It Wasn't in the Brief
You get a brief: the goal, target audience, tone of voice. No one warns you that working for a client can change the way you see the world. A story about how writing for TekStylowo changed the way I shop.
In 2022 I started creating content for TekStylowo: a chain of second-hand stores that has been championing circular fashion for years. I wrote posts, blog entries, learned the brand's language.
Along the way I learned what fast fashion is, then ultra fast fashion, and then I saw photos of the Atacama Desert in Chile, covered in mountains of clothes no one ever wore.
At first I treated it as content trivia. Facts worth knowing in order to write well for the client. I didn't think it would reach me personally.
After a few years without much shopping, I decided to refresh my wardrobe. The clothes I had still remembered my technical school days — graduated a decade ago.
And that's where the problem began.
Lately I haven't had time to hunt for clothes in second-hand stores. I didn't want to buy on Vinted because of the no-returns policy — my goal wasn't to own things I wouldn't wear and would never get around to reselling. The logical step was to order something online.
But just the thought of a fast-fashion chain made me feel bad about it.
The knowledge I'd gained writing for TekStylowo had done its work. I couldn't separate it from the purchasing decision.
Before I bought anything, I had to have a conversation with myself. Seriously — I spent over a month mentally preparing for these purchases.
The arguments that finally convinced me:
First, I don't buy impulsively day-to-day, and I'll likely wear the new clothes until they fall apart.
Second, I chose pieces that — by chain-store standards — are good quality and will last longer than three washes.
Third, I bought clothes that form the base of a capsule wardrobe. With a minimal number of items I can build many outfits. Less is more.
Fourth, in second-hand stores you can find gems — bags, cool belts, even wedding dresses!
Maybe it sounds like „first-world problems”. And it probably is, but the scale of the dilemma surprised me — I didn't expect that knowledge gained from working for a client would settle so deeply into my everyday decisions.
Good content marketing isn't just about writing about a product. It's about understanding the idea behind it.
When you really dive into a topic — reading, researching, talking to people — you start seeing things you didn't notice before. And that changes not only how you write. It changes how you think.
This wasn't in the brief, but I'm grateful for it.