It’s Not Fast Fashion If You Wear It More Than Once

That Shein Dress I Still Wear

I bought a dress from Shein over ten years ago. Ten. Years. Ago. It was twenty-five dollars, black and floaty with paisley all over it, and for some reason, every time I put it on I feel like the protagonist in a music video about getting my life back. I wore it to a comedy show. I wore it to break up with someone. I wore it to a brunch where I knew my ex would be and needed to look like I’d moved on and was thriving. That dress has seen more of my personal development than most of my therapists. And to be honest, that dress and the concept of fashion never actually met.

So when people scoff and say, “Ugh, Shein is fast fashion,” I just raise an eyebrow and sip my matcha latte. Because how can a $25 dress I’ve worn for a decade be ‘fast’? It’s been through washing machines in three different countries, and four different cities. It’s survived multiple house moves, heartbreaks, and heatwaves. If that dress could talk, it would say, “I’m the main character now.”

There’s this idea that fast fashion is just about where you buy your clothes. But that’s not the full picture. Fast fashion is about consumption without care. Buying things to wear once, tossing them aside like last year’s toxic ex. It’s about how we treat our clothes, not just the price tag or where they came from. And honestly? That distinction needs to be made.

Cost Per Wear, Baby

Let’s break it down. If you buy a top for ten dollars and wear it ten times, that’s one dollar per wear. Girl Math. But if you buy a $100 designer top because someone on TikTok told you it’s ‘sustainable luxury’ and wear it once, that’s a hundred dollars per wear and a bit of a waste of everyone’s time and money. No one wins. Not your wallet, not the planet, not your wardrobe.

We need to stop acting like spending more is inherently more ethical. Because it isn’t. Ethical fashion isn’t just about the price tag or the marketing spiel. It’s about how long something lasts, how often you wear it, and how well you care for it. Sustainability starts in your own closet. If you take care of what you already own, regardless of where it came from, you’re already doing more than the girl who keeps dropping hundreds on things she never actually wears.

I’ve got $12 tees from Kmart I still wear under blazers, and they haven’t fallen apart. Why? Because I wash them on cold, air dry them, and don’t treat them like disposable tissues. The narrative that cheap clothes are inherently throwaway is lazy. People are just careless. If you treat your clothes with respect, they will last. They don’t need to cost a fortune to be worth looking after.

The Real Problem Is Disposability

The real issue isn’t Shein or H&M or any other high-street name we love to hate. The issue is disposability. We treat clothes like Maccas. Cheap, quick, easy to consume, and then forgettable. That’s the problem. If you buy something because you genuinely love it and plan to wear it a hundred times, that’s not fast fashion. That’s just personal style.

I’ve had people side-eye my wardrobe because I’m not wearing entirely thrifted or boutique items. But the thing is, if you only ever wear your designer handbag once, it doesn’t matter if it cost more than your rent. It’s still wasteful. Price doesn’t determine value. Use does. That bag sitting in its dust cover looking sad and untouched? Fast fashion vibes. Sorry, not sorry.

We need nuance in this conversation. Because shaming people for buying what they can afford, without considering their circumstances, helps no one. Some people rely on affordable clothes. Some people just want to feel cute without spending half their rent. And if they look after their pieces and love them for years? That’s the opposite of fast. That’s fashion with loyalty.

Clothes Are Emotional

Clothing isn’t just fabric. It’s memory. Identity. Self-expression. I remember the first skirt I bought that made me feel sexy. I remember the hoodie I wore every day through a depressive spiral. I still have the blazer I wore to my first job interview and the ratty old shirt I painted my entire flat in. These pieces have lived. They hold stories.

Fast fashion doesn’t live that long. Not because it can’t, but because we don’t let it. We buy something, wear it once for the selfie, and then move on. That’s not about the clothing, that’s about us. We’re the ones being fast. Our attention spans. Our shopping habits. And, our disconnection from what we own.

I want a wardrobe full of stories. Not receipts. So if you buy something for cheap and it lasts you years, congratulations. You’ve slowed the fashion down. It doesn’t matter if it came from Shein, the op shop, or your nan’s attic. Wear it, love it, care for it. That’s what makes fashion meaningful. That’s what makes it slow.

Shop Like a Chaos Goblin With a Plan

I’m not here to tell you to stop shopping. I’m not your accountant. But I will say this: shop like a chaos goblin with a plan. Know what suits you, know what gaps are in your wardrobe, and know what you’re actually going to wear. Buying something just because it’s trending or on sale is the quickest way to clutter and regret. Ask me about the sequinned kimono phase. No, actually don’t.

When I shop, I do a little mental quiz. Will I wear this three ways? Will I still like it in six months? Can I sit, eat, and breathe in it? And do I already own three other versions of it? If it passes the vibe check, I buy it. If not, I walk away, even if it’s cheap. Because we don’t need more clothes. We need more outfits we actually wear.

Fast fashion loses its speed when you slow yourself down. Be intentional. Be ridiculous. Be real. Find that sweet spot where your wardrobe feels like an extension of you, not a landfill in waiting. And yes, you can still wear glitter boots and have a conscience. I checked.

Your ethical $400 handbag gathering dust is giving fast fashion energy. Be honest.

Repair, Rewear, Repeat

One of the most radical things you can do is just… fix your clothes. Sew on that missing button. Patch up the tear. Dye it a new colour if it’s looking tired. We’ve been taught to throw out and replace instead of restore, and that mindset is what needs changing. Clothes can be reborn. Like a phoenix. A fabulous, fashion-forward phoenix.

I once fixed the hem of a skirt with double sided tape because it was all I had on hand. Did it hold? Absolutely. Did it smell like melted plastic success? Also yes. You don’t need to be a sewing expert. You just need to care enough to try. There are tutorials everywhere. Or you can ask your nan. Or bribe a crafty friend with Cheezels.

Rewearing your clothes and taking pride in their longevity is the biggest middle finger to the fashion machine. You don’t need to keep up with anything. You are the trend. And your clothes? They’re your co-stars. So give them a long, happy, well-loved life. They deserve it. And honestly? So do you.

We Need to Stop Clapping for Basic Decency – Chaos, Crumbs and Clarity

In today's episode of Chaos, Crumbs and Clarity, we're unpacking why we need to stop clapping for basic decency. You know the script. A man texts back within twenty-four hours and we're screenshotting it to the group chat. A man plans a date more than three hours in advance and we call him a unicorn. A man manages to listen, pay attention, and behave like a fully formed adult, and our nervous systems short-circuit because we genuinely don't know how to receive it.Here's the truth nobody is saying out loud. The bar has been dragged so low that Satan himself needs a chiropractor after a competitive round of limbo. We've been culturally trained to be grateful for behaviour that should not require gratitude. We've been told these things are bonuses when they're actually the entry requirement. And in the meantime, women have been quietly doing the basic decency thing forever, without applause, while men get standing ovations for outputs we generated for them.Today we're talking about why a great man is genuinely just an average woman, who benefits when the bar stays low, the invisible labour women have been performing for free for centuries, and the friend-test that cuts straight through every excuse we've ever made for mediocre men. Let's get into it.For more visit BryJaimea.com or follow over on IG @BryJaimea

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