Colour Our Wardrobe: Words with Adanna Hannah
2020 was the year that made us all slow down, take a moment and reflect. For many of us, we have come to realise how our energy and life balance may be better spent. This has bought to light our purchasing habits and consumptive relationship with what we wear. As we steadily return to familiar routines again, Sami-K heard how the past year has influenced writer and slow living advocate Adanna Hannah.
How the past year has affected my purchasing habits.
Words & Photography by Adanna Hanna ~ @smithadachi
The past year has had a profound impact on how I think about clothes and how I spend money on them. A year spent mostly at home and indoors has given me the space and freedom to learn what I like and what I don’t, figuring out my true style without the pressure of conforming to trends or comparing my body to other people’s. Reports at the beginning of last year’s lockdown that popular high street brands had refused to honour contracts with garment factories and left garment workers, mostly women, without pay and claims by campaign groups that Boohoo and associated brands had breached labour laws here in the UK shocked many consumers and reaffirmed the importance of making reasonable and sustainable choices when it comes to fashion. And the devastation that the pandemic has wrought on our high streets has encouraged more and more of us to support local and independent businesses.
For a number of years now, I’ve bought the majority of my clothes secondhand or from sustainably-minded brands but, like so many others, the past year has shown me that I still have plenty of room for improvement. I realised pretty early on, as I sat on my bedroom floor, the wardrobe spilling open and yet not a conceivable outfit in sight that, not only did I have no clue of what I liked to wear without cues from my friends and co-workers, but that my shopping habits were maybe, perhaps, just a little, out of control. I’d spent a lot of time chasing trends and buying pieces I wasn’t completely in love without because I felt pressure to own them just because they were popular at the time. But lockdown took the pressure off. I no longer had to worry about dressing for anyone other than myself and so I started to dress intuitively and look for pieces that are more timeless than trendy and fit into the wider vision of what I want my style to become.
Slowly but surely, I am building a closet that feels like me. Not only in terms of look and fit, but also in values. There are lots of big names in sustainable fashion and while they are great, I am excited to invest in sustainable pieces from smaller, independent businesses like SAMI-K. This unisex navy shacket, made from ethically and locally sourced organic cotton is a dream. Still under lockdown and with so much uncertainty about when things will open up again, I have been prioritising comfort over style for my everyday looks but this shacket means that I don’t have to choose. It looks great over a tee or crop top or even buttoned up and fits in seamlessly with the overall tone of the wardrobe I’m building - simple, yet fun - and I know that a piece like this will get a lifetime of wears.
As things begin to open up again and my outfits see more than just the four walls of my apartment, I know that I will continue to shop with care, investing in timeless and unique pieces like this one and ensuring that my wardrobe and spending habits make a positive impact.
Adanna Hannah is a Scotland-based writer and creator whose work focuses on slow, intentional living and the Black-British experience. You can find her on Instagram @smithadachi and her work at smithadachi.co.uk
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