Dressing for Wellness: Episode 6

In this episode of Dressing for Wellness, Taylor (Inherent Clothier CEO) and Steven (Art Director) discuss cultivating a less is more mindset when it comes to your wardrobe. Fast fashion brands have trained society to not think about their wardrobe or to invest in quality pieces, but studies show this leads to negative environmental impact and overspending in the long term.

They also share how the less is more mindset has impacted the way Inherent Clothier is designing their upcoming seasonal collections and the new capsule wardrobes that are in development.

Episode Highlights:

• Fashion tends to be an impulse buy instead of investing more money in a nicer piece that will last longer.
• If a higher quality pair of jeans tear in the crotch or the knee, you can get it repaired for a fraction of the cost of a replacement pair, unlike with low-quality fast fashion.
• All of the patterns and fabric at Inherent Clothier are hand drawn and handmade for your measurements.
• A study has proven that people tend to spend more over time at fast fashion brands than if you invested in nicer, custom clothing.
• The average person spends more money on clothes per year than the cost of a car, by buying over 60 new pieces of clothing each year.
• Think about your overall wardrobe and the pieces you actually need instead of impulse buying.
• How many shirts do you actually need? Cultivate a less is more mindset.
• When you impulse buy, the decision is made from a place of emotion.
• What if instead of buying something on impulse, you reached out to a friend and interrogated what the underlying feeling is?
• Most people today don’t consider what’s already in their wardrobe when they’re buying something.
• Taylor believes if people were more patient, we would consume less.
• They’re working on creating what’s essentially the Domino’s Pizza Tracker but for their suit construction, so customers can go online and see that this employee is currently hand-sewing their lapel. This would educate people on the amount of work that goes into this and create a greater appreciation.
• Inherent has been releasing 4-5 suits with each seasonal collection, and they were so carefully designed but Taylor felt people didn’t get to appreciate it like they hopefully will with just 1 suit in each collection.
• By decreasing the number of pieces in a collection, they get to have deeper partnerships with the non-profits they work with.
• The less is more mindset is also better for the environment, because fast fashion items fill landfills as soon as they fall apart or the season is over.
• Start with what you’re going to wear the most, saving money towards specific items, to slowly build your wardrobe over time.

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Check out some quotes from this episode below.

Notable quotes:

• “We lost the education piece of style and clothing for the most part. I think most of society has lost that. So they’ve almost been programmed by these fast fashion brands to just be like, oh yeah, a button-up shirt should cost $30-50.” –Taylor Draper
• “I’m going from 4-5 suits a collection to 1, and making that 1 resonate with the mental health theme each time because that’s what we do here.” –Taylor Draper
• “How many ways can I wear that? How often will I be able to wear that? Should be your first question before you buy a suit.” –Taylor Draper