Emma Chamberlain is Taking a Break From Shopping

In a world where the word “influencer” is spoken with an implied exaggerated eye roll, Emma Chamberlain has come to rise above the rest. And America’s girl next door has spoken: She’s taking a break from shopping. Emma Chamberlain talked about her shopping fast in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, stating, “I’m in a weird no-buy phase of my life where I’m not buying a lot of clothes because I’ve been collecting for so many years that I need to stop.”

The concept of a no-buy is somewhat common. You can search it on TikTok, and you’ll see plenty of stylish women talking about their new years’ resolution to go on a shopping fast. They all list a host of reasons, but the common ones involve saving money, consumerism, fast fashion, and resetting personal style. My friend Claire and I attempted one at the end of last year. That being said, knowing Emma Chamberlain is on a no-buy right now too changes things. No-buys are obviously never large-scale enough to make a massive dent in clothes that end up in landfills. But still, given Chamberlain’s influence, this feels somewhat remarkable to me. Emma Chamberlain’s ability to change winds on fashion trends among young women is kind of incredible. I remember one time, earlier in my career, Emma Chamberlain said she was wearing a lot of linen pants in the summer, and almost immediately, I was assigned a story on linen pants. She’s a quirky Regina George in terms of trends. It’s pretty clear that when she talks, people listen. So the fact that she’s mentioned going on a no-buy is pretty cool. She didn’t say much of it, like how long it’s been and how long it’ll be, but I do optimistically wonder if it’s a sign of changing tides toward mass conscious consumerism. 

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Ultimately, the most sustainable clothes you can wear are the ones you own, and the most sustainable way to shop is, not to look for certain brands, but to shop less. It’s been repeated to hell and back that we all shop too much, that too many clothes are being made and purchased than we could possibly ever wear. But honestly, a no-buy is actually the best thing you can do for your personal style. It helps you really assess the clothes you have that you once purchased with great enthusiasm and see what else is possible for it. Sometimes our quickest solution to a style slump is to browse and buy something, but a more long-lasting solution is to regularly reset your palette, so to speak, and rediscover what you’re working with. 

Shopping or not, Chamberlain is always a style icon. If you haven’t heard about the fact that we’re foregoing pants and wearing undies and boxers and bloomers out in broad daylight, here we are, and Chamberlain leans on the bolder side. Even in her photo campaign for her coffee brand, Chamberlain Coffee, she’s wearing a crisp, white shirt, a tie, and boxers. “It’s about two things. Number one, figuring out the right times to try out crazy risky trends. You’re not wearing the no-pants trend to work. When you’re going to a club, you can push it,” she said. “And number two, just, who cares? People are maybe going to roll an eye at you a bit here or there, but they just don’t get it. They don’t get the vision.”