Girl meets wardrobe

Today marks the start of Fashion Revolution Week, and although we are staying home, we are continuing our fashion activism and hopefully reaching more people across the world than ever before! This week is so important as its main aim is to not only get the attention of brands and demand transparency of their supply chains, but it’s also the best time to attract people to get interested in sustainable, ethical fashion. With all the attention the fashion industry will get this week, I hope people who believe they love fashion will take the time to learn a bit about this campaign and think about their shopping habits. Follow @fash_rev on Instagram to follow the week’s activities and join in the virtual events, and check out their website to find out more about why this campaign was started.

The theme for today is #LovedClothesLast – the idea that if we form more of a connection with our clothes we’re less likely to throw them away and maybe will slow down the rate at which we buy clothes because, let’s face it, we can’t make a connection with every item of clothing available! Today, why don’t you find a piece of clothing that has real sentimental value to you and share your fashion love story on social media? Tell everyone why you love this piece of clothing and the story behind it, you could even challenge 3 friends to do it too and help spread the campaign!

One thing we can all do is use this time during lockdown to rediscover our old clothes and fall back in love with them. We’re not exactly supposed to be buying new clothes right now, unless you’re supporting an independent retailer who may be put under financial strain if they don’t maintain regular orders. And even Depop (my go-to for 2nd hand clothing) is tricky right now with people not wanting to go to the Post Office to ship orders. Let’s use this time to take stock of what we already have, I think most people will be surprised to find they already have more than they need.

Dig out clothes stuffed at the back of your wardrobe, find those old shoes still in their original box, and dive into your drawers to find hidden treasures… 

If you still love it – great, start wearing it again!

Clothes you bought years ago may well have come back ‘in style’ by now. We saw it with jellies (clear plastic shoes), ponchos (the less said the better), and more recently, flared jeans! You never know, you might have something so on trend right now stuffed at the back of your wardrobe. Y2K stuff in particular is very in right now, think cropped vests, cardigans, hair scrunchies and tinted coloured sunglasses. 

If you don’t really like the style – can it be altered anyway to become something new?

Search ‘turn old clothes new’ into YouTube or Pinterest and you’ll get millions of ideas for easy alterations you can make to update your old clothes. This especially applies to jeans, baggy tops, t-shirts and shirts.

If you hate it – could you give it to someone in your house and trade with them? 

Look at what your mum or sister has that they don’t wear anymore and see if you can bargain with them for a swap. You could even host a mini clothes swap if there are enough of you, each bringing 5 pieces of clothing and seeing who wants what!

Giving clothes to charity or recycling should always be a last resort, in my opinion, as most of the clothes we give away end up being shipped to other countries and can cause a host of new problems for them. Giving clothes away doesn’t solve the problem, it just moves it to another part of the world. 

So, get digging and see what you can find! Hey, maybe you’re super organised and there are no clothes in your wardrobe that you aren’t wearing regularly – I’m impressed. But most of us have a hectic life and a wardrobe to match, so let’s use our time wisely and learn to love our clothes again!