To be a reflection of the respect I have for myself
For most of my life, I rarely spent money on clothes. When I read that the average American spends $1,434 per year on clothes, I couldn’t believe it. I was probably spending $200 per year. I always bought the same t-shirts and wore them until they had holes in them, like my underwear. I never bought real pants, only cheap sweatpants that I wore forever. Shoes? Always the same $50 sneakers, that I changed once every 2 years.
Then, as I started making a bit more money, I changed my approach. I started buying in bulk. This didn’t mean I bought nicer stuff, but at least I could throw away clothes that were not wearable within the realm of reason anymore, and switch them for the same, but fresher version. I would wait for a deal on my favorite pair of sneakers and buy 5 pairs (I still have 3 unopened boxes in my closet). Same for the pants, the t-shirts, and the sweaters.
As I changed my approach, I started looking into brands more. I used to always say I didn’t buy brands because I didn’t want to be a walking billboard, a slave to capitalism. It took me a few years to realize that not being a slave to capitalism goes beyond refusing to wear brands. If you don’t want to be part of the system, you need to live in the jungle, and I wasn’t ready for that.