some insider eco fashion tips #1
I posted about The Salvos’ Buy Nothing New month a few weeks back. The lovely former Instyle Magazine stylist Matt Paroz (that’s him below) from how big is your eco got in touch and offered this guest post of tips and tricks for swapping/recycling/rejuvenating your threads. Thought you might like.
Six Sustainable Fashion Choices to make right now:
1. Get a tailor. I recommend LookSmart. They’re Australiawide and my local David Jones out-sources alterations to them, so they can’t be too shabby.
2. Swap threads at Thread Swap. “We get a lot of Sass and Bide, Nudie jeans, Cheap Monday, Topshop, Dr Denim and Zimmermann,” says Thread Swap co-founder Elsie Rowcliffe. Snap it, upload it and assign a credit value—if someone takes it, you get the credits to spend on something else. Extra credits can be bought ($1=1 credit) to nab a more pricey item. Get started here with 15 free Thread Swap credits (a lot of dosh in swap world).
3. Get swishing at iswish. Swishing is a fancy word for swapping, really. iSWISH works on a similar credit system as Thread Swap but the really nifty feature is Mirror Match. Upload your measurements (not for publication, don’t fret) and Mirror Match matches you with swappers who share 60+% of your particulars, making it easy to pinpoint pieces that fit.
4. Host a swap party with Planet Ark’s Big Aussie Swap. Planet Ark is currently in the middle of National Recycling Week (November 8-14) with the Big Aussie Swap—a mass redistribution of our nation’s sartorial wealth. How hard can it be? A group email, a bunch of girlfriends, a few vinos, et voila!
5. Timeshare. Facing a dearth of stylish, generous friends with closets to plunder? Try timeshare fashion. love me & leave me or mila & eddie rent designer clothes, bags, shoes and jewellery.
6. Have a garage sale! Here’s how! Last May, the Garage Sale Trail turned Bondi into a pop-up mall—126 simultaneous sales on one day. They want to take it national — so why not get your suburb involved.
Great ideas!
I have recently been getting into minimalist blogs (miss minimalist, mnmlist, etc) and they have some great ideas too. As a former peddlar of fashion (I worked in retail) I used to own a LOT of clothes, most of which were only worn a few times, and only bought to wear to work and had to discard soon after because we were ONLY allowed to wear new seasons product. Sometimes this involved buying a shirt and wearing it for only a week.
After I stepped down from this (enjoyably creative but highly stressful and eccologically dodgy) job, I started to question the ethics of what I used to do and realized I could no longer consume mindlessly. Not only was it expensive but it was also draining emotionally. I started reading about how little people could really live on if they tried, and was inspired by stories of international holidays with only carry-on luggage! I have since donated the vast majority of my clothing and now survive, quite happily, on a few stylish basics. What the fashion mags dont tell you is that classic is always in season.
Unfortunately with Hashimotos it can be hard to keep my weight stable and sometimes buying new clothes is an unfortunate necessity, so I shall keep these ideas in mind!
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Similar to Thread Swap is 99 Dresses (99dresses.com). You use your facebook account to sign in, it’s free to upload, and when someone buys your item you receive buttons (e.g. 1 button = $1). You then use these buttons to purchase other items you like.
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You must check out The Sustainable Stylist [http://www.thesustainablestylist.com/]
Kim is AWESOME, I’d highly recommend her services to anyone. She is a divine person and a real talent with a sewing machine
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Um, loved this post, but where’s the last tip? There should be seven, and I only see six?
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