A couple of weeks ago, I wrote here to tell you all about how I was finding the pretty fabulous Tortoise and Lady Grey initiative which is the 20 Day Sustainable Fashion Challenge. A few weeks after finishing, I am reflecting on the things I’ve learnt and am changing as a result of the challenge.
In the second half of the challenge, there’s a focus on getting creative with what you have, and getting to know your existing wardrobe well. Before I moved to Australia, I donated, turned to scraps or sold almost 2/3 of my wardrobe – years and years of too small, out of fashion, itchy or otherwise unwanted clothing. This made it a darn site easier to get to know my wardrobe, and assess what I did and didn’t really need any more. There is a focus on planning ahead, which I hadn’t really considered before but obviously makes a heck of a lot of sense. I was quite challenged by the idea that it’s important to go through your wardrobe and try and imagine what you will realistically need during the next year or so. For example – are your jeans likely to wear out soon? Are you short of winter jumpers? This process of walking yourself through the needs of your wardrobe arms you for when your clothes do eventually wear out, and gives you more time to find clothes from an ethical, sustainable destination, be it online or in real life. This whole idea may seem like a colossal waste of time, but as I read more and learn more I feel less and less comfortable about the fact that I am part of such a wasteful, polluting and abusive industry. Assessing the needs of my wardrobe is just one way of giving me a greater peace of mind when it comes to the fashion industry.
As soon as I finished the challenge, I decided it was time to do a bit more work on my wardrobe. You know when you have a piece which is excellent in so many ways but one aspect of it means that every time you put it on, you immediately take it back off? I had plenty of those kind of items, and rather than letting them fester at the back of my wardrobe, I decided to get crafty and do something about it.
The picture above is from a rather fancy schmancy £2.50 charity shop steal – a short sleeved tropical print shirt, originally from Tesco of all places. I couldn’t quite believe my luck when I saw it – it is fantastically flamboyant, and absolutely ideal for layering. However, the sleeves were slightly too masculine for my taste. I can’t pinpoint it, but I know for sure they needed altering! Now that I’ve pinned to sleeves up, it creates a slightly softer look (and makes your arms look slimmer too. Score!)
Below (with the help of my grandma, who’s hand you can see in the top picture – I absolutely could not have done this work without her incredibly sewing expertise!!) is a maxi skirt that shrunk in the wash. It is completely beautiful and it made me so sad that every time I put it on in it’s maxi skirt form that it looked a bit wrong. Now, in it’s easy just-above-the-knee length, I can pop it on with tights, a jumper and boots and wear it to uni for the next few months. Sorted! The skirt isn’t wasted, I got to spend quality time with my Grandma, and practise my sewing skills, all of which I think are pretty great.
Have any of you completed the Sustainable Fashion Challenge? If so, please do let me know your thoughts! If you haven’t, you can find it on the pretty fabulous and incredibly informative Tortoise and Lady Grey blog. The challenge isn’t filled with overwhelmingly heavy or difficult content – it just guides you through the basics of creating a wardrobe that you can be more at peace with, if you’re concerned about green fashion and sustainability. T&LG is pretty much my favourite resource for well thought out, thought provoking and informative reads on sustainable fashion, so I can’t encourage you strongly enough to check it out!
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