You think you don't have anything to wear or that your wardrobe is outdated but you don't have tons of money to spend on revamping your fashion IQ. What do you do? You can't afford a shopping spree at Barneys but you could swing one at Zara's because there you'll end up getting several items for the price of that one adored dress at Barneys.

"Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion," a new book by Elizabeth L. Cline investigates what's behind the production and zeal for "cheap" labels such as Zara, and Forever 21. Cline describes how the retail industry was revolutionized over the last couple of decades, which made it easier for manufacturers to produce more quickly, more cheaply and be able to better anticipate demand. A lot of this had to do with advances in technology but she also says it had to do with a changed psyche amongst consumers where clothes became seen as disposable.

Julian Sancton writes in Bloomberg Businessweek, "Overdressed is the fashion world's answer to consumer-activist bestsellers like Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. "Mass-produced clothing, like fast food, fills a hunger and need, yet is non-durable and wasteful," Cline argues. Self-deprecating about her own lack of style-she has a thing for fleece-lined sweatshirts-Cline writes with the zeal of a reformed shopaholic."

The overarching theme of the book is that "cheap" and "fast" fashion is wasteful and harmful to the environment. Cline's proposed solution is for consumers to start shopping more sustainably. But Sancton in her review writes that this is too naive of a solution. "She exhibits the idealism common to many proponents of sustainability, be it in food or in energy. Vanity is a constant; people will only start shopping more sustainably when they can't afford not to."

Perhaps buying classic and durable items at a higher price in your trademark style (a style that is true to you despite the onslaught of trends) may be the way to go.