I'm a Fashion Editor—10 "Outdated" Fashion Habits I'm Leaving Behind in 2023

We all have moments in life when we need to press pause, take stock and realise that, well, things just aren't working out. And while it might be tempting to impose a military-style fitness regimen or puritanical diet purely because it's January, we say stop weighing yourself down with unachievable goals; instead focus on letting go of the things that didn't serve you this year.. 

So, in the spirit of letting go, we've brought you the 11 fashion things we're consciously uncoupling from in 2024. While there were plenty of positive developments in the industry, there's always room for improvement. We try to focus on long-lasting style, that lets you express yourself and feel good doing it. With that in mind, it's time to press reset and get ready for a year of awesome style, with the added benefit of a fresh perspective. From the overuse of packaging to dressing for others, scroll down to see what things we're parting ways with in 2024.

One day you'll open your wardrobe and it'll tell you you have nothing to wear. Oh, and that anything you do own makes you look like a sack of potatoes. Repeat after me: This is a lie. For 2024, we want to stick it to the wardrobe and have a joyful reunion with those items of clothes that haven't seen the light of day for years. Dig them out, mix them up and prepare to see long-lost gems take on a new lease of life.

To quote Mean Girls: "One time I saw Cady Heron wearing army pants and flip-flops. so I wore army pants and flip flops." If this iconic film has taught us anything, it's that blindly following the crowd is never a good idea. This is the year we're going to try and avoid jumping on the latest fashion bandwagon and instead swim against the tide by buying things we actually want, that we know we can rely on year after year. 

Dear retailers, please stop sending us boxes within boxes within boxes. We ordered a pendant necklace, and it does not need to be delivered in a container the size of a large Chihuahua. It's a pain to dispose of, it's wasteful and no one likes playing a giant game of pass the parcel on a Monday morning. Yours sincerely, disgruntled Who What Wear editors.

Do you remember when, aged 5, we'd wear whatever we wanted, regardless of how others perceived us? There were clashing colours, leggings layered under party dresses and sparkly things aplenty. So forget your feed and ignore your mother-in-law's raised eyebrow, because we want to bring a little more of this anarchic attitude into 2024. Call it a revival of dressing however you damn well please.

Despite working in fashion, we admit we're not always very good at looking after our clothes (there's a permanent pile of handwash-only items in the corner of our bedroom staring back at us). If we want pieces to stand the test of time, we have to treat them right: Think of buying mothballs, using lingerie bags in the wash and taking pieces to the tailors when they need fixing. Love your clothes and they'll love you back.

We've all been there: You're  stressed/hungover/feeling sorry for yourself and need some comforting, so you shop online as a means of coping. The result is a steady stream of redundant parcels arriving at your desk in the following days. Guilt ensues. Rather than treating shopping as a way to assuage our stress, we're going to be more mindful of why we're buying things, and if they will work hard in our wardrobes. 

From wearing bikinis in sub-zero temps to naked dresses, in the past year, Instagram was guilty of championing a number of trends that, for many, simply did not translate into real life. While we're all for a bit of fashion escapism (we're always promoting an each-to-their-own kind of mindset), perhaps neon latex only works in IG photos, and not for the office?

It's a tale as old as time: Girl meets Instagram, girl sees fashion blogger, girl feels insecure about her lack of designer clothing. Don't get us wrong—social media is great for so many things, but even the most seasoned fashion editor can fall victim to fashion FOMO when presented with a conveyor-belt of immaculately dressed individuals. Our mantra for 2024? I must stop comparing myself to other people.

Budgeting is difficult—but also a necessary evil if we don't want to end up on a diet of potatoes and cabbage for the last few days of 2024. If we're wanting to buy less but better quality, we need to think more about which things are really worth investing in and which ones we could easily save our pennies on. One flat white a day for a year equates to £789. Just think of the possibilities…

Intuitive shopping is what we'll be aiming for in 2024. We all know that clothing sizes change from shop to shop, so we're going to try and ignore the number on the label and instead pick the things that make us feel good and are most flattering on our figures—regardless of whether they're our usual size or not. After all, clothes should fit you, not the other way round. 

Up Next: 6 Cool Winter Outfits That Will Earn You So Many Compliments

This story was published at an earlier time and has since been updated.