Andrea Cheong, 30, has worked in many aspects of the fashion industry. She has been a journalist, worked on brand partnerships at British Vogue, and held a position at a consumer trends agency. These days, however, she spends much of her time teaching him 187,000 followers on TikTok how to shop wisely This includes showing them how to examine garments for signs of quality and shop more sustainably, as well as explaining how quality and sustainability in clothing are connected.. After all, when you’re not following every new trend, it’s easier to avoid fast fashion and buy things that stand the test of time.
Cheong was posting similar content on Instagramwhere he now has 73,000 followers, when someone from TikTok contacted her and told him that he would also do well on TikTok. When she started posting on TikTok in 2020, Subsequently, the application pushed its content. “I have a very complicated relationship with social media platforms; they are very bad for mental health, but they can also do a lot of good. And TikTok was the only platform where I said, ‘There are real humans behind this,’” Cheong said, referring to the fact that TikTok employees helped their content and message reach an audience.
Later, she explains how she built a fashion following on the app and what tips she gives about TikTok.
The Mindful Monday Edition
“[Teaching] The Mindful Monday Method [Cheong’s signature approach to shopping both mindfully and sustainably] started in 2019 and started with Instagram Stories. A lot of people don’t understand exactly what it is, because TikTok videos are basically just steps four and five of the method. There is a lot of background work that goes into fixing our relationship with money and fashion.
Our relationship with fashion is super complex. It can take a great emotional and mental toll on us, not to mention a financial problem. [toll], also. And now that consumers are becoming more aware, we’re also adding environmental factors to consumers’ decisions about what to buy and where to buy it. The Mindful Monday Method is essentially a filter so that each person can have a healthier relationship with shopping. It is very effective in breaking the impulse buying habit.”
Turning the locker room audit on its head
“A lot of stylists love to talk about a wardrobe audit. What they never tell you to do is look at clothes you no longer want. Because this is very revealing. Is there a common retailer here? Is there any material that you clearly don’t like? …Because you shouldn’t go back there, right? We do that with exes and boyfriends, and people we’ve dated. Why don’t we do that with our clothes?
The emotional cost of spending
“The reason I started this method is that I was spending an obscene amount of money every month, and I work in fashion, and we all know that fashion doesn’t pay very well. We need to ask ourselves, ‘What is the driving factor behind the purchases?’ A lot of people tell me, ‘I impulsively and compulsively shop, and then the rest of the month, I’m broke, and then I have nothing to wear.’ And so [I recommend a] budget exercise, to inspire people to think about that. It’s not in a way like, ‘Oh, you’re irresponsible.’ But instead, it’s a way to honor his sanity. For me, my financial well-being is very much tied to my mental health.”
Sustainability in practice
“We all know that sustainability is a huge beast that absolutely no one has been able to understand. And I want to give people, clients, everyone, a way to understand it for themselves, so they’re not held to an imaginary ethical standard, and so they know what works for them and their lifestyle.
people like to do [sustainability] on such a moral issue, but I’m not a better person than anyone else just because I haven’t shopped at Zara in two years. If you really follow my method, you will innately help the environment, even if it is quite passive and even if you don’t try.
That is why materials and quality are so important, because fashion is the most important thing. [sustainability] the problem is planned obsolescence [or garments that are not made to last, in terms of quality or trend]. If everyone knew how to spot quality and knew what the expectation should be, no matter how much you’re spending, you’d realize there are so many things you shouldn’t be buying. This is not because it is unethical, but because it is literally a waste of money. It should never have been done. That’s not a comment on who did it; It is not a comment on the workers. It’s a comment on mass production.”
