Repeating outfits is not a crime

Enzo Amuele

The fear of repeating an outfit is shared across the globe. Societal norms have created this idea that you are not allowed to wear the same outfit twice, and pressurte is especially placed on women.

While on the other hand it is considered perfectly tolerable for men to wear the same T-shirt and trousers to public events, women often feel pressure to wear something different to every occasion, with social media adding more pressure to keep up appearances.

Social media platforms play a big role when it comes to women repeating outfits. They put women under pressure and create this fear of being singled out if you do not uphold these standards.

Without any doubt, social media also put pressure on the male figure in regards to repeating outfits.

My friend would always take new pictures with a new outfit for social media and he is often scared to even repeat an outfit.

This does not mean when it is Instagram history it cannot be repeated.

“I already wore this dress and uploaded a picture on social media, so I cannot be seen wearing this dress again,” is something that would said when one needs to decide on a new outfit.

Of course, social media have only increased the pressure women feel to wear new outfits. And since social media are not going away, what we should do is harness their power to turn that pressure around and instead pay tribute to repeats.

Don’t hide them, flaunt them — own them. And then do it again!

There is one thing that most people look at when they first spot you from a distance, and that is your shoes.

So for me, I would change shoes as much as possible with the same outfit with minor changes to make it look fresh again.

There are many reasons why women tend to repeat outfits and they are stigmatised because of this, well in my opinion repeating an outfit is not something one should be ashamed of.

The accurate key to repeating clothing is to make slight tweaks, like changing the shirt and keeping the same jeans/trousers. I think this is the fun part as you get to play with your wardrobe.

One could even change the hairstyle to add a new dimension o the same outfit. For a lady it is quite easy to look different with the same outfit or even mix up the accessories.

Greek-American author Arianna Huffington took on the topic on her platform Thrive with the focus on repeating outfits. “We can reclaim all the time and energy lost to picking out clothes and getting ready, we’ll gain a serious competitive advantage.”

She further adds that “As women, we’ve collectively broken many glass ceilings, but still seem to be labouring under the cotton-silk-rayon-makeup-and-heels ceiling.”

So her thrive style column is all about combating that ceiling and beginning to “close the style gap,” as the Huffington post puts it.

It is not a crime to repeat an outfit. It’s your clothes and no one can tell you what to wear and what not. We all come from different backgrounds and different situations at home.

Women specifically are embarrassed to repeat outfits because of the stigma from other people such as friends, people who hate on you for no reason and people on social media.

I’d spend my weekends planning my outfits for the week, agonising over how I could freshly wear an item and in most cases I always try and re-work outfits.

Do not let all these people put you under pressure, you bought the clothes with your money and you are allowed to wear it whenever you feel like it.

So be you and do what makes you happy.