Why I'm not buying clothes in 2026

The last time I bought clothes for myself was on Sunday, December 7th, 2025 at the Field and Supply Holiday Market Pop-up in Manhattan. With its many aisles of artisanal wares, the “modern makers” fair didn’t disappoint. I bought a skirt made of vintage tapestry fabric and a hand knit, peacock blue Peruvian wool sweater. These were one-of-a-kind pieces from local brands I wanted and by no means needed. My shopping mindset last year was about inspiration, which struck often, especially when I was traveling.

While I was Apple-paying my way through 2025, my younger sister, Asha, took the opposite approach with a “no buy year.” Twelve months of no new clothes. When she first told me about the idea, I thought it sounded like the consumer equivalent of a fad diet, extreme and unsustainable, sure to be abandoned. As she stuck with it month after month, I began to wonder - could I do that?

As a designer, I was, in a way, always shopping, looking for pattern ideas, color combinations, and market trends. This open mindset naturally led me into stores and down Instagram rabbit roles, which inevitably led to purchases. The idea of a no-buy year felt like a way to reset my approach, and refine the balance between accumulation and inspiration. Logically, I had more than enough clothes to wear for 365 days. The creative challenge would be making what I owned feel new again.

Since that December day, I’ve stuck with the decision. The brutal winter has made my first no-buy months relatively easy. It was too cold and snowy to think about looking chic. Each morning, I padded myself with thermals, turtlenecks, sweaters, a puffer and a peacoat, feeling like a walking marshmallow as I left the house. My only desire was to be warm, and I didn’t care how many layers it took to get me there.

Asha warned that the summer months would be the hardest, which made sense to me. Summer was a season of reinvention, of long awaited trips and outdoor soirees. Stores beckoned with brighter colors and lighter, freer silhouettes. Like my younger sister, summer was also the season of my birthday. Every June, I bought a special dress to wear for dinner, or new shoes to relieve the stress of getting older. This year, I would have to find new ways to celebrate.

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In my email inbox and social media feed, I’ve dutifully scrolled past ads for new launches and end-of-season sales. Ulla Johnson, Bloomingdales, Ganni, Ace & Jig, Eileen Fisher, Charlotte Stone…the list went on. Asha suggested I unsubscribe and unfollow these brands, but I wasn’t ready to disconnect completely. Even if I wasn’t participating in the trends, I still wanted to know about them.

When Everlane sent me a passive aggressive email with the subject line, “You’re Really Ghosting Us Huh,” I wanted to yell back, “YES!” For one year, I would ghost all of it, the pull to buy things I didn’t need and constantly upgrade my wardrobe.

To be clear, I wasn’t giving up on my appearance. It wasn’t going to be a year in sweatpants (though that sometimes seemed appealing). I still had to go to work and attend events. I still had to show up and project confidence to the outside world. I still wanted to feel pretty. The difference was that I would do it with what I already owned, honoring the collection I’d built over the years, each piece representing a different time in my life.

So far, my only real moment of temptation was in H&M, of all places. I’d stopped in to look for some new jeans for my son. On a mannequin, I spied a cropped denim top with an oversized, embroidered collar - a sign of spring. I envisioned myself in it in a few months, strolling down Broadway on my lunch break, feeling that tiny glow of excitement a new article of clothing can bring. I didn’t look at the price tag, but I knew it wouldn’t be expensive. I paused, debating. Who would know if I broke my own silly rule? But I turned and continued down the stairs to the children’s section, sticking to my mission. I didn’t know where it would lead, but I needed to find out.

One of my favorite artists, Nick Cave, just opened “Mammoth,” a major exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The show will be up until January 2027. I’m hoping to take a train out to DC to see it sometime this spring.

If you’re looking for a new podcast, try Articles of Interest, a show about what we wear, created by Avery Trufelman from 99% Invisible. Each episode is a deep dive about an aspect of clothing. My son and I especially enjoyed the episode about plaid!

Thank you for reading!