“Fashion is the world’s second-largest polluter after the oil industry.”
Greenpeace: 2019
With fast fashion having such a huge impact on the state of our planet it’s important that we start making changes to our clothes shopping habits. It’s possible to get items that you need without stepping into Want-and-Buy culture.
I wanted to take you through a few of my favourite slow fashion pieces in my wardrobe, I’m mostly a charity/vintage shop kind of shopper but have a couple of pieces from sustainable, independent businesses.
Jumpers
It’s the UK, we need jumpers – unfortunately this is normally for about 8 months of the year. Thankfully there’s jumpers in good supply around most thrift and charity shops. This one came from a vintage shop in Bristol called Sobeys. It’s been altered to be cropped but is really good quality and has been reworked well.
Coats
Again, it’s the UK. We love coats. Unfortunately, fast fashion coats are pricey and rarely live up to the promise of being as warm as you hope. This coat came from an amazing thrift shop in Bath called TRASH. I think it cost me about £50, which is the most I’ve ever spent on a coat but I’ve had it for about a year a half and have worn it religiously every time the temperature drops outside. I love it and know that it’ll last many, many years.
Shirts
Holy moly I love a funky shirt. LOVE. So I had to share two instead of one. There’s quite a mixed bag in my wardrobe, a couple are reworked vintage shop buys (such as the pink one above) and one is from a vintage fair in Bournemouth however the majority are just charity shop finds that wouldn’t have cost more than a fiver (like the jazzy one red and blue above).
Dungarees
Another of my true loves, they just work with everything. The one above is from Lucy & Yak, a fantastic independent and sustainable company; they work closely with their manufacturers in both India and the UK ensure that every employee is looked after financially, no matter how big or small their position in the company is. Normally on my bottom half I’m either wearing dungarees or leggings, however I’m currently waiting on a pair on leggings coming back in stock with Lucy & Yak so I can purchase them (that’s why there’s no trouser section in this blog post)!
Skirts
I find that skirts are a really lovely piece to pick up second hand because there’s really only one body part that they need to fit correctly, your waist! This one above is from a charity shop that cost less than a fiver, it’s a staple in my wardrobe because it goes with so much and can easily be dressed up or down. I highly recommend keeping an eye out each time you pop by a charity/vintage shop because you never know when your dream piece of clothing will be there!
