From Desire to Discard -We Are Stuck in the Consumer Loop

How slowing down our consumption can be a radical act

I dragged myself out into the rain and off to my Pilates class, feeling quite confident and virtuous for making this effort on such a crappy day.  I love Pilates and really enjoy going to classes because I like the accountability and camaraderie.  On this day, after working my butt off and holding my own with the super fit 20-somethings, I left the class rattled with self-doubt and feeling less than.  What happened? It had nothing to do with the physical challenge. It had everything to do with confusing style with self-worth.

Decluttering with Intention

Working out, playing sports, and being active are priorities for me. It makes me feel strong and gives me a sense of accomplishment and joy. I'll admit I also like workout clothes. My recent commitment to decluttering and less shopping left me fairly well-endowed in the workout gear department—the fact that I use them every day allowed me to justify keeping a fair bit. My collection includes Lulu Lemon, Sweaty Betty, Athleta, Vuori, and Alo. All of the greatest hits of the past 5 years. The truth about workout gear, like alot of stuff, is that if you take care of it and buy higher quality stuff, it does last a long time.

Anyway… about 40 minutes into a 60-minute class, the instructor had us turn toward the right wall—our gaze directed at our neighbor's back.  In this case, my neighbor was wearing a very simple black two-piece outfit of bra and leggings, not unlike what I was wearing.  Nothing stood out at all except… there was a label on the back of both the pants and the top that I had never seen before.  I squinted to read it and mentally squirreled it away.  Ten minutes later, she had us turn to face the left side of the room, and two mats down was a completely different young woman wearing the exact same, totally unremarkable bra and leggings my neighbor to the right was sporting.  Same label!

The Fast Fashion Trap

Oh. My. Lord. I thought to myself. OBVIOUSLY, this is a THING. I squinted hard to read the label and commit it to memory. There is a hot new brand that I did not even know existed. I need to check it out was my immediate thought! I need to get some of that!

When the class ended I eagle eyed the label to be sure I would remember it and then left the room on a mission to find and snap up this obviously new trend.  I would NOT be left behind.  I felt a bit old and a bit uncool and nobody likes to feel like that.

It wasn’t until the rain splashed my face that I snapped to. What the hell had just happened? The reality is that I had pushed myself to attend a challenging Pilates class with a bunch of women 30 years my junior, and I had rocked it. Before I noticed the new brand, I was on top of the world. I felt strong, confident, and capable. But seeing that all the younger women were now wearing a new brand that I wasn’t aware of suddenly made me feel like there was something wrong with me.

Breaking the Cyle of Consumerism

We can all relate, regardless of our age, sex, or socioeconomic status. We see something someone else has, possibly someone we want to be like or someone we want to know, and we just have to have it. In this case, it's just so obviously absurd. The outfit—a nondescript black bra with totally nondescript black leggings—was no different than any other similar pair in the room, EXCEPT for that label. Yet as soon as I realized more than one young, fit, beautiful woman was wearing it, I was momentarily obsessed. Never mind the fact it was identical to the (now obviously totally irrelevant) brand I was wearing.

How to Stop Impulse Shopping

Fortunately, I caught myself and slowed my roll. A year ago, I wouldn’t have. It’s taken a lot of reflection and self-awareness to start resisting the trap. Instead of fixating on what I didn’t have (and didn’t need), I shifted my focus to what I had accomplished or experienced—and how good that felt.

Learning to Feel Enough Without Buying More

We’re constantly bombarded: ads, influencers, and trendsetters parading the latest “must-haves.” And just like that, what we own—perfectly functional, often beautiful, loved by us just moments ago—suddenly feels insufficient. It’s not an accident. It’s a cultural setup designed to keep us in a loop of wanting, buying, discarding, and wanting again. I think true luxury is slipping out of that loop, being fully present in what we are doing and feeling deep gratitude for what we already have.