Shop Like You Mean It

In an Age of More, More, More, Our Fashion Features Director, Laurel Pantin, Reexamines Her Approach to Shopping.

Not to be bleak, but when I think about consumption and style lately, my reaction is … yikes. We’re living in a time dominated by “yikes.” Right now everything seems vaguely hell in a handbasket–y, and thinking nonstop about clothes feels wrong. Even thinking about the way I used to think about clothes feels wrong.

In a not-so-distant past I’d decide I had to have something (a green Lurex slip dress, vintage men’s cargo pants) and I’d buy every iteration I could find. I’d spend endless hours scrolling the Internet, looking for more things. Even if what I found was two sizes too big or too small, I’d get it anyway. I’d hoard six or seven versions of the item I thought I wanted, and by the time they’d arrive, I’d have already moved on to something like Victorian wedding dresses and sequined leggings.