I still remember how excited I would feel every time I went shopping. The smell of new clothes, thousands of perfectly folded pieces ready to be picked up by my eager hands ready to style new outfits. It was what everyone did and I was committed to respect this and follow the trend alerts, ignoring completely the fact that not only I had no idea of where these perfectly identical clothes came from, I also did not even question where these would end up once the hype was gone and people realised that actually, skinny jeans were not a good idea.
My mum has always really enjoyed finding a bargain and charity shopping offered her that experience. Colour-coded rails of clothes, some of which I was sure I seen in the High Street just about a month before, were smiling at her and she knew exactly what to do. After checking the clothes she found most appealing, it was time for purchase and it often did not bother her if there were little holes, they were still clothes made by someone and deserving of a second chance.
This beautiful green +flared 3/4 sleeves+ front knot+ crop top only £3.00 (!!!) and perfect to style with some denim or a skirt for a night out.
In our fight against fast fashion https://www.ebay.co.uk/ can become our best friend and although it can take a lot of looking around and scrolling, once we find what we were looking for the feeling of satisfaction is worth the wait.
In the world of second hand shopping, much patience is needed along with an open mind: some things might not exactly look like what we were looking for, however, this does not mean that there is not potential. We have to get creative and maybe even try something out of our comfort zone, a good opportunity to spice-up our closet.
Going to Vintage fairs and shops are great activities, with the reward of finding good quality clothes once loved and ready to have a new owner. Vintage shopping can be very affordable, especially considering that many of the brands available are now selling similar things for more expensive prices, one trip to Armstrong and you'll be able to find a much better priced pair f Levi's jeans or the comfiest cashmere jumper .
If this is not enough to motivate you into shopping more sustainably, then just think of how much clearer the ocean will be without all the clothes that end up in landfill :)