Want a more sustainable wardrobe? Take better care of what you have | Mode

Wwhat does that say about fashion I’ve been writing about clothes for over 20 years, but my favorite T-shirt has a hole where the collar came off at the seams and I don’t know how to fix it? That I have a closet full of fashion show notebooks, but my sewing kit is the kind you find in a hotel room? I’m sure that’s not a good thing, right?

But I like my clothes. Throwing one of them out seems to me no more dreary than burning a book. Call me an incurable romantic, but I believe I can live happily ever after in the clothes I have now. I’m not ruling out a strange moment of weakness. I’m only human, and sometimes lose control of myself in the presence of hoop earrings or any leopard print. And sometimes things wear out and need to be replaced. But I love my wardrobe to live forever.

So what stands in the way of eternal life for my clothes? Well, the aforementioned lack of maintenance skills, for starters. Moth. Poor napkin discipline when eating spaghetti arrabbiata. Teenagers borrow things. But the most dangerous enemy of the good clothes you already own is fashion. I love fashion, always have and always will. Dressing is a celebration of life. But fashion as a modern industrial complex has a dark side, which is to make you fall in love with clothes, then quickly kill them so you buy new ones.

Buying fast fashion is like eating Pringles. You start and want to keep going. The cute click-to-buy online sundresses are a slo-mo version of this. This is not the dress you want, not really; rush to buy something new.

Nothing personal, Ms Kondo, but enough with the obvious fetish. It’s crazy sending clothes to landfill to be labeled a wardrobe detox. Bringing out nice clothes to make room for clothes that are a little more shimmery is feedback that gets you nowhere. Sometimes, fashion comes up with something you might not have (say jumpsuits in 2010), but when a new look comes along, it’s almost always about wearing the clothes you have. It transforms the silhouette by attaching a belt over the blazer, or switching from a matching bright accessory to an outfit in tonal colors.

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This article comes from Saturday, the Guardian’s new print magazine that combines the best of features, culture, lifestyle, and travel writing in one beautiful package. Available now in UK and ROI.

Seeing your wardrobe as a permanent collection rather than a conveyor belt puts the brakes on impulse buying. Being bad at repairing clothes pushes me to make sure what I buy doesn’t fall apart. It’s not just about expensive stuff. Look inside the dress before you buy to see if it lasts. Details like the hook-and-eye that doubles as a double lock on the zipper opening are a sign of a carefully crafted piece; a stray thread that threatens to unravel is the opposite. This makes sense even though it’s tricky if you’re buying online, which I guess is part of the problem. And if you buy second hand, you do a lot more to make clothes live forever.

Clothing repair is a growing wing of the fashion industry. There are slick studios devoted to restoring shoes and bags, such as History. Create Now Have an embroidered fairy godmother that will cover the snags in your favorite sweater with daisies or monograms. Want to connect with a tailor who can transform your new vintage treasure so it fits like a glove? Sojo has an app therefore.

Forget celebrity personal trainers: heat restorer is a must-have number in your contacts. Maybe, just maybe, the fashion industry is on the mend. Even if my favorite T-shirt isn’t.