A personal insight into the struggle between being a conscious consumer (AKA buying only what we truly need), supporting ethical fashion brands and curating our own personal sense of style.
As a woman in her early twenties who is on an ever-changing path of self-improvement, ethics vs personal style goals is a really big issue. Since breaking from my awkward emo phase almost a decade ago, I have slowly but surely developed my personal style. Or at least, I think I have. The truth is, when most of your clothing comprises of hand-me-downs, you find yourself inheriting the style of the donors. In my case, it would be from my mother and cousin, and a few family friends. Luckily for me, they all have good taste, but getting the styles to work together flawlessly can be a struggle, and not all of them are quite me. While I have never been a shopaholic, before discovering the truth about fast fashion I would default to the cheapest, most accessible option, like dime a dozen department and chain stores.