How Buying Less Helped Me Find My Style

Limiting myself to twelve new pieces in a year helped me rediscover my style and the joy of getting dressed.

Like many women, I have felt a lack of satisfaction despite owning a big closet full of clothes. I would buy something cute, be excited about it for a week, and then throw it to the bottom of my closet. And then I would want to buy more, in a never-ending cycle where it was rare for me to feel good when getting dressed in the morning. As a result, I decided to challenge myself to only buy twelve pieces of clothes or accessories for the entire year of 2026. Here's what I learned from it.

Today it is very easy to buy a new dress; clothes don’t have the value they once had because, being easier to buy, they stopped being something to treasure, instead being reduced to an ordinary acquisition of everyday life.

There is a never-ending flow of content online telling us to buy more and more. It is very hard to ever be truly content about an outfit because the next day there will be another girl filming a “better” one. Many women like myself have felt this, being overwhelmed and frustrated over never feeling like enough in our own clothes. And we try to fix it by buying more clothes, often turning to lower-cost options, e.g., fast fashion.

This might be a good way to make fashion accessible to everyone, but we should ask ourselves: when it is cheap, am I saving money or am I just buying more?

If a shirt is ripped, we throw it out instead of fixing it. If it is dirty, we throw it in the washing machine and in a few hours it will be ready to be worn again. I once heard someone say that girls don't wash their delicates carefully by hand because they don't have delicates to wash anymore. Most people don't care about thoughtfulness or caution when wearing something because it's so cheap. This is not only a problem of style but also a problem of spirit.

A top costs five euros, is worn a few times, and then discarded. The quality of those pieces is so underwhelming that their short lifespan is no surprise. We stopped appreciating the clothes we own because they are easily replaced.

When the fabric is cheap, when the hands that make it are poorly remunerated, when buying a new piece becomes something ordinary, clothes lose their value. And when clothes lose their value, we lose our joy in wearing them.

Anne With an E, Credit: Netflix

In the Netflix series Anne with an E, based on Lucy M. Montgomery’s famous novel Anne of Green Gables, the main character, Anne, is an orphan who has never had much in life. When her friend cries over her clothes having been ruined in a fire, Anne tells her with a smile on her face: “You can borrow one of mine (dresses). I have two.” ("An Inward Treasure Born" 00:33:22). Does anyone today know what it is to have only two dresses? And be completely happy about it? When Anne receives her second dress, she is ecstatic; she treasures it and wears it on repeat.

With the twelve pieces challenge, when I see a skirt or a jacket I like, I add it to my wish list. Since I am not immediately buying everything, I have time to think about how it would fit with the rest of my wardrobe. I ask myself: How often will I wear this? Do I truly need it? Does it go with the rest of my clothes?

I sold a skirt after wearing it more often made me realize how impractical it was. I gave away a top that didn't make me feel very comfortable and, wearing it only a few times a year, I had never noticed it before. A gorgeous green dress that I only took out on special occasions? Now I wear it often, and when it’s cold I layer it with a sweater or a scarf.

I have been repeating a lot of outfits, and in doing so, I started paying attention to what silhouettes I’m more drawn to, what colours complement me, what makes me feel comfortable and pretty, and what pieces are missing. I started discovering what truly works for me.

This year I noticed how drawn to tones of bordeaux and rose I have been, and so when in the spring I realized that I needed a new pair of flats, I focused my search on those colours. I found a perfect pair in bordeaux and brown suede, which would also go wonderfully with my maxi brown bag often worn to class. And so, after weeks of pondering, I bought them!

From my closet, I have been selecting what I want to keep and what I can give away or sell. And if I have something that I do not wear much, I can alter it, and it becomes something new. One of my favourite summer dresses was once a pair of linen pants!

Buying less also allowed me to invest in higher quality (and so more expensive) garments. I am buying things that will last me for many years, pieces from smaller brands, more ethically produced and with original designs.

I started looking at my clothes more clearly, through the way I wear them every day. Without the possibility (imposed by myself) of buying more than a dozen pieces for the year, I felt a weight off my shoulders. I stopped worrying about not having every cool piece I saw, stopped trying to chase every new trend; I simply could not. And without that pressure, I finally started learning what I liked.

The way we dress is not a frivolity; it is how we position ourselves within society. It inspires the way we stand, talk, and act. It shapes how others perceive us, and it influences how we perceive ourselves. It is truly an expression of character.

Now, buying a new piece of clothing is not something regular for me, and therefore it became something special again. I have learned to truly treasure each article I buy; I am able to choose better fabrics and better brands. Who would guess buying less could make someone happier?

So this is the challenge that I leave to you: buy less, buy intentionally, and take good care of every piece you own. You will not only develop your style, but you will also find joy with every dress, bag, or pair of shoes you wear every day.

Benedita is a business student who has always been interested in fashion.

She believes in the importance of beauty and cares deeply about its restoration in today’s society.

Benedita has always been creative and would like to work in the art market someday with the goal of bringing a little more beauty to the world.

"An Inward Treasure Born." Anne with an E, created by Moira Walley-Beckett, season 1, episode 4, CBC Television, 2017. Netflix, www.netflix.com.