Guide to Online Shopping— How many times will I wear it?

Amidst a whole lot of baking, working or taking classes from home, and ordering food delivery, a lot of us have also been doing a ton of online shopping.

While online shopping is super convenient, buying clothes online can involve more risk taking and be bad for the environment. Think about the increase in demand for delivery couriers, cardboard boxes and plastic packaging, and how much of that ends up being returned and going to the landfill.

Here is a simple guide on how to minimize your risk for buying clothes that do not fit you when shopping online.

1) Look for styles that fit a wider range of bodies.

Many brands have adapted to the emerging trend in e-commerce shopping and design with that concept in mind. Styles that have a looser fit or are elasticated are created to fit a wider range of bodies and are less likely to be returned when they don’t fit. It is also more forgiving to consumers who have food bellies after eating (me!), or others who have fluctuated in their weight. With these adaptable designs, you can now keep wearing the same pair of pants even when you lose or gain weight :).

Aura Pants by Harly Jae featuring an elastic waistband ($208 CAD)

Faux Leather Pants designed with an elasticated back waist (Coming soon)

Ethereal Blue Silk Shirt with a loose fit ($170 CAD sale price)

2) Bring out your measuring tape.

The size chart and body measurements featured on clothing websites are very useful to find out if the item will fit your body type. A pro tip is to measure the 4 key areas: Shoulder, bust, waist, and hip.

shoulder: from left to right shoulder

Bust: fullest part of your chest

Waist: Narrowest part of the torso (People often mistaken their waist to be where they bellybutton is but that is not necessarily the case!)

Hip: Largest part of your bum

If you aren’t sure if you’ve measured yourself correctly, you can also pull out a closet piece that fits you well (e.g. pull out your favourite pair of pants and measure them to see how the measurements compare to the pair you’ve been eyeing online).

3) Look at fabric composition.

Getting to know the names and properties of different fabrics will help you better predict how the clothing item will feel against your skin and fit. Is it a knit or a woven? If it is a knit, it is likely to have some stretch in it while a woven is more tightly fitted. If you’re unfamiliar with fabric names, the clothing that you already own in your closet will be your best guide.

4) Look at independent sustainable brands.

A fun thing about shopping online is that you are no longer limited by the stores in the mall. It is a great opportunity to check out emerging brands that only operate online. Most smaller brands/online shops will be happy to answer any questions you have regarding size, fit, and even how to care for your garment. The overall experience is more like a friend offering fashion advice to you rather than someone pressuring you to buy to meet their hourly sales goal.

Smaller sustainable brands also often offer recyclable and/or biodegradable packaging and minimize their use of unnecessary packaging, which is another benefit of shopping from them.

Some of my recent favourite pieces: Click on the images for links to shop :)

crochet pullover by shop amomento, sold at new classics ($289 CAD)

The final verdict…

Before you hit the checkout button, ask yourself this—Will I wear this 30 times?

If you’re unsure, think about whether this piece matches well with the other garments in your wardrobe.

If the answer is a definite no or an iffy yes, maybe you should pass or think about it & come back later.

Minimizing unnecessary clothing purchases will not only help you save some bucks but also reduce textile waste in the environment.

Hope that you found these tips to online shopping helpful :).

Until next time,

Javia

Javia LeungApril 5, 2021