You’re standing at your wardrobe staring at the abomination of clothes and you want to start all over again. There are too many ‘cheaply-made’ clothes that you haven’t worn, or will never wear again. There are too many ‘cheap’ clothes. There are clothes you bought on sale. Clothes you found in bargain bins. Clothes you bought on impulse. Clothes that were the wrong colours, patterns and prints purchased only because you were following a particular fashion trend at the time.
Does this sound familiar?
About four years ago, I hit a fashion crossroads. I stood at my walk-in robe and I despised what I saw. At least a third of my closet consisted of ‘cheaply-made’ clothing accumulated over the years that were made from unnatural fibres like polyester, rayon, nylon and spandex. Too many of my clothes had seams coming apart and made in foreign countries well known for backyard sweat shops…
So this is what I did to restore my closet’s Feng Shui:
1. I culled many of the ‘cheap’ items that I had worn only once – and many I had never worn – and donated them to the local Salvo’s, St Vinnie’s and Savers.
2. I shopped at the local Salvo’s, St Vinnie’s and Savers! I was already a fan, but I became a regular on the op-shop scene. I would hit these shops before I even entered a proper fashion boutique! For those of you who don’t know, second -hand clothing is much more economical and much better for the environment – after all, you are purchasing someone else’s unwanted goods, in other words, someone else’s waste! As they say, another man’s trash is another man’s treasure…
3. I sold some clothing on eBay. Let’s face it, some of those cheaply-made polyester numbers cost a packet and I desperately wanted to get some return on a crappy investment!
4. I shopped on eBay. You can get some great second-hand designer goods out there as well as some great vintage art-deco pieces. And like I said, another man’s trash is another man’s treasure…!
4. I became a conscious shopper. I concentrated on buying items made from natural fibres because they felt better on the skin, lasted longer and used less chemicals throughout the production process. I always have Mother Nature in my mind when I go to a store nowadays.
So now it’s your turn – did you ‘green’ up your closet? Do you have a ‘Greenista’ story? Share your tips and help other fashionistas ‘go green’!
