Almost one in 10 Britons say they buy clothes online just to post an image on social media, before sending them back immediately for a refund; among those aged 35 to 44, this rises to nearly one in five.
Barclaycard, which commissioned the new research, says this trend to “snap and send back” is on the rise, in part thanks to the hashtag “outfit of the day” (#OOTD). Here, Instagrammers upload a picture of themselves to showcase what they are wearing – in a bedroom, on a beach or on the streets – and the hugely popular hashtag has more than 2m posts.
What does this tell us about ourselves and our clothes? For Caryn Franklin, fashion commentator and an activist for sustainable fashion, the answer is: nothing good.
Fashion at its best, she says, gives us the chance to explore and create our identity, to figure out who we want to be. She has seen this from early in her career when she worked as a personal stylist: “I saw beautiful miracles at the mirror, as ordinary women witnessed their indisputable magnificence. Clothes are firmly embedded in our emotional experience of ourselves. We dream of who we wish to be and feel better connected to that person through the garment we inhabit.”
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
