Things I didn’t buy this week - or did I?
A fashion newsletter dedicated to the ongoing challenge of buying less and better, while making more out of the existing wardrobe. Showing every other week what got away.
I’m Kristina Hellhake, I run a fashion PR agency and with my fiancé and our son I live in Berlin. My job makes it hard to not fall for a new collection each season. I’m obsessed with coats and bags, and it’s my super skill to hunt down the details of any cute streetstyle within minutes. But a desire to consume in a more mindful, substantial way has been weighing on my purchases in 2023. While pregnant, I was thrown off my sartorial self, throwing random things on. So in the beginning of 2024, I looked at my closet and asked myself: what if everything is already here? Can I still have fun? I embarked on the journey of buying only 5 items in 2024 and started TIDBTW as an attempt to reconnect with writing and report back to you on how my challenge is going. And it’s been so much fun to see this community growing! <3 Have a look here how that year went for me: All the things I didn’t buy this year.
For 2025 the lesser-buying rules have yet to be defined, but the route is clear: I walk you through my adrenaline rush in terms of clothes I’m drawn to but, somehow, do not buy. Just because I can’t have it, doesn’t mean it’s not worth our attention.
Additionally I am very excited to continue the series of TIDBTW Guests and TIDBTW Fashion Moms, where I talk to interesting people who show they best purchases, how their found their individual style and the things that got away.
For 2025 I am also planning some in person TIDBTW events and cannot wait to share more details with you very soon.
If you are looking for ideas to getting to know your fashion self better and through that being able to make better informed choices and purchases, TIDBTW is for you. I explore fashion from an environmental perspective, but also a wholesome, mentally kind one. Thank you for joining this journey!
Shopping rules for 2025
Fashion circles and drops mean that we go in circles too. In our heads and our wardrobes and it can get very exhausting. To have some clarity, here are the new TIDBTW rules for 2025, slightly updated:
12 pieces are the max. I don’t think I’m my restrictive era any more. This is not about a special amount and instead I want to trust that I learned something from the past year and that I know what I need right now. Which can be the hardest thing. But I do believe that in general the number 12 per person and broadly 1 piece per month is a good indicator.
Last year’s number 5 was originally taken out of the report by the Hot or Cool Institute: “If no other actions are implemented, such as repairing/mending, washing at lower temperatures, or buying secondhand, purchases of new garments should be limited to an average five items a year for achieving consumption levels in line with the 1.5-degree target.” Let’s make an ament to take on all these efforts while putting 12 as the max and see where we land. (It still does feel a bit decadent ha)
Again everything counts (this doesn’t include undergarments or socks), secondhand, vintage, bags, jewerly - besides gifts! This is a tricky one for me because it feels like cheating, but it has brought too many confrontational moments for me in the past year. But we still have a saying with gifts – whether it is brands or friends, a polite No can be a sustainable choice, although it requires some diplomacy. I want to make conscious choices about everything that enters my personal wardrobe, so I will report to you about gifts too, of course.
Renting and borrowing are possible and not included
Wedding outfits are excluded, at least my own! Wedding guest, different story.
12 things max in 2025, let’s go. Xoxo
