Why are we buying more clothes than ever before?

The recession may have hit hard, but our wardrobes are fuller than ever according to new findings with the average woman now buying half her bodyweight (62lb) in new clothes every year

The recession may have hit hard, but our wardrobes are fuller than ever according to new findings with the average woman now buying half her bodyweight (62lb) in new clothes every year.

The growth of ‘fast fashion’ has led to us buying four times as many clothes as we did 30 years ago, totalling an average of £133,640 over a lifetime.

But do we really need so many clothes?

SHOPPING FOR A CAUSE - MARIE CLAIRE'S TRUST IN FASHION

‘The fast fashion phenomenon has affected all of us’ says Lucy Siegle, who conducted the research at Cambridge University. 'Around 80 billion garments are produced by the world each year and I feel I have half of them in my bedroom!'

Siegle blames our celebrity culture for the rise in shopping, as well as the fall in prices, with shops such as Primark and H&M able to capture the latest trends at more accessible prices than ever before.

‘While we’ve had this period of incredible price deflation in clothing, we have spent the same and bought in bulk,’ says Siegle.

The average woman will have 22 garments in her wardrobe that she has never worn, and at least two pairs of unused jeans according to another recent study conducted by Peacocks.

So why can’t we keep our hands out of our purses? And why aren’t we saving as much money as we used to? Is it worth having that extra Topshop clutch for a night out over saving for a deposit on a house?

Let us know your thoughts below!

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