find good quality materials like cotton, linen or bamboo lyocell in affordable outlets like Zara or even at a thrift store near you.
7. 80/20 rule
Ask yourself, will you wear 80% of your clothes most of the time? If yes, good. If no, relook into the items in your closet and check whether you are making the most out of the outfits. Remember, if you are always able to find something to wear in your closet, you will reduce your tendency to compulsively shop for new clothes.
8. Have a list of all your clothes
Sometimes there are pieces of clothing that may be folded up or hidden away (either under another piece of clothing or tucked away at the back of the closet) and we will forget that we own that piece of clothing and end up buying another piece of clothing that is similar.
To reduce such issues from happening, you can keep a list of all your clothes. After you have gone through Steps 1-6 in this article, the amount of clothing you have should have been reduced by a fair bit. Sort your clothing into the following categories and then record the clothing in a list!:
- Tops
- Pants
- Dresses
- Skirts
- Evening
- Shoes
- Seasonal
- Shorts
- Workout
- Underwear
- Pyjamas
- Accessories
You can either list the clothing with words or display them in your list as images!
Having a list will help you have full overview and easy access to all the clothes you own, so you will not make rash decisions.
9. Use a normal wardrobe instead of a walk-in wardrobe
This is technically not a step, but it is something to take note of.
Walk-in wardrobes look really fancy and can make you feel like a queen. However, as someone with a clothes shopping obsession, walk-in wardrobes can also make you want to fill up every space available. This is not helpful at all, especially when you are at a stage in your life where you want to kick the clothes buying habit. So, if you are planning to move house, and you are serious about curbing your clothes shopping obsession, do not get a walk-in wardrobe to always cater to your ever growing clothes collection, Instead, get a normal, practical wardrobe that can help you keep the amount of clothes you own in check.
10. Get a hobby that you can focus more on
I believe that this has been the secret sauce in helping me curb my clothes shopping habit. The reason why I always went shopping whenever I felt stressed, bored, angry, uninspired, was because Clothes shopping was a form of escape for me. We don’t call it ‘Retail Therapy’ for nothing. After I found hobbies that I could immerse myself into, I slowly stopped aimlessly scrolling through clothing websites. This is because my outside of work energy was spent on my hobbies!
I personally find a lot of fulfilment in more creative skewed hobbies like making bath and body products, doodling and going for dance classes. Whenever I felt stressed, angry, or bored, I would draw on my Ipad (I love Procreate and Affinity Designer!) or make a bath and body product like a lotion or a soap.) I feel that even if we complete Steps 1 – 7, we may still ‘relapse’ if we do not have anything else to fully immerse ourselves into. To me, having a hobby that fulfils you AND having a clean space are key to stopping a clothes shopping habit for good.
Here are some hobbies that you can consider embarking on:
- Dancing
- Drawing
- Make your own polymer clay earrings
- Cooking/Baking
- Learn the ukulele
- Herb Garden
- Calligraphy
- Knitting
- Writing Poems
- Making your own bath and body products
11. Have a clean space
A later study, done by UCLA’s Centre of Everyday Lives and Families (CELF), revealed that women had elevated levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, when surrounded by too many physical objects in their home; cortisol is associated with depressive and anxious symptoms.
What does feeling stressed (or angry, or bored) make those of us obsessed with clothes shopping do? You guessed right – we will start scrolling endlessly through clothing websites online.
Another study on the effects of clutter in the home found that individuals who felt overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in their homes were more likely to procrastinate. And once again, what does procrastination make shopaholics do? That’s right, we will once again continue scrolling endlessly through clothing websites online.
Getting rid of the clutter and having a clean space will help you stay more focused and become more productive
12. Only buy from brands that refund in CASH
There have been plenty of times where I purchased clothes online and didn’t like them, but there was no way to return them, and hence they were stuck with me. As time went on, this pile of new, unwanted clothing grew and I eventually resorted to giving them away to a thrift store. So much time and money wasted on all those clothes they didn’t look good on me!
It isn’t easy to give up clothes shopping and every now and then, it feels nice to treat oneself with a nice piece of clothing. A strategy I have adopted is to only buy from brands that offer refunds in cash, so I could get my full refund whenever I did not like an item. Luckily for me, most of the brands that I frequent (ASOS, ZARA, UNIQLO) all offer refunds in cash! This has helped me save a lot of money and allowed me to only keep what I really loved.
Being able to get full refund for my purchases also allows me to buy the same outfit in 2 different sizes or colours, knowing that I can choose either one and return the other outfit for a full refund. Such a Win-Win for both consumer and brand!
To summarize this article:
- Steps 1-8 are concrete steps that you can take to drastically reduce the amount of clothes you have in your wardrobe. To help you take action, I have created a ‘STOP YOUR CLOTHES OBSESSION’ worksheet PDF, that you can download for free, where I have divided the first 8 points in this article in to 3 stages:
— 1st STAGE: Understand Yourself
— 2nd STAGE: Do a Clothes Audit
— 3rd STAGE: List Down All Your Clothes
Stop your clothes obsession asap!
To help you out, I have created a ‘Stop Clothes Obsession’ worksheet that is based on what was shared in this article. Download the worksheet and start clearing your clothes!
[contact-form-7 id=”869″ title=”Stop Clothes Obsession Checklist”]
- You can sell your unwanted clothes through a platform like EBay or Carousell. If you are too lazy to list your unwanted clothing one by one (like me!), you can donate them all at one go to great thrift companies like The Salvation Army, Refash (If you are in Singapore), Goodwill (If you are in the States) and more! You can simply google for ‘Thrift companies in [Your Area]’ and I am sure that a number of cool thrift outlets will definitely pop up!
- Steps 9-12 are steps you need to take to keep your clothes obsession habit in check, so you won’t ‘relapse’ again.
I hope that the steps listed in this article have been useful in helping you stop your obsession with buying more clothes, so you can have a more fruitful life.