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curate your wardrobe slowly

In the years of 2020-2023, I was in my early 20s and very much in between aesthetics. I hated the clothes I wore, and was looking for new ways to express myself through my fashion. With the seemingly never slowing down trend cycle that was going at the speed of light at that time, and my tiny paychecks, I basically solely relied on Shein to allow me some freedom and creativity with my style. For a few years, I was stuck in the repeated cycle of ordering 50+ cheap items, and then donating 10-20 of them within the same year, and repeating that again when I would get bored of what I had. I would go thrifting too to try and "balance out" my fast fashion endeavors, but would end up buying more things that I hated by the time I got home. I could not figure out how to make any of these items work with my wardrobe, regardless if they were new or used. This reckless consumerism taught me absolutely nothing about my sense of style. I had to figure out the hard way that style is not something you acquire overnight, and that you cannot always rely on trends to find items you will like for a lifetime. Fast fashion has done nothing but taught us to cycle through clothing at a rate where no one can keep up, and has left many of us in a place where we are only satisfied with how we dress for no longer than a few months at a time. Discovering your personal style is one of the things that should take time. I'm 25 now, and I find it very important to source good quality items that I know will be a staple in my wardrobe for a long long time. I've decided that if I want to buy new clothing, I will get most of my new clothes from thrift/vintage shops and boutiques (online or in person). I haven't completely shuttered out fast fashion, though. I only buy items that I am able to try on in person to make sure it is made with good material (aka: the plain $10 Walmart zip-up hoodies that feel like butter). By embracing a slower approach to finding my personal style, I've found quite a few key items that I really love to wear over the past two years, and in turn I have greatly reduced the amount of clothing that gets donated. I am still learning how to accessorize, and am trying my best to utilize as much of my existing closet as possible. It is a journey! I can't wait to see where my more sustainable approach to a style journey brings me! QUALITY > QUANTITY

@starlet

Feb 12, 2025

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my life changed for the better when i stopped dressing to look as small as possible

I have thought about this at length, I fear. I want to look and feel at ease in my clothes and I shop for clothing very intentionally. For me the rules of outfits are: - No single-designer looks - Steam/press rarely - No logos (sneakers are the exception) - Always wear at least 1 garment with visible wear or damage - Get dressed intentionally every day - It does not matter how conventionally flattering the look is. I care only about how it makes me feel in my body - Never clean Ur (my) shoes except to keep leather in condition I shop almost exclusively second hand and in person—I only buy if I would be heartbroken to come back for a garment to find it had passed me by forever. Most pieces I see are effectively one-offs because I treat them this way. I am attracted to Japanese workwear silhouettes, modular garments, and drama. “My” colour is the shade precisely between yellow and orange. All my jewelry is gifted. I aim to keep garments until the end of their lives.

@cilantro

May 5, 2024

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make yourself a canvas

allocating more than just a few pinterest ideas and aesthetics in order to curate a style that you’re confident in will make you stand out. whether you think that’s a good or bad thing, by “stand out” i mean people catch a glimpse of you and immediately know who you are based on how you dress. there’s nothing wrong with going with a trend if you like it, but it’s so painful to see people consume for the sake of consumption. i mean that’s a concept for a whole other rec in itself, but what i’m trying to get at is you don’t need to constantly use outfit inspo pics for outfit inspo. seek your surroundings, ponder your past, think about yourself as a piece of art, which you ultimately are. don’t avoid wearing the statement piece that a stranger would find weird, they’re probably just pissy. dress the fuck up on days you don’t need to just for the hell of it. and remember, don’t get discouraged if the first “crazy” fit you throw on looks like shit. it takes time to make art! and if you feel comfortable and beautiful in simpler articles, and you’re not into anything too bold or loud, still make it your look. art doesn’t have to be complex, but make each choice have purpose. why choose one blank white tee over another? is it a specific hue of white? does it compliment other features of your outfit? is it comfy as fuck? show that to people and make them know it’s you. you don’t need to dress to impress, but god if you bought that shirt only because your favorite influencer promoted it, or even worse if you bought it just because it was on a sale rack, you‘re disrespecting your canvas! it’s like pissing on a van gogh oil painting– it might look amazing but you can’t help but think about the fact that there’s piss on it. that brings me to probably the most widespread concern of consumers: cost. yes, higher quality products are going to cost more. it’s difficult in such a dense place like SoCal(where i’m from) to find cheap ANYTHING. i split a dozen dumplings for $20 the other day with a friend and i swear i could’ve called 911 on this food-influencer-aimed “chinese” restaurant for highway robbery. food was pretty good tho can’t lie. however, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to find incredible clothing from staple secondhand stores like Goodwill. several friends of mine have landed at their unique styles that can be associated directly to them, and their closets are mostly filled with Goodwill Bins finds. “ohhhh the Bins are so dirtyyy eewwww” yeah if you can’t dig through some used clothing for a while don’t complain about not being able to afford those $600 shitstained acne jeans. i might’ve gotten a little personal with that. lmk your thoughts on fashion and what it means to you! you know what fuck it just wear sweatpants a sweatshirt and flip flops life’s not that serious

@sebyu

Oct 1, 2024

Top Recs from @gemfound

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smile lines

It shows a long life and the many smiles you've given and experienced!! It's a permanent remembrance of happiness and I think that's beautiful!!

@gemfound

Mar 14, 2025

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with social media, accountability =/= presence

I have to disagree with the people who say that we need to “stay” and “fight“ for IG to be a better platform because in actuality, it’s our presence and engagement that gives them data, and therefore money. As long as they have those 2 things, they make their bottom line and won’t really care about its users desires unless they’re making a move for the optics. If we REALLY want to hold them accountable, we need to impact the money they make, which means permanently deleting or marking your account as inactive & never coming back. They’ll only care if they’re bleeding money— so make them bleed.

@gemfound

Feb 22, 2025

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wearing sentimental jewelry 24/7

Every piece I wear has some sort of sentimental story backed behind it (my bracelets/rings/necklaces/some of my earrings). For me, wearing sentimental jewelry serves 3 purposes: 1) Bringing life to pieces that have been given to me with love 2) Carrying my loved ones wherever I go 3) Prevented me from making impulsive jewelry purchases (because fast fashion jewelry doesn't feel the same way a gift does) Ig the only exceptions I make in fast fashion jewelry is earrings, but only bc I need boring earrings for corporate-wear lol

@gemfound

2d ago