I bought no new clothes for a year

Meet the editor who went COMPLETELY cold turkey - and learn how she managed it

Lesley Thomas is an editor at The Times and also a good friend: we have worked off and on with each other for years: we first met at The Express back in the late 90s when the brilliant Rosie Boycott was in charge. Lesley was the features editor, and taught me so much about what makes a good story. Little did I know, however, that last year Lesley foreswore all new fashion purchases. “I went completely cold turkey — not even new socks or a bra,” she says. “I am conscious of the impact of waste on the planet, but I also needed to make cutbacks, and I am not good at moderation. The resolve had to be absolute: a strict fast with no fashion buying for the entire year.” Here are the highlights of her account of how she did it.

Bought in 2004: Issa dress in a sale for £120. Bought in 2016: Christian Louboutin shoes in a sale for £150. Picture: Robert Wilson

January

…is the cruellest month
There are four little words I just love to hear. The phrase “70 per cent off” sends me mad with lust — for clothes. The devil on my shoulder says that giving up clothes at precisely the moment retailers are practically giving them away is madness. But of course it isn’t. I have proof in my wardrobe that my new-year fashion buys are the ones with the poorest yield. The yellow and pink Eighties-style, floral cropped satin jacket? Bargain! But obviously never worn because I am not actually Carrie Bradshaw. The sleeveless thick wool dress from the sale rail? Beautiful — but when would it be cold enough to wear dense wool yet warm enough to go bare-armed?

February

I fall in love with some (very) old favourites
I am a hoarder, which was an ancillary reason for doing this. I was getting sick of having so much stuff and a bit appalled at myself for having such a first-world problem. A few weeks into the challenge, though, I realise the blindingly obvious: among the mountain of clothes I have some nice stuff. Most of what I’d quite like to wear is already in my house. And it’s in my size! Mostly.

So I renewed my vows to old favourites. The Issa wrap dress that’s done 19 years’ service and is probably my all-time fallback dress. Nothing show-stopping about it; it’s just an effortless little something that does the job when I don’t know what to wear for a special-ish occasion. It doesn’t take up space in a suitcase, it’s easy to dance in (important) and, crucially, doesn’t need an iron.

Bought in 2017: Rixo dress, £200. Second-hand Zara shoes, £30on...

My Rixo velvet snake dress of 2017 is the second favourite. A show-off date dress that’s rarely worn but cherished. Favourite shoes: Prada suede platforms of 2004. They weren’t in the sale. I just walked into a store and bought them like a crazy person — fuelled by the fact that I was in the south of France not long after the birth of my second child and feeling frumpy. The heels solved the problem and have continued to provide glamorising service. I am forever grateful for this rash and unplanned purchase.

Bought in 2017: Rixo dress, £200. Second-hand Zara shoes, £30

March

The urge to shop is still strong
It’s easy to avoid buying clothes in shops. You just don’t go to the shops. Sometimes it is an effort to walk past an H&M, but it’s manageable. Eschewing online shopping is trickier. I’d never noticed how many retailers have my email address, but subject lines like “You’ll never guess what we’ve got at Mango for hardly any money at all” and “Selfridges’ most life-changing slingbacks that you can afford if you really think about it” (or something like that) jump out at me the way 250,000 unopened emails have not. But I resist even looking. I am saving an embarrassing number of hours not staring at things I’m not buying. I think I am putting more effort into styling my existing clothes. I properly relish saying, “This old thing?” again and again. It’s quite sad.

April

Repairing things sparks joy
I took three old silk blouses, all with wear-and-tear damage under the armpits, to be mended. They would probably have sat there for ever were it not for the no-shops rule. But here I am with three almost-free carbon-neutral “new” tops. It’s what my mum does all the time but doesn’t make a virtue-signalling deal out of it. Still, it’s a satisfying moment.

Bought in 2018: Zara dress, £39. Bought in 2004: Prada shoes, £350. Vintage biker jacket

May

Am I dress-dependent?
I have started to notice when the desire for new threads hits me. It’s when I am stressed or a bit sad. Sometimes I think, “Go on, treat yourself,” before adding to cart, but I honestly thought I bought clothes largely for the love of fashion and even, occasionally, practicality. But it turns out it’s a bit of an antidepressant. This may explain another discovery: what I like buying the most is not the thing I wear the most. I just love getting a new frock. A new dress is a joyful, life-affirming event. But mostly I wear trousers and tops. Jeans when off duty and non-jeans for work because I cycle in. I decide that when I get back to shopping, I’ll focus on those. Duh.

July

Who needs clothes in this heat?
It is so hot, I barely need clothes — just factor 50 and a sarong. The real problem is office attire. I don’t like going to work looking as if it’s a beach day. I don’t really have any summer workwear. I am resigned to wearing those shapeless floral maxidresses, the ones every British woman from 27 to 75 wore with trainers from about 2018 to 2021. It’s a look that, while useful, I am sick to the back teeth of. In normal life, this would definitely be a time I would get myself to Cos with something close to “need”. The only time so far this year.

Bought in 2020: Stine Goya blouse, £50 in the sales. Bought in 2019: Whistles trousers, £120

September

New clothes without cheating
What’s my switch-up for autumn going to be, then? There’s a box in the spare room of some really good clothes belonging to a slightly fashion-obsessed old boyfriend. I’ve been meaning to send them back, but right now it’s basically a boutique. It’s a waste to let them just sit there, what with the boyish look being so hot right now.

November

Back in the gym… and my favourite trousers
I’m happy enough with my weight and fitness. But I could open up a whole new section of my back catalogue if I dropped a few pounds. I double down on the Bodypump sessions, cut out the crisps for a few weeks and, ta-da, the treasured high-waisted Zara wide-leg crepe trousers of 2016 are back in the game. Side note: I have been wearing wide-leg trousers on and off since the Nineties. If they go out of style, it’s never for long.

Christmas present in 2017: satin trousers. Bought December 16, 2022 (I cheated): Zara blazer, £90. I know I’ll be wearing it ten years from now

December

I succumb on December 16 — 15 days before my challenge ends, I buy a velvet blazer from Zara
I rarely have to worry about what to wear at Christmas parties because of all the dresses I own. But this year, the only feasible choice is a velvet blazer. I can’t explain why. It’s a collective fashion vibe shift that sometimes happens and cannot be resisted — a bit like the floral maxidresses of 2018 (see July). Everyone’s wearing velvet jackets. The force is too strong. I try on many examples, including a red £250 one in Reiss, which I would have allowed as my one end-of-year reward. But I went for a cheaper black £90 one from Zara.
February 2023: I haven’t bought a stitch of clothing this year… so far.

Shoot credits
Styling Prue White. Hair Lewis Pallett at Eighteen Management Using Pattern. Make-up Aga Dobosz at Carol Hayes Management using Jones Road Beauty. Jewellery Earrings, dinosaurdesigns.co.uk; earrings, alighieri.com. Earrings, Lara Bohinc, ring, deborahblyth.com. Belt and earrings, Lara Bohinc. Earrings, alighieri.com