Heart on Your Sleeve

Heart on your sleeve CHRISTA WEIL

CHRISTA WEIL

From the author of It’s Vintage, Darling!, this book is for any woman who feels challenged by the goal of looking great and doing right by other people and the world we live in.

Heart on your sleeve demystifies what ethical fashion is, offers guidance on sourcing pieces ranging from Fair Trade originals to restyled ballgowns, and explains how wearing sustainable clothing can revolutionise one’s appearance for the better.

Heart on your sleeve

RRP

£4.95

ILLUSTRATIONS by DAVID DOWNTON

CHRISTA WEIL BC234699

The fashion-lover’s guide to finding, choosing, and wearing ethical clothes

Inside cover/back

To the Oxfam volunteers

This book is available exclusively in Oxfam shops and on Oxfam Online shop.

This book has been written by Christa Weil and the views expressed in it are hers alone. The right of Christa Weil to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Text and illustrations donated by Christa Weil and David Downton respectively.

Copyright Š 2008 Christa Weil. Illustrations Š 2008 David Downton.

First published May 2008. All rights reserved.

This book has been published by Oxfam Activities Ltd, which covenants 100% of its taxable profits to Oxfam GB by gift aid.

Oxfam GB is a registered charity number 202918.

“The global garment industry generates trade of more than $450 billion a year.

It is high time that the 40 billion people employed within it reap the benefits of this, thereby truly being given a chance to work their way out of poverty.�

Sumi Dhanarajan, Head, Private Sector Advocacy Team, Oxfam

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Heart on your sleeve The fashion-lover’s guide to finding, choosing, and wearing ethical clothes 3 11 21 29 55 77

Introduction What is ethical fashion?

It’s the thought that counts Buying ethical originals Reworn, reborn: second-hand clothes The fine art of restyling

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Introduction There’s no doubt that ethically-sourced clothing has caught the eye of fashion’s front row – the editors of the most style-conscious and trendy glossy magazines. Barely an issue goes by without space given over to another new ‘ethical’ fashion item – a Stella McCartney silk heel, a slouchy Edun tee – deemed seductive enough to share the spotlight with the latest drop-dead creations of Armani, Dior, and Vuitton.

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At the same time as the magazines are singing the praises of ethical clothes and accessories, books treating the subject in greater depth are hitting the shelves. Tamsin Blanchard’s Green Is the New Black and Matilda Lee’s Eco Chic are the first, true bibles on the subject.

Likewise, resources like The Guardian’s Ethical Living pages are devoting an increasing number of column inches to giving us the latest news and views about the issues. Between the designers’ innovation, the media’s attention, and the ever-increasing High Street endorsement, no one can claim that ethical clothing isn’t getting its fair share of attention in the world of fashion today.

And yet... while many of us can say in broad terms what ethical fashion is, why it matters to the world, and how important it is for more of us to shop in this way, I wager that few of us are ready to commit to the idea wholeheartedly.

Why? Three understandable – and forgiveable – reasons stand out. But they’re also easily surmountable: “It’s not what we know” The labels are unfamiliar, the fabrics are unusual (bamboo? soya?), the shopping not exactly the full-on experience of aspire/acquire that we’ve come to expect from the High Street.

Remember… the market is still shifting, and we’re still learning – much as we were becoming familiar with organic food ten years ago. Also, some people have a funny misperception that you have to

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understand the nitty-gritty of all the issues behind ethical clothing in order to buy it. Just as you don’t need to understand pattern cutting in order to appreciate an Alexander McQueen kimono jacket, you don’t have to delve into local labour laws in order to love a fairly-traded silk blouse.

“We love to shop! And ethical shopping sounds a bit [lowered voice] worthy” Meaning less fun. Meaning more sacrifice. Meaning potentially itchy. Not true! I love to shop – believe me. But… I’m buying far fewer mass-produced items now, in favour of a small number of ethically-sourced original pieces. I try to be disciplined, and it’s done wonders for my overall look, because I’m more selective about finding things that really suit.

But, I’m also human. When the craving starts to build – you know what I mean, that ‘Want It Now’ fever – I let the devil out to play where it can’t do much harm. Second-hand shops (meaning vintage shops, dress agencies, and charity shops) are fantastic places to lose your head a little. And though you might not immediately think of it in this way, their ethical credentials are fantastic. You can acquire like there’s no tomorrow (affordably! It’s a charity shop!) without guilt, because you’re depleting the clothing mountain rather than adding to it. Plus, you learn an incredible amount about what works and what doesn’t, which really helps vamp up your looks all around. That said,

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I still hit the High Street with a fashionista’s everlasting devotion – to get up on the trends, get inspiration for restyling projects, to see what other girls are wearing. But, when I do, I leave my cash card at home.

“It’s hard enough finding ordinary clothes that look great.

Won’t the ethical standard make it even harder?”

Here’s a revelation: despite all the excellent coverage of why purchasing ethical clothing is a good/worthy/less guilt-inducing way to consume, most of us don’t fully grasp how much better we can look by shopping for, selecting, and buying this type of clothing.

Give this a moment to sink in. Ethical fashion needn’t only reflect your good sense, social consciousness, and big heart. It can also reflect a more fashionable, chic, and fetchingly dressed you.

Isn’t that sense of adornment – of transformation – what we all really desire from our clothes?

Not your hippie auntie’s ethical style Dress in a way that suits you as an individual. This maxim is as true for ethical fashionistas as it is for everyone else. Whether the garment issues from a couture-calibre designer or a surfer with a side venture in organic t-shirts, if it doesn’t work for you, it’s pointless to snap it up.

Ethical garments needn’t look like home craft projects gone wrong. At the risk of diehard eco-evangelists lashing me with sackcloth, fashion martyrdom – especially self-righteous fashion

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martyrdom – is not a great look. What will win admirers and, better yet, converts, is looking amazing (abetted by that glow you get from having done well). With a bit of guidance, it’s always been possible to find drop-dead vintage, and feel good about its re-use. Now the same is true for great ‘ethical originals’, and standout restyled pieces too.

What exactly is an ethical original? For me, it’s any clothing made from scratch (i.e. new!) that accords with people- and/ or Earth-minded principles. While ethical originals are still the exception rather than the norm in Britain’s favourite shops, with every week, the pursuit becomes a little easier, what with the High Street buying into ethical in a serious way, Internet catalogue sites like Adili offering a range of merchandise, and labels like People Tree and Terra Plana becoming fashion brands full stop.

Shopping for global cool Plus there’s this other thing... which in fact spurred the writing of this guide. A big idea came into being at Oxfam not too long ago.

It’s one of many in a long line of big ideas that makes this organisation so extraordinary, and extraordinarily effective, in its mission to overcome poverty by supporting people worldwide in their fight for the right to education, health care, security, equality, a livelihood, and a say in their own future. Oxfam decided that the world of fashion needed some aid as well, in the guise of a

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revolutionary new retail environment, a place to walk into, browse through, try on and then buy clothes that are altogether sustainable.

Oxfam’s boutiques – opening in London in May 2008 and rolling out in other UK cities in subsequent months – offer a unique opportunity to explore and understand fashion that is an alluring blend of various types of sustainable fashion: new Fair Trade and organic originals, nestled alongside la crème de la crème of the fabulous second-hand donations that flood through its doors, as well as the very up-to-the-minute genre known as ‘restyled’ clothes – pieces that have been reworked, remade, and revitalised to a new and different kind of fashion glory.

It’s an amazing concept: a retail shop devoted to clothes that have been selected for their sustainable credentials, be they labour standards in the supply chain, re-use of textiles, materials used or methods of manufacture. Oxfam is committed to overcoming poverty and suffering around the world, and strives to ensure that all new clothes over the threshold are representative of its ideals.

What’s great about this is that, with the organisation putting its eye in, selecting products from the right kinds of places, you can concentrate more of your energies on the pursuit of the best pieces for you.

While you’re hunting, you probably won’t notice something else that is very special about these environments. Ethical and

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environmental issues have shaped the design of the shops, from the use of reclaimed flooring, to long-lasting, hand crafted display units. In this, Oxfam aims to perpetuate the ideal that the brandnew and the well-tempered can function together brilliantly, on the rails, in the shops, and on you. Not that this makes a huge difference to your hunt for a three-ply cashmere jumper, but it is pleasant to think about while you’re waiting to ring up at the till.

A brave new world in a cute new top This book is all about changing your world, from the closet on out.

It will be your guide into the new world of ethical fashion: what it is, where you can find the best examples, and how to put together a unique and personal collection that will look great in the mirror, and reflect wonderfully on you.

“In order to be elegant, a woman must begin by knowing how to make a wise selection from among the multitude of clothes that are offered for sale at every price. If to this science she is able to add the gift of inventing personal details – such as the placement of a jewel, or an unexpected combination of colours – then she becomes a fashion leader and one of those rare women who set a style to be followed by others.”

Genevieve Dariaux, A Guide to Elegance

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What is ethical fashion?

It’s terrible, but I’ve got to confess.

I’m American, and when I first heard the term “ethical clothing”, a vision popped into my head: the Pilgrim Fathers and Mothers, dressed in funereal black robes and stark white bibs, topped off with black hats and bonnets. Not exactly Roberto Cavalli.

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I’ve since learned better. Newly-made ethical fashion is not a specific look. It is an innovative way of putting clothes together. One that attempts to eliminate or minimise the ills that can go hand-in-hand with the manufacture of garments, from the point at which a cotton seed hits the soil, to the packaging you’re given to carry the 100% cotton shirt home. Was the seed doused in pesticides and chemical fertilisers?

Did contaminated irrigation water from the field flow into the nearest stream? Were the workers who harvested the crop paid a fair wage?

What was the impact, if any, of the dyes used to colour the fabric and its runoff? Did the sewing-machine operators have sufficient time for meals and breaks for the toilet? How many air miles did freighting the finished shirts require? You might be a slave to fashion for so badly wanting that top, and that’s fair enough. But no one else ought to be, right?

To distinguish and bring valour to their wares, manufacturers and sellers are scrambling to add ethical labels of various kinds, pointing out Fair Trade status, low-emissions origination, organically-grown, etc.

The proliferation of labels is a well-intentioned, but largely unregulated, affair. The varied designations can be confusing, to the point where MPs put their brogues down in 2007 and demanded order be brought to the fray. More consistency in labelling would be helpful, but I’m always pleased to see a tag espousing one ethical qualification or another swinging from a garment. Its presence indicates that the manufacturer is conscious of its impact on labourers’ lives and/or the environment, and is striving in some way to do better.

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Sweatshop v. rightful manufacture This fact may bring you up cold, but unless you’ve been unusually conscientious, it’s almost certain that some of the clothing you own originated in a sweatshop, where appalling conditions are the norm. In such environments, workers, which may include children, are essentially captives. They may labour up to twenty hours a day, seven days a week, for wages well below those needed to maintain a decent standard of living.

The factories are frequently unventilated and overheated, and medical care is non-existent.

The term “ethical” fashion, as broadly used in this book, means principled in a way that bears upon people, the environment, and/or animals. But, more closely defined, it means clothing made under circumstances respectful of workers all along the supply chain, from seed to shipped product. In simple terms, this means: Wages adequate to meet the cost of living A work day with sufficient breaks for sleep, meals, and the toilet Decent working conditions Freedom of association A workforce free of children, where men and women are paid on a par.

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What can you do to encourage a High Street shop’s ethical policies?

As a customer, you have clout. Why not put it to use if you find that your favourite retailer is disappointingly short on clothing with ethical credentials? Start by having a word with the shop manager about whether the lines are produced in accordance with peopleand Earth-friendly principles. Then describe the issues that are important to you.

It’s also extremely effective to get the name and address of the customer-relations director and write a letter or email. Describe your status as a loyal customer and your hopes to remain so in the future. Then on to the heart of the matter.

If workers’ rights – the lynchpin of classically-defined ethical trade – are your main concern, you might ask a set of questions like these: Are your suppliers held to a code of conduct regarding the treatment of labourers?

Do you train and monitor suppliers so that ethical standards are understood and met?

Do you place orders with adequate lead time to enable the workforce to work for a reasonable number of daily hours at a reasonable pace?

Does your pricing policy support rather than

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undercut decent conditions and adequate wages for workers?

Are your suppliers encouraged to provide feedback to you about difficulties in fulfilling orders?

Do you strive to involve your customers in your efforts to support ethical trade?

It may be that your concerns are more heavily weighted toward the use of organic fibres, or the reduction of carbon emissions, or some other initiative under the more broadly defined ‘ethical’ heading (see following pages). If this is the case, tailor your questions to address these concerns, request further information on the company’s policies, and (this is the truly important part) state your intent to take these policies into account when making purchasing decisions.

The main thing? Make some noise! Money talks; written opinions shout.

“My advice to consumers is, be a pest! When you’re in your favourite shop searching for That Dress, ask the staff if they know where the clothes they are selling came from, and how the workers who made them are treated.”

Dan Rees, Director, Ethical Trading Initiative

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Let’s see some credentials If you’ve already begun to explore the ins and outs of ethical fashion, you’re probably already versed in some or all of the categories that shelter under the ethical umbrella.

For newcomers, here’s some elaboration: Fair Trade This is a global movement whose aim is to give farmers reasonable earnings for their products, labourers decent work conditions and a fair wage, men and women wage parity (meaning approximately the same pay without regard to gender), and communities a bit of extra funds to invest in local projects. In short, Fair Trade is opposed to the exploitation that may take place when big buyer meets small supplier. Fair Trade goods are usually produced with sensitivity to the environment but are not necessarily organic.

The Fairtrade Foundation certifies products with the FAIRTRADE mark. Note that this rigorously-won designation is marked by its single-word spelling (www.Fairtrade.org). IFAT membership signifies that the brand is is a member of the International Fair Trade Association (www.ifat.org).

Organic plant fibres For example, cotton, hemp, bamboo, ramie, linen, and others that were grown without chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, and 17 16

the like. The organic qualification also gives some assurance that the dyes and other additives used in the manufacture of the cloth were not harmful to the environment. Various regulatory agencies around the world certify organic status, for example the Soil Association in the United Kingdom; Skal, used widely throughout Europe; the Swiss certifier IMO, the German AGRECO, and others.

Organic animal fibres These may be wool, alpaca, cashmere, or silk, from animals raised with a minimum of exposure to agricultural chemicals.

Recycled synthetics These include fleeces, vinyl-like materials, and other artificial fabrics made from previously-used plastics, often plastic bottles.

Trade names include Capilene and Synchilla. Active wear manufacturers are currently at the cutting edge of developing these fabrics.

Environmental impact Positive action to minimise environmental impact throughout the manufacture, life and disposal of a product.

Animal-friendly No animals were killed or harmed in the creation of this clothing: it is the vegetarian option for your wardrobe. Vegan clothing takes it a step further by using no animal-sourced goods whatsoever, even if the creature could grow it back (like wool).

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All on the same team Which brings us to the knotty question of which ethical standards matter the most. It’s safe to say there are no tidy black and white (or even hound’s-tooth) answers. The next time you’re out with the girls and hit a dull patch, you might liven things up with questions like these: If a silk evening bag is ticketed Fair Trade, but not organic, would it affect your purchase?

Can vintage fur ever be considered ethical?

Synthetic fabrics have a sizeable carbon footprint in manufacture. But they hang-dry quickly, and you don’t have to iron them. So does the latter offset the former?

Some girls, of course, won’t take the bait. You know the type.

If a sparkly stone is multifaceted, they’re all over it. If an issue is multifaceted, their brains step down to idle. The worst are the ones who decide that, since all ethical standards cannot be universally met all the time, the whole problem doesn’t bear thinking about, much less acting on. Needless to say, these girls will only start clueing in when they realise you’re dressing better than they are.

As for the problems in ethical calculus, this booklet offers no easy formula that squares off air miles v. environmental toxicity v. skills building v. cruelty to silkworms. You’d need a supercomputer to run all the variables. My workspace can barely accommodate a large mug of coffee.

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What is important to remember, if you’re browsing in a department store’s greener modules, is to go for the goods with the best ethical credentials, that will also look amazing on you. Even if you’re only ticking one ethical box, you’re doing far better than simply grabbing any old top because it’s got sequins and is on sale.

There, I’ve said it In any case, there’s a deeper truth at work here, one that ought to be aired early on. The most eco-aware stance we can all take as far as fashion is concerned is not to buy anything new at all.

Yes, you read that right. Nothing new. OK, back to reality. Cutting back on non-essential buys is a strategy we can and should put into play (let me stress I mean buying, not shopping). I’ll discuss this in greater detail in the chapter to come. In the meantime, it’s understood that very few women are willing to take a vow of shopping abstinence in the name of saving the world. It’s not going to happen.

What should happen is that we should engage with the complexities to the best of our ability, read up, argue it out with friends, family, and the cab driver who, shockingly, will have an opinion on the subject. In this way, we form a deep foundation for making a change in old habits, the ones that are dragging our good looks down. And of course we should be grateful to Oxfam. In being so discriminating about what is offered up for sale in its boutiques, it allows us to take a break from it all to have a nice browse.

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It’s the thought that counts It’s probably safe to say that all of us have a “friend” whose must-have tendencies fall short of high-minded ideals.

Though she is vaguely aware of the perils of global warming, the degradation of sweatshop labour, the toxic heritage of cotton-growing chemicals, deep down she truly believes the very words “ethical fashion” are a contradiction in terms.

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One of the simplest definitions of the word “ethical” is thoughtfulness – in this case, about a given garment’s origins. And to ask this girl to be thoughtful while shopping is like asking the world to stop spinning and take a clockwise turn. The notion of bringing rationality to bear while engaged in a trawl is indeed radical, for as she sees it, fashion is meant to be fun, frivolous, fleeting... a diversion from the concerns of everyday life, deliciously impulsive, a recreational pastime, a merciful escape from the must- and mustn’t-do’s.

It’s not all her fault, of course. Who could fail to be intoxicated by the way clothing is currently marketed? The message beams at all buyer profiles and price points. The Chelsea trophy wife clutches the most deluxe reptile-skin trophy bag, ticketed in the thousands. Her less moneyed sister slings the £15 “knock-off” onto the supermarket belt.

See. Grab. Enter PIN. The very same magazines that headline the latest ethical labels are, a few cheeky pages along, trumpeting “buys of the week”, items that are so inexpensive that readers are urged to acquire them in multiples.

The shops feverishly renew the rails. The media provides saturation coverage of consummately-styled starlets, urging us to “Steal Their Look” with cheaply made, ill-fitting copies (good luck!). The pace is so frenetic, the trend spans so short, trying anything on seems beside the point.

The emphasis on the new, the ever-changing, has affected all of us – it’s impossible to escape. We are innocents in Aladdin’s cave, bedazzled

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by the riches before us. It’s brought about the atrophy of the sensible regions of our clothes-buying brains, in favour of the baser pleasure centres – the parts that light up at the sight of the as-yet-unacquired.

As soon as this week’s “must have” has been bagged, we’re instantly on alert for what’s just over the fashion horizon.

So much fun – the actual shopping part that is, especially if there’s a bit of manufactured frenzy, like the release of a new line “designed” by a hot fashion name or buzzy starlet, where snagging coveted items is much like grabbing the bouquet at a friend’s wedding. But even a diehard shopaholic might admit that it gets less fun – lots less fun – once the fashion-most-wanted is brought home.

This is when the penny drops that the clothes aren’t in fact trophies simply meant to hang forever fresh in the closet, they’ve got to hang on the body, and moreover perform the not always fail-safe job of making us look fab.

At this point, even our trend-bedazzled fashionista, in the harsh light of her room, can see that the erstwhile incredible bargain is so slipshod, one of the seams is already gaping. Or all the sequins and other fripperies that made it look so flash in the shop window will never stand up to laundering, which is a problem because somebody got lippy all over the collar. Or because it was mass-produced and sold in every one of the chain’s hundreds of shops, four other girls at the party may be wearing it too, and one of them will be wearing it better.

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At this point, our girl has two alternatives: she can either hit the same places all over again, in the hope that the following week’s “Fresh in Store” offerings will suit her better, and if that doesn’t work, try again the week after. Or, radically, she can slow down and bring more thoughtfulness to the endeavour. Hmmmm...

“In a highly competitive market that is the clothing industry, the race is intense amongst retailers to produce products at low prices that also meet consumer demands on quality and choice, and at the same time maximise profits. Many brands adopt strategies of slashing retail prices, shortening lead times, and keeping fashion lines fresh through regular changes.

And what for the workers who cut, sew, assemble, and

pack the t-shirts, blouses, trousers and jackets? Positioned at the end of these long and complex global supply chains, they bear the ultimate burden of immense pressure upon their employers to deliver ever faster and ever cheaper.

The ‘fast-fashion’ phenomenon that sees retailers take designs off the catwalk and into High Street stores at incredible speed – some can put together a range in 7- 30 days – risks exacerbating the problem unless managed responsibly.”

Sumi Dhanarajan, Head, Private Sector Advocacy Team, Oxfam

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How ethical clothing can make us look better Here is where ethical fashion comes to the rescue. Shopping for brand-new, ethically made originals regulates our impulses rather than overexciting them. In doing this, it helps us upgrade our looks. How, specifically? By countering so many of the factors that make binge-buying such a mindless, addictive, and ultimately detrimental drug. Ethical fashion is its own intervention.

It requires us to think before we buy – bypassing that adrenalinfuelled response that feels so good in the moment, and so oddly let down in the aftermath. Ethical clothing helps put on the brakes, by being something we need to think about.

Not about its earth-saving aspects, let’s put those aside for a moment. I mean about personal issues: our wallets, our individuality, our self-perception and presentation. Ethical clothing makes us more thoughtful shoppers because: An item that is ethical in some way is typically more expensive than mass-market equivalents Hopefully, the workers who made it have been paid a decent wage.

Maybe the fibres it is made of have polluted no one’s water system.

There may be handwork in the embellishments. It’s probably not sold in mass quantities, so suppliers may not benefit from economies of scale.

When a garment costs more than a couple of quid, we think 25

harder about buying it. Does it really suit? How often can I wear it? Will it stand up to my bike commute/sticky-fingered toddler/inability to eat marinara sauce without nasty spills?

How many years of useful life (years!!). Really, it’s like embarking on a marriage (instead of a one-night fumble). Given these parameters, you’ll want to consider its suitability, wearability, durability.

Ultimately, it’s a piece of clothing you love having because it loves you (i.e. makes you look and feel fabulous). It’s safe to say you will be trying it on.

Ethical fashion typically doesn’t get involved in marketing hype for its labels There’s simply no budget for a newly-formed brand to plaster itself all over the ad pages of glossy mags, and amen to that. When you buy a piece of ethical clothing, you’re not subconsciously hoping to reincarnate within the slinky hips of the model who fronts it, the brilliant photographer’s otherworldly ad campaign, a clever merchandiser’s ultra-cool display, or a massively expensive awards show extravaganza that’s really all about showcasing the sponsoring brands. You’re simply buying a pair of shorts. And it’s between you and the mirror to decide whether or not they work.

Most ethical clothing is not available in mass quantities M&S is producing Fairtrade items, Gap is doing the right thing with its philanthropic Project Red, and other High Street regulars

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are coming on board with own-brand lines that were produced in a manner intended to uplift the condition of labourers and/or lessen impact on the environment. All the same, clothing produced specifically to standards that aim to rectify erstwhile wrongs – and visibly marketed as such – remains a minority in the marketplace.

So with ethical garb, it’s harder to default into this season’s uniform (which frankly, after the first week on the street, looks pretty zzzzzzz in any case). Wearing ethical automatically channels you into a more original and distinctive look. When you wear a vintage brocade jacket or a restyled top, you’re not just another trend squaddie on Oxford Street. You look only like you.

All of the above factors combined make ethical clothes stand on their own merits. It’s safe to say that women buy clothes with a sense of hope. While on its shop hanger, a garment promises magical properties to renew and transform. Make us look cooler, skinnier, smarter, more respect-worthy, sexier, artier, rebellious, no-nonsense, jollier, member-of-the-tribal, prettier, French studenty, California girl, pale and interesting, Goth, punk, yummy... In most cases, we’ve come to depend on the advertising, the shop interior/playlist, the look of the salesgirls, the stars photographed wearing it, the aura surrounding a given piece or line of clothing to convince us it will empower our image in some small notable way. With ethical pieces, you’re not being ‘sold’ an aspiration in such a blatant manner. You’re buying something you need, because it looks good. And if you choose wisely, those good looks carry well beyond the shop’s front door.

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Buying ethical originals Whether it’s a simple Fairtrade cotton t-shirt from M&S, a drop-dead silk dress from Noir, an Isle of Mull Weavers organic tweed couture jacket, or a From Somewhere blazer made from deluxe fabric rescued from a cutting-room floor, an ethical original stands apart from its mass-market brethren. Not necessarily in a visible, “I’m Ethical, Me!” way (unless it’s a Katherine E. Hamnett slogan t-shirt), but in the very fibres of its creation.

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The fabric is often special – the result of a more Earth-attentive style of farming, or of innovative recycling techniques. It was stitched by a worker whose efforts were respected at factory level, and who perhaps had greater self-respect as a result. It was transported and packaged and sold with sensitivity to how these actions affect the local and global community.

It has integrity, and shouldn’t be lightly tossed out.

These are special pieces of clothing meant to be worn again and again. To be thoroughly appreciated, and indeed, worn well until they’re ultimately well worn. In this way, they have a lot in common with those fantastic creations of the skilled fashion ateliers of Paris, haute couture. With both types of clothing, one buys into a sensibility. The selection process takes time, and there is a cool-headed contemplation of the possible alternatives. Buyers are willing to spend more for something special. They think very hard about letting it into their lives, because this is not the sort of garment that is casually let go.

This is quite a different mindset from impulse buying. It’s challenging. It’s enlightening. And frustrating, sometimes – because gratification is not guaranteed. You’re not buying into some fashion fantasy concocted by marketing geniuses to appeal instantly to hundreds of thousands of other women. You’re deciding for you, and you alone. But, honestly, it’s also fun. Because when you get it right, when you find a piece that you love and loves you back, it’s satisfying in a way that no wear-twice-and-bin item could possibly match.

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It’s made of what? Getting to know exotic fabrics Hemp A few centuries ago, hemp was as ordinary as cotton. In fact, the very first pair of jeans made by Levi Strauss was made of hemp.

This fibre is beloved of the eco-crowd due to its hardiness: it grows rapidly and doesn’t require pesticides or fertilisers.

It’s also comfortable on the skin, has good breathability, is strong and long-wearing and has easy-care properties.

It would undoubtedly be much more popular today had the US government not banned its cultivation due to (unfounded) guilt-by-association with its co-species marijuana.

Bamboo Fibre created from the inner core of this rapidly-growing grass has been hailed as a sustainable wonder. Indeed, bamboo fabric is beautifully silky and lightweight. However, eco-purists should be aware that the fibre production process, ordinarily similar to that used for rayon, typically involves toxic chemicals that may adversely affect workers’ health.

Soya A by-product of the tofu and soymilk industry, this fabric is a bit more delicate than bamboo and may be used in a blend 32 31

with other fabrics. Like bamboo, soy pulp is broken down into spinnable fibre using toxic chemicals.

Peace silk In ordinary silk production, the silkworms are killed prior to unspooling. With peace silk, the worms are allowed to vacate alive, in their own time. Wild, or “tussah� silk, is made from cocoons harvested from nature rather than cultivated.

Organic silk Gleaned from worms reared without the hormones typically given to boost silk production.

Tencel A cousin of rayon, similarly made from wood pulp (raising the potential red flag of deforestation), but using chemicals that are less caustic, hence more worker-friendly.

Coming soon to a dressing room near you: fibres made from corn starch, post-industrial waste (attention, Goths!), seaweed, coconut shells, banana stems...

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How to do it right If you’re like me, you can be sent into a frenzy by an alluring display of beautiful clothes.

It’s as true for ethical originals as it is for vintage marvels as it is for the entire first floor of Harvey Nichols. So, when I’m on the hunt for an ethical original, I deploy some tried-and-true shopping mantras to help keep my worst impulses in check.

These help me slow down and focus and think “long-term”.

I like to think that every woman of true style, sirens with a distinctive and beautiful and consistently arresting way of dressing – Cleopatra, Madame de Pompadour, Mrs Simpson – bore at least some of these principles in mind while shouting at her dressmaker:

Any garment I’m considering must adorn me Adorn is a great, old-fashioned word, with different possible meanings, like “ornament”, “honour”, “beautify”. If a dress does all this, I’ll want to wear it forever, no questions asked. An ethical original should help me look my best possible self – even a simple t-shirt. Its colour makes my skin glow. Its cut enhances my curves and angles. It has the sort of just-right fit that lends comfort, security, ease of movement, lack of fuss. It reinforces my presence rather than clamouring for attention, or being so drab as to be invisible.

It won’t make care demands I’m unlikely to meet I’m an infrequent wash-by-hander, and an even less frequent

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ironer. I hate spending a bunch of money at the dry cleaner’s; it’s not environmentally friendly in any case. This means knowing beforehand how demanding a garment is in terms of laundering and other care.

I will wear it on a routine basis Which means it isn’t: a novelty print of an ultra-trendy cut (like batwings!) ultra-delicate in fabrication or otherwise of such an overbearing personality that I only want to wear it a couple of times a year.

Remember, you don’t have to forsake fashion follies altogether!

Go on and buy that psychedelic-print batwing-sleeve chiffon muumuu second-hand, at a charity shop or dress agency.

Just don’t tell anyone who recommended it!

It will play nicely with the other clothes in my closet How often do we buy one-off skirts, blouses, jackets, that stay exactly that because they don’t work well with our other clothes?

Since the point of ethical originals is buying fewer and maximising their wear, it only makes sense to know what you need, and, once you’ve found it, think about how well it will go with the other clothes in your wardrobe.

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Closet Clouseau But to know if a piece is going to work well with what you’ve already got, it’s important to have some kind of grip on what’s currently in your closet. If you don’t know what you’ve got, not to worry, you’re in good company.

C.S. Lewis’s wardrobe must have been bulging: swallowing tweeds and woollies for months at a time, spitting them out when his back was turned. He turned that into enduring literature.

For his recognition of the mysteries, drama, and delights hidden in our wardrobes, he will be our patron saint of closet-clearing.

My personal collection is, to give it a positive spin, eclectic.

Sixties hostess gowns. Thirties chantilly lace top. A silk brocade concubine jacket. Getting these inmates to work attractively together is an ongoing challenge.

To stay on top of the situation, I clear my closet and cupboards to bare boards, twice a year. Everything is temporarily slung out on the bed, silks crumpling, sequins flying. It’s a chore, but once I’ve been at it for about five minutes, I hit the zone. My imagination starts to dance. I see previously unexpected patterns emerging, and I experience a pleasant nostalgia for days gone by. It’s a good thing to do.

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The aim is threefold: Weed out unappealing and ill-fitting clothes, thereby freeing up valuable space Visualise bold new pairings that might not be as obvious when everything’s squashed in See what’s missing.

So by this stage, after the first rough sort, I’ve got the clothes (and accessories, did I mention those?) in two rough categories: Things I like and want to keep Things I don’t, because: the fit is poor, they don’t really suit, I’ve already worn them to death, there’s something wrong, like a missing button, ripped seam, etc.

I bag up the “don’t likes”. In times past, I would have given them away, or thrown them out if they were utterly hopeless. I don’t do either anymore, because I’ve discovered the joys of restyling. I’ll talk about that in much greater detail in Chapter 5. In the meantime, this bag of potential Cinderellas is put on hold.

Now, instead of shoving all the clothes I intend to keep right back into the closet, I consider them once again, this time forming mental classifications of the pieces I wear: Once a week Once a month (-ish) Once a year (-ish)

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I find this to be incredibly helpful because it demonstrates in an immediate and graphic way what kinds of clothing are: The workhorses of my wardrobe Pieces I like and wear sporadically, but don’t rely on Purchases I like but, for some reason or other, rarely come off the hanger (for example the gowns, because I’m an infrequent guest at state dinners).

This exercise also acts as a reality check. We all have fantasy versions of ourselves. Often, especially at the beginning of a season, we buy clothes that match that alter-ego, the theory being that if we own them, we’ll wear them: voilà, the new me! And there goes that fantasy self, clicking down the pavement in three-inch heels and a pencil skirt – looking very rue Faubourg St-Honoré (in the middle of Hampstead Village).

Ah, reality. I’ve done the school run – in fact a fifteen-minute walk – a few times in towering heels. It inevitably results in my being short-tempered with the children, because my feet hurt like blazes as I’m dragged, stooping, by a five-year-old up the hill home.

As much as I would love to be that chic maman at the gates, car-free reality dictates otherwise. Likewise, as much as I love outré vintage garb of all kinds, many of my most beloved pieces spend most of their time parked in the dark. The truth is they’re costumes – delicate, restrictive, or eccentric – rather than everyday clothes.

Default wear, that’s another story. The fabulous fallbacks for 37

comfort, practicality, and style all in one. (Style matters. Comfort doesn’t have to mean frumpy). For me, in summer, that means cropped flowy trousers in an unusual fabric, a great pair of low-heeled sandals, and as finely-spun a tee as I can get my hands on. In winter, it’s jeans, great leather boots with a moderate heel, thin wool or cashmere jumpers, and some kind of gilet. Pieces like these, the tried-and-trues, are usually deemed basics, but what a hopelessly unglamorous term that is! It’s like calling your best friends your “basic” friends, when they’re the ones you rely on most to see you through.

How about you? What do you rely on? Much will depend on where you spend most of your day. If you’re a twenty-something in a conservative office, your list might include: a pinstriped suit, black heels, crisp white blouses... if you’re a hospital manager, you might go for soft knits on top, shoes good for bestriding long corridors below... if you’re a fashion student, you might incline toward bondage trousers and pinafores... what kind of uniform do you fall into? Is it different at the weekends? Are your going-out-in-theevening clothes glitzier versions of your daytime look, or radically different? Take a couple of minutes to ponder. Having a clearsighted understanding of your A-list wearables can bring order and rationality to how you shop.

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What you’re looking for If you think about it, it makes sense. Your most valuable players, the pieces that you love and rely on, the ones you wear more than once a week, are the types of clothing you should most actively consider when you buy an ethical original. The point is not to duplicate your current clothes with ethical counterparts, but to transition into them, once your current items are no longer of use. In this way, you are inclining toward pieces you know will play an active role, and you have reasonable assurance that they will work with what you currently own.

Conveniently, at this moment in the fashion cycle, ethical originals incline toward the basic in any case. It’s far easier to find a great variety of t-shirts, jeans, weekend-y skirts and trousers than it is to find organic tuxedo trousers, peace-silk stockings, a Fair Trade opera coat, you see what I mean. As more and more people realise the importance and good sense of wearing ethical clothing, variety will bloom, and a more diverse range will appear within easy striking distance. For now, we can take first steps with fairly straightforward pieces.

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Where to find ethical originals You have a rough idea of what you’d like. Here are some options for finding it.

If you’re ordering ethical originals online, you face a significant challenge in getting a great fit sight unseen and feeling unfelt.

Tips on maximising your chances for getting it right under these circumstances are provided in the online buying section of Chapter 5.

Shops/Boutiques You can find wall-to-wall sustainable clothing in Oxfam and Patagonia (which uses only recycled materials). American Apparel is committed to sweatshop-free labour. In London, the Equa Boutique in Islington and From Somewhere in Notting Hill are also devoted to ethically-sourced clothing.

Designers Go straight to the source: brands working in ethical design include People Tree, Noir, Stella McCartney, Beyond Skin, Ciel, Edun, Terra Plana footwear, Kuyichi, Loomstate, howies, Katherine E. Hamnett (check out websites for online sales and/or distribution).

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Ethical departments/brands ...within department stores and shops: M&S, Gap, Timberland, Oasis, TopShop, and an enlarging roll-call of traditional retailers are carrying ethical lines (ask the shop manager for guidance).

Online catalogues These include Adili, Fashion-Conscience, the Ethical Superstore, Gossypium, Nina and Lola,and many more.

Abroad Interested in exploring ethical shopping while you’re on hols?

If in New York City, make a point of visiting Barney’s New York department store for its Green collection. If in Paris, seek out the Alter Mundi shops for la mode bio. And don’t forget to check if your airline offers a CO2 offsetting scheme, whereby you pay a fee which helps fund emissions reductions programmes around the world. ”Retailers with good governance practices, good stakeholder relationships and that manage their social and environmental impacts are better long-term investments, providing better returns for the millions of individuals whose pensions and investments we manage.” Rachel Crossley, Director, Investor Responsibility, Insight Investment

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Buying for keeps Eureka! Good old Marks & Spencer is selling a Fairtrade cotton tee that seems to be the perfect replacement for your old fave, the one that tragically went dingy due to a poorly sorted wash.

Now what? Dash to pay so you still have time to hit the make-up counter before lunch hour is over? No! Step away from the till!

No more buying without trying on. Because you don’t want to acquire an ethical original only to shove it to the back of the closet for theoretical return because (surprise!) it’s not what you hoped for.

Remember the shopping mantra: it must adorn me (i.e. make sure it looks great). Let’s take a closer look.

Oh come let it adorn you Imagine it: a top that, every time you put it on, makes you look like you’ve spent a week at an Alpine resort. Radiant from breathing pure air, enjoying scenic walks, sinking into spa waters. So stop dreaming and go find it!

These wonder-workers exist, in all styles and prices. The key to their transformative power is colour. Colour that not only suits you, but literally puts roses in your cheeks and sparkle in your eyes.

Knowing what your key colours are (they are highly individual) will refresh your appearance in a way even a deluxe Eve Lom facial cannot approach.

“Buy one in every colour” has become a binge-buyer’s slogan, 42

but it is wrong in so many ways, not least because not all colours will work. There are only a handful that truly flatter any given individual. When you’re not wearing them, you are pulling your looks down, and you’ll need to trowel on the make-up to offset the pall on your skin. Quick, what is your worst colour? Mustard?

Raspberry? Silver grey? Chestnut? Steer clear, even if it teases you mercilessly in the form of a Stella McCartney blouse, priced at £30.

It’s not worth it at any price.

It’s all about the interaction between the fabric colour near your face and your skin/eye/hair tone. Some colours won’t do so much for your skin but will make your eyes seem more intense.

Other colours may pick up the highlights in your hair, making it appear richer, shinier, and more healthy. Some give you that instant spa-facial effect. Of all these image-boosting hues (your good colours), there will be one or two that work all these miracles at once (your best colours), even on days when the only thing you want to wear is your fluffy duvet.

The art of finding them has been discussed in quite a few books (notably the Colour Me Beautiful guides and Trinny and Susannah’s What You Wear Can Change Your Life).

It’s possible to have your colours professionally analysed, though pricy. Personally, I find the seasons categories that the colour analysts favour confusing. Instead, I rely on cheats that help me in other ways...

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Cheats to help you along

You know. Don’t you? Once upon a time, you put on a colour, possibly by accident, maybe something borrowed from somebody else, and seeing yourself made you say “Wow. I look much better than usual”. Deliberately make this colour a mainstay of your wardrobe, in the form of tops, shirts, scarves, jewellery, hair bands – anything that gets it close to your face. Don’t worry about looking predictable.

If you’ve got the colour just right, people won’t see a thing

but your eyes.

You can’t go wrong wearing any of the colours in your iris (there may be more than one) or the exact tone of your lips.

Listen carefully for compliments on a colour you’re wearing (these are almost always sincere). “That’s an

interesting colour” is not a compliment.

See what celebs with colouring similar to yours favour.

The worst reason in the world to wear a given colour is because the fashion press decided it’s hot. If it doesn’t suit you, you’ll look like a victim.

Take advantage of fast-fashion tables piled high with “one in every colour” and try the lot on, seeing which 45 44

one looks best (ask a friend to come along leave your money at home).

Work your neutral. You will look at least decent (and possibly gorgeous) in one of the following: black, taupe, beige, grey, navy. Stick with that neutral, and avoid the others like death (because honestly, that’s what you’ll look in it if it’s near your face).

Neutral colours are a mainstay of an ethical wardrobe, for very good reasons. They don’t shout, therefore can be worn quite frequently. They take all manner of accessorising with good grace, be it an antique piano shawl tossed over the shoulders, or a set of Murano glass beads, or a charm necklace refashioned from salvaged nuts and bolts (which can actually look pretty cool).

Black doesn’t suit all colourations beautifully. If it doesn’t and you must, break it up along the neckline with a scarf, blouse, necklace or other mediating factor.

Don’t ever buy a colour that doesn’t do wonders for you, just because it’s ethical, and just because it’s there. Hang tough and find something better.

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The cut of her cloth Any piece of ethical clothing you buy should fit you beautifully.

As advice goes, this sounds not only trite, but condescending.

Of course it should fit! We all know this. In theory. And yet... how many of us really understand what good fit is all about?

I dare say, taking a quick peek around the coffee shop, that lots of us believe “good fit” equals getting the zipper up without lying down on the bed. Or being careful that trouser hems don’t drag (like, two inches careful). Or wearing size 12, because that’s the size we always wear.

In other words, there’s a huge difference between a garment fitting (in the sense of not falling off) and fitting, in the sense of adorning. Getting to a personal standard of not just good, but fantastic, couture-quality fit with ordinary clothes is a pursuit that can take decades. At least that’s how long it took me. What I’d like to do here is boil down some observations, so you don’t waste quite as much time as I did trying to figure it out.

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The three faces of fit There are three elements to great-fitting garments, whether they originate from People Tree, Louis Vuitton, or a stall at Portobello: 1. The dimensions of the clothes (meaning the bust, waist, hip, rise, inseam measurements) come close to your own. This is the standard idea of something fitting well.

But other, more arcane measurements can dramatically alter the look and hang of a garment: shoulder-toshoulder width, sleeve length, sleeve circumference, thigh circumference (this last one really matters with jeans).

2. The shape or cut of the clothes, which ought to improve the look of your proportions, rather than making you look like a badly-cased sausage.

3. How the clothes work with your body in motion. In the limbo that is a shop dressing room, how easy it is to forget that we walk, run (sadistic bus drivers), bend, squat, reach overhead... most of these everyday poses go unstruck in the mirror before an item is purchased. It is only after we’ve been living in clothing for a couple of hours that its true fit is apparent. If it lets us down, we’re unlikely to want to wear the piece often.

These are critical considerations to make before buying a piece, if we want to love wearing it. All will be addressed here and in the next chapter; first, let’s look at how to play up our individual shapes through the shape of our clothes.

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One size never fits all Entire libraries have been written on how to big up your best assets and hide your worst. The reigning queens on the subject are Trinny and Susannah: their books and TV programmes are fantastic aides in finding the best cuts to suit your shape. I’m not going to add too much here apart from the following suggestions, which are as applicable for ethical originals as for all else.

Consider your body as being composed of verticallystacked sections. Head, neck, shoulders, bust, waist, hips/ bum, thighs, lower legs. Each of us has a section that is especially pretty. It could be your head! Hopefully, it’s not your feet. Highlight this section, by exposing it (bare skin draws the eye like a magnet), or by emphasising it through the cut/pattern/detailing of the garment, while keeping the other parts toned down.

If you want to look elegant in that classic Audrey-style way, go for elongation. Apart from the section you wish to highlight, strive to keep people’s eyes running right up and down. Note that an observer’s eye will snag on any disruption to the vertical: a belt, the transition from one colour to another, a seam stitched in a contrasting colour, tension wrinkles in a garment resulting from its being too tight (or too cheap to hang nicely after a spell of sitting down).

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Necklines are the frames for your face, and some will suit better than others. If you’re busty, a crew neck risks looking stuffed in. If you’re skinny, you don’t want to reveal upper ribs with a deep scoop. If you’re an older woman who doesn’t like her neck, don’t hide it behind a polo.

A lightweight scarf, folded to tie width and looped at the neck, will look prettier and less strangulated.

The one easy-to-fit element most women get wrong?

Trouser length. You can add two inches to the appearance of leg length by ensuring that your trouser hems break midway over the front of your shoe, and as close as possible to the ground over the heel, without actually dragging on the ground. Practically speaking, this means that you need different hem lengths to accommodate different heel heights. Perhaps a good reason to buy a new pair of howies, Levi’s, or Ascension ethical jeans? Or visit a charity shop for a classic pair at a gentle price?

If your body is Olympian, you can get away with a clingy fit over large stretches. If you are a mere mortal, think skim over your favourite bits, and drape smoothly over the rest.

Billowy only really works if you are dramatic, and close to six feet tall.

Most of the time our worst figure enemy is neither pounds nor inches, but poor posture. If you habitually slouch, think about signing up for a ballet or yoga class, or go the quick 50 49

and dirty route of buying a back brace at the chemist’s to help you train your muscles. You’ll gain at least three inches of height through the torso simply by standing right up, shoulders gracefully back. I’d wager this will do more for your figure than any waist-cincher ever will.

Another true fact: cheaply-made clothes will never hang as nicely as high-quality items, and the experienced eye can spot them at 100 paces. They will ruck and wrinkle and make you look like an accordian at day’s end (or, if they’re really cheap, by lunch).

The very best fashion investment you can make, ever ever, is a full-length mirror that is substantially wider than the width of your body. (True fact: Nearly every old building in Paris has a wall-size mirror alongside the exit door, and you know how good they look). The reflection is all the more telling if it’s positioned in good natural light. I hate my mirror, because it’s always brutally honest. But until I hire Rachel Zoe or some other Hollywood stylist, it’s also my best ally in the ongoing struggle to understand what my body is meant to wear.

“How hard it is for a woman to become self-aware and self-possessed... clothes and mirrors are always her allies...”

Anne Hollander

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I’ll have more to say about fit in the next chapter. For now, there’s one other important matter to keep in mind when buying an ethical original, and that is how you’re going to care for it. Can it be machine washed? Must it be machine dried? Does it require handwashing? Does it need to be dry-cleaned? Does it need to be ironed?

If a garment’s care requirements are more stringent than you have time or inclination to carry out, there’s no point in making a purchase. Right? So have a quick look at the care label to see how high maintenance it is, or is not.

Here are some typical characteristics: Organic cotton Launder as ordinary cotton (note: hang-drying will prolong its good looks; moreover, minimising your dryer use dramatically reduces your carbon footprint).

Organic wool Hand wash, dry flat. As with non-organic wool, do not wring.

Hemp An extremely durable fabric that can be washed like cotton.

Silk Hand wash when possible.

Bamboo Machine wash, cool, hanging to dry.

Soya Machine wash, cool, hang to dry.

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Getting your clothes clean in an Earth-conscious way

Is it really dirty? If it doesn’t smell and isn’t stained, think twice about chucking it into the laundry hamper;

sometimes simple airing is all it will need.

Seek out low-phosphate washing products. Many Oxfam stores, including the boutiques, now sell BioD detergents.

Set the washer to 30°C, and spin at the

fastest speed possible.

Try to minimise dryer use. According to the Green Guide, line-drying a single load of clothes prevents 3.5 lbs of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Smooth clothes fresh from the washer by hand, and hang so that wrinkles are weighted out (hangers with clips are really

useful in this regard).

A fold-away drying rack is a great investment.

If you’re short on space, prop it up in the bath.

You can bleach white cottons naturally by hanging in sunlight.

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Wrinkles in silk and cotton will ease if the clothes hang in the steamy bathroom while you shower.

Get some moth-proof storage bags so you won’t need those horribly toxic balls.

If dry-cleaning is necessary, ensure that your local shop is doing it right. Perchloroethylene, or perc, the most commonly-used dry-cleaning solvent, is toxic.

Eco-minded dry cleaners will use “closed loop” machinery that minimizes its release. Better still, they may offer wet-cleaning, CO2 cleaning, or the GreenEarth process, which are greener ways to go.

“It is a proven fact that you are more likely to get a job if you dress nicely. Object to the superficiality of this world all you like, but the fact is that the more women who look decent and feel self-confident, the more women there will be in good jobs so we can take over the world.”

Hadley Freeman, The Meaning of Sunglasses

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Reworn, reborn: second-hand clothes Now that the idea of “sustainability” has entered the thinking girl’s vocabulary, and we’re all more conscious about the virtues of recycling, the idea of picking up a cute frock from a charity shop, a vintage shop, or a dress agency seems all the more of the moment. It’s one more twist in the ever-colourful trade of second-hand garments, which of course has existed for eons.

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That great fashion reporter Charles Dickens here records the tendencies in Monmouth Street – the place to go for second-hand clothes in Victorian London: “great-coats with wooden buttons have usurped the place of ponderous laced coats with full skirts; embroidered waistcoats with large flaps have yielded to double-breasted checks with roll collars; and three-cornered hats of quaint appearance have given place to low crowns and broad brims...”

As Dickens notes, the ebb and flow of fashion surfaces in secondhand shops, but with nowhere near the dizzying surges evident on the High Street. In fact, charity shops, or “opportunity shops”, as they are charmingly known in Australia, are store-holds of a panoply of styles of the recent and distant past, offering women a profusion of cuts, colours and labels – ones that may suit body and soul far better than whatever trendy names and silhouettes are currently being promoted at retail outlets.

It may not be immediately obvious that charity shops are de facto ethical, but of course they are. The profits are spent on “giving something back” – education projects, medical research, social programmes. They offer local residents an opportunity to volunteer, to share their energy and know-how, to help their neighbourhood and the organisation. Finally, the shops showcase clothing and other goods that deserve continued life in the public eye, instead of premature demise in a landfill.

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Vintage shops and dress agencies may lack not-for-profit status, but their green credentials are impeccable, thanks to the renewed resources that they offer. They are the perfect antidotes to the relentless churn of the new in mainstream fashion, where trends are generated and trashed in ever-diminishing cycles.

Different types of second-hand shops offer different kinds of experiences. In dress agencies, we can appreciate the finer things in life, like the beautiful workmanship and fabrication of a Lanvin dress. The fact that it’s two seasons old may negate its value to its fashion-mad first owner, but we can see deeper and understand that it will help us look beautiful timelessly. In a vintage shop, we learn that a nipped-waist 1950s suit trains our abundant curves into a devastating silhouette, or that crimplene truly is a fabric for the ages, the stuff is absolutely indestructible. Maybe we want it, maybe we don’t, but where else is the past itself, as embodied in fashion, so easily recovered, re-used, re-loved?

“It is tempting to transform one’s personality with each New Look. But those fortunate women who have already established their own style and intend to preserve it should concentrate on the less startling models, which will not be dated like a bottle of wine by some current faddish detail.”

Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, A Guide to Elegance

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How second-hand shopping helps us all Whether we’re appreciating the distant past (in the form of a Victorian velvet bodice), or yesterday’s trend (a fast-fashion top), we are making taking an ethical step in purchasing at a secondhand shop, for we are (even if unconsciously) validating the labour of the people who contributed to the making of the garment in the first place.

Which brings up a matter which needs to be addressed: the fact that some of the clothes in second-hand shops may have originated in sweatshops. How is buying that sort of garment morally defensible, just because it’s second-hand? I believe that it is, for the following reasons: The business(es) responsible for the labour conditions do not profit from the purchase, therefore the conditions are not actively perpetuated There is the net good of money going to a worthy cause – possibly one that fights sweatshop labour as a mandate A perfectly wearable garment is still in play, rather than taking up space in a landfill One does justice to the effort of another individual, who despite possibly miserable conditions, was able to make a lovely thing.

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In the previous section, I talked about how buying an ethical original is best done with cool calculation, since we don’t want to go acquiring new stuff in a heedless, shop-’til-we-drop way.

We want to be sure we’re going to love it as much a month later as we do on the shop floor.

So with ethical originals, the optimal shopping mindset is level-headed and discerning, in order to find clothes that best suit our looks and lifestyle, and to avoid impulse-buying that ultimately disappoints. In addition to helping us look better as individuals, collectively this approach may help slow down the relentless churn of contemporary fashion, which encourages disposability at the expense of sustainability. With second-hand fashion, I believe the opposite is true. In this case, it’s Operation Rescue for undeservedly abandoned fab fashion. In fact, I urge you to try pieces on with an abandon you would never bring to the High Street.

By this I mean test drive new (old) styles, cuts, colours, just because. Even if you don’t really need them. Even if you’re fairly sure they won’t suit you. Go crazy with accessories. Work that dressing room in a beaded 60s sheath dress. A t-shirt in pine green.

A Chloé jacket that you could never otherwise afford.

“I cannot keep track of all the vagaries of fashion. Every day, so it seems, brings in a different style.” Ovid, The Art of Love

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Great pieces to acquire at...

Charity shops

(Because they’re always there): Grown-up clothing like trouser suits, professional-looking blouses, tops, jumpers, and cardies; glittery clubbing gear (if you must); fine overcoats; jeans, jeans, jeans; great belts.

Dress agencies Designer items; covetable foreign labels; special-occasion dresses and suits for weddings, parties, dressy occasions; beautiful shoes; designer jeans; excellent accessories.

Vintage shops Original retro looks (that the designers are all copying anyway); distinctive bags; unexpected gifts for men and women.

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The point is discovery. Freeing your mind of preconceptions about absolute rights and wrongs when it comes to worn-again fashion. Second-hand shops are the best style laboratories in the world, places to experiment, take risks, play dress-up, like we used to do with our Mum’s wardrobes. Our bodies change over time, so does our hair colouring, so does our overall self-image and notions about how we fit in and what’s fit for us. Charity shop try-ons help us keep track of what works for us right now, in an environment where subliminal inducements to buy (gorgeously flattering lighting, slimline reflective mirrors, coddling sales help) are not necessarily a given.

And if we lose our head and buy something inappropriate, at least it’s not a total waste (just the opposite, in fact; at least you’re doing the environment a favour!). Taking a friend along (especially one with great fashion nous) adds to the fun. You won’t always get the perfect result, but who knows? You may find your dream wedding gown in a charity shop! Or your favourite pair of jeans, ever. It could happen to you.

“The Parisian lady achieves her renowned chic less with money than by intense concentration on her clothes.”

Life magazine, 1949

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Loitering in a charity shop near you: synthetic fibres Made from petroleum-based chemicals, polyester and nylon raise significant issues for the ethically-minded consumer. They’re energy-intensive to make, can leave waste residues of toxic chemicals in air and water, and, in the case of nylon manufacture, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Moreover, since the resulting fabrics don’t biodegrade, they will be around far, far longer underground than they ever were above. What can you do about it?

Don’t mindlessly buy first-run fast-fashion made with synthetics. This only fuels the market and further fouls the planet.

Seek out recycled synthetic garments. The sportswear company Patagonia has been a pioneer in this area; M&S is aiming to increase its recycled polyester garment lines.

Buy your synthetics at second-hand shops.

They’ll continue to wear hard and, thanks to their easy-care properties, can hang dry.

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The lay of second-hand land If you are brand new to the second-hand game, I shamelessly refer you to my book It’s Vintage, Darling! In highly condensed form, here are some of the important things to know: Dress agencies: are the New Bond Street of the second-hand realm, places to find recent-season, often deluxe garments, in new or like-new condition. A premium dress agency is often indistinguishable from a high-end boutique, except for the pricing, which will be 1/3 to 3/4 of the original cost of the garment.

Vintage shops: Self-explanatory, except that the atmosphere and price points can vary wildly, depending on whether the shop is a trashy-smashy retro hole-in-the-wall in the Lanes in Brighton, an eclectic stall at Portobello or a shop like Rellik in London’s Golborne Road, which offers museum-quality pieces.

Charity shops: Ground zero for the dedicated trawler, these wonderful places are also wonderfully varied. Visit Oxfam’s Gloucester Road shop in London and you might think you’ve been transported to a secret annex of Harrods, so thick on the ground are the Chanels and Dolce & Gabbanas. Farther afield, you’ll find some charity shops to be the storied jumble of merchandise, ranging in quality from undervalued Jean Muir to decidedly dodgy club gear. It’s all worth a look in, even a try on, for you may be one of the tiny percentage of women who looks positively regal in a gold lamé boob tube.

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But they’re other people’s old clothes!

There’s a Little Britain sketch that always makes me laugh. Matt Lucas is poking through a charity shop, and persistently asking one of the staff, “Did anybody die in this?” When the answer is finally “Yes”, he brightens and says, “Oh! I’ll take it then!”

It captures all that is nervous-making about pre-owned garments.

If you have an aversion that is unshakeable, let me point out that it is always possible to find brand-new merchandise in charity shops, donated by local retailers, often with the price-tags still on.

Most good dress agencies demand that clothes be dry-cleaned prior to consignment; the owners can be outright snippy with sellers that try to avoid it. Other points to keep in mind...

Just because a garment has ended up in a charity shop does not make it substandard. It may have been the wrong size or an unwanted gift. Label queens can run wild. Marni! Prada!

Balenciaga! I’ve found all these Vogue A-listers in charity shops, typically for under £20. As well as less starry labels that still offer wonderful quality.

You are guaranteed to find more fresh make-up stains on the necklines in a High Street retailer after a busy lunch hour than you will ever see in a second-hand shop.

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I’ve spent a lot of time in Oxfam sorting rooms.

The volunteers are eagle-eyed in detecting stained, ripped, smoke-smelling or otherwise inferior merchandise and will not allow it on the shop floor.

How to assess the mileage on a given garment? Check the state of the fabric – no matter what the fibre, if it is fresh, it will have a tight, glossy sheen, whereas a worn and/or laundered item will appear slightly dull and minutely scruffy (due to the fibres lifting and abrading under stress). The label exhibits this in miniature – in an unworn and unwashed piece of clothing, the label itself is clean, crisp-looking, and unfaded.

For their part, fresh-out-of-the-plastic new garments are not necessarily “pristine”. Formaldehyde may be present in wrinkle-free finishes. Toxic metals may lurk in leathers.

Dyes can cause allergic reactions.

If you have and use a gym membership, commute on public transportation, handle money, or live with small children, pre-owned clothing is the least of your germ worries.

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It’s a jumble in there Earlier I mentioned the variety of styles that can be found in second-hand clothing stores. Some find this off-putting. I love it, because it’s such a change from the lock-step pattern cutting that typifies the High Street in any given season. My options aren’t limited to a cropped jacket with big buttons – I can find double-breasted blazers, loden coats, redingotes, hacking jackets, waxed coats, Crombies, capes... one of which will look great, fit wonderfully, and suit my current wardrobe.

What’s more, trying on a variety of different silhouettes (as opposed to mass retailing’s seasonal handful of cuts) vastly increases my understanding of the different aspects of fit.

“Dior, Marc Bohan, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent would ask you, ‘What are you going to be doing in this outfit? Do you need to run or dance? Don’t choose velvet if you’re going to sit long hours at a gala, it makes a mark on the seat.

Let’s not make it tight at the seat, it wrinkles when you stand. This length is good for you, that is not...’ ” Leslie Caron, quoted in Deluxe, by Dana Thomas

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A matter of millimetres In the last chapter I offered tips on figuring out what sorts of cuts might work for you. Let’s take a closer look now at size.

Dress size is the preoccupation of many a woman’s life, a shame because the entire concept is bogus. Nowhere is this more evident than in a second-hand shop. Here’s why: Sizing on contemporary clothing is not standardised from one manufacturer to the next. One pair of trouser’s “12” might be another’s “14”, and vice versa. There’s really no such thing as “your size”. You probably span two, maybe even three, depending on who’s making the garment and in which country.

Vintage size tags can be utterly misleading – the garment is typically much smaller than the tag would lead you to believe.

(If you’re unsure, and don’t want to get irretrievably stuck in a fifties wiggle-dress, ask the shop manager for her opinion).

Just because a garment is your (alleged) size, doesn’t mean it will fit well in the sleeves, the thigh area, the shoulders...

For all these reasons, don’t get hung up on numbers. Let it go.

Let sensations be your guide. Clothes that fit you beautifully will feel like a second skin. Take advantage of the variety in second-hand shops to experience how clothing fits and falls on your body. With time and practice, you’ll come to know without even a glance in the mirror that a garment is sitting just right.

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The cut of your cloth Much as very good re-upholstery sits snug atop the curves of a sofa, your clothes ought to sit with just enough ease to allow unrestrained movement. If you see wrinkling of any type, beware!

It means the garment is either too big (which causes saggy, curved wrinkles) or too tight (which causes straight, short wrinkles).

Have a flip through a fashion magazine and look out for how many wrinkles you see in the advertisements and editorial photos.

None, right? They’re a sign of poor fit. Now take a look down the street and see how many you can spot. They’re everywhere.

Because most women rely on the size on the tag, rather than the evidence before their eyes.

The elemental fit aspect of any top, jacket, coat, or dress is how well it fits on the shoulders. Get this wrong, and nothing else can make it right. If you’re unsure, have a look at the seam that attaches the sleeve. It should sit right atop the point where shoulder bone meets arm bone. Especially if a top or dress is trapeze-shaped or tenty, this aspect of fit should be spot-on.

“With Balenciaga, it all started with a sleeve...

The setting-in of sleeves remained one of his obsessions.”

Catherine Join-Diéterle, The Golden Age of Couture

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Good fit feels great How a garment sits on your body also comes into play with the last of the three major fit elements: comfort and wearability. If a piece of clothing makes you uncomfortable, this will reflect in your face, posture, attitude. We all have a skirt that’s really cute and we’d wear it more often... but the waistband pinches, especially after a big lunch. Or a top that develops horrid creases after it’s been sat down in for a day’s work. Or shoe-boots that were so mod-looking in the shop but so medieval-feeling after the long change at Waterloo.

All of these play, perhaps subconsciously, on your choices in the morning, and can mean a wardrobe item gets relegated.

Comfort doesn’t have to mean fleece tops, Ugg boots, or leggings, but that’s why these garments are so popular.

Is it possible to get legging-level comfort with a pair of dress trousers? Ugg-quality cosiness with an ordinary pair of boots?

Fleecy ease with a fine merino jumper? I believe so, but you have to think consciously about exactly what your body feels in a potential purchase, no matter how much you might love it for other reasons.

How often have you fallen in love with a piece of clothing, because the colour is so great, the pattern so fresh, the cut so flattering, the style so you... making you overlook the fact that it’s a little too tight – no matter, really, you do need to loose half a stone.

But you don’t. And you never wear this ever-so-attractive garment because to do so is an eight-hour lesson in reproach.

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Put it through its paces Any size or fit niggles you experience in the dressing room are as nothing to the discomfort they will cause later on, after a couple of meals and hours sitting upright in an office chair, or bending down to clean up the toys. This is why I urge in the strongest possible terms that when you are considering a piece of clothing, go for a proper walk around the shop, bending, stretching, to see how it behaves in real-world terms. If it rubs, rides up, rucks or otherwise misbehaves (and the problem can’t be fixed easily), then with regret, but the wiser, put it back on the rail.

Oversized clothing offers its own set of issues, less of comfort than of frump factor. We all get it wrong sometimes, but it’s possible to train your eye to be more discerning, especially when it comes to fit at the shoulders (no dimpling where the sleeve sets in), the bum (who needs saggy fabric here?), and around the middle (where a neat fit is almost always more flattering than an excess).

“Affectation is an awkward and forced imitation of what should be genuine and easy, wanting the beauty that accompanies what is natural.” John Locke, Philosopher

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How poor fit can let you down Too tight around the waist, especially jeans. Denim will stretch to an extent, and this should be taken into account before purchase, but a waistband won’t have as much give as other areas. Jeans should be comfortable, it’s their job. If not, throw them back.

Sometimes cuffs can be too tight on blouses because the sleeves are a half-inch too short. These will restrict your movements and annoy you over the course of the day.

A t-shirt or vest ought to be long enough to meet the waistband of most of your trousers. Think hard about how long the top is, whether it will ride up annoyingly over the course of daily life, and whether it will shrink in the wash.

Even if you’re working a Gisele-quality washboard, bare tummy is so 2006, darling.

Long skirts are so gorgeous and feminine, but they will drive you bonkers if the fabric binds and flaps around your legs while you’re rushing for the bus. Only ever buy a hobble skirt on purpose.

If you buy a great frock at vintage, make sure you can do and undo the back clasps yourself, unless you have valet service at home.

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Au courant in vintage clobber So second-hand shops offer a variety of styles unparalleled by the High Street. But I’m duty-bound to point out that any girl who wants to look up-to-the-minute trendy can, if she’s clever and willing to do some spadework, do just that, without wasting money on throwaway fast-fashion.

Think about it. Where are designers and stylists getting all their inspiration? From the past. Portobello market, first thing on a Friday morning, is heaving with fashion professionals hustling from stall to stall, snaring fresh looks from old clothes, sneaking photos of said garments, committing details like button placement and lapel shape to memory. Design houses send representatives to the high-fashion auctions at Christie’s, not only to retrieve great house pieces for their archives, but to find archetypal frocks and suits that have a proven track record in style. London’s Steinberg & Tolkein, back in its heyday, hosted entire brigades of the fashion pack in its warren-like lower floor.

Thus great old looks are recycled, first on the catwalks, thence onward to Browns, Matches, and Net-a-Porter, and, given fastfashion’s blistering turnaround time, right into the chains and the supermarkets, alongside the bin liners and canned hams. How can you take advantage if you’re a committed second-hand shopper?

At the beginning of each fashion season, the women’s glossies offer special supplements about the new collections, complete with loads 72

of photos and headline bulletins of the trends. The editors boil it all down into simple formulas like “belts at the waist”, “fluoro colours”, “padded shoulders”, “gladiator sandals” (imagine that look)!

With the trends fresh in your mind, you can scour second-hand shops for the original versions (quickly, because in-the-know fashion followers will be doing the same thing). Gladiator sandals may not be ten a penny at a charity shop (until their current season is up), but you’re always sure to find fantastic belts, apropos hues (as long as they suit!), prints that chime with the latest from Paris and Milan, and reasonable approximations of the silhouettes of the moment. Oh, the satisfaction. Working the looks and being ethical, all in one go!

Conversely, if you’re not bewitched by what’s currently going on in high-fashion land, second-hand shops are fabulous repositories for classics as well. Great trench coats. Immaculate white blouses.

Merino jumpers. Grace Kelly-calibre fake pearls.

Entire worlds open up once you give in to the pleasures of second-hand shopping, and you’ll get better and better as you go along. At some point, having trained your eyes and your other senses to understand just what works for you and what doesn’t, you’ll find yourself looking at a piece and quickly dismiss it as wrong. But then a light will go off. You’ll know how to make it right. You’re ready to restyle. Not only is remaking old clothes into something fresh and fabulous tremendously ethical. It’s also the biggest fashion adventure of all.

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How to find great clothes in a charity shop: Frances Weeks, Oxfam boutique manager Who better to offer an insider’s tips on finding the hidden treasures? Frances has managed several highly successful Oxfam shops and is now overseeing the flagship Oxfam boutiques in London. Here she lends her advice on how to work the rails to best advantage, especially in a more traditional charity shop that has a huge span of donated clothing on offer: Definitely leave enough time. Patience is required to comb through all the rails, however well-organised the shop!

Disregard sizing. The way clothes fit is subject to fashion as well as personal taste but sizing also varies between shops, countries and decades. Always try on before rejecting on the grounds of size.

In fact... always try on anyway! Many items lose their original “hanger appeal” without the merchandising which may have accompanied their initial retail foray, and everything deserves a second chance. If you are attracted by a fabric, style, label, whatever, give it a go. Lots of things “look better on”!

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Look everywhere in the shop. Not because things will have been put in the wrong place, but because the hidden corner is what makes the charity shop special. I have never come across a jewellery counter/cabinet in a charity shop that had nothing I wanted to buy! Equally, don’t forget the menswear section, the belt hook, basket of hats, piles of fabric on the top shelf, jam jar of badges (hmm, see tip 1)!

“I do not believe that any peacock envies another peacock his tail, because every peacock is persuaded that his own tail is the finest in the world. The consequences of this is that peacocks are peaceable birds.� Bertrand Russell, Philosopher

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The fine art of restyling Whether you call it remodelling, refashioning, refurbishing, or revamping, the concept of transforming undesirable or unwearable pieces into gorgeous reinvented clothes is buzzing through the fashion world. Again.

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Like all great fashion ideas, this one is far from brand new.

Restyling was formerly a mainstay of the fashionable woman’s wardrobe – a means to update still-wearable (but slightly outmoded) dresses, coats, and suits to fit the current silhouettes. Here is Lady Gladwyn, writing in April 1947, at the dawn of Christian Dior’s New Look: “The dressmaker came and altered the jacket of my very ancient coat and skirt, nipping it in at the waist in the approved new fashion, and thereby, I hope, enabling me to wear it this season.”

The fabric shortages of the Second World War made every woman a restyling expert. The wonderful booklet, Make Do and Mend, issued by the Ministry of Information in 1943, assured readers “There are almost endless possibilities to be considered once you start looking at old clothes with the idea of remodelling them.”

It need not stop with old clothes, of course. Restyling was dramatised in glorious Cinemascope when the ever-resourceful Scarlett O’Hara tore down the green velvet curtains of her ancestral home, to source fabric for a ballgown to win the eye and heart of Rhett Butler.

Restyling is a very broad church, encompassing debutantes as well as fashion rebels. One of my favourite memories of the past year was visiting Stelios, owner of the dress agency of the same name in Cheval Place in London, and seeing the delicate convalescent under his expert care: a 1930s presentation gown of heavy peach silk covered from bodice to train in a whirlwind of half-inch-long silver

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bugle beads. Some of the beading on the bodice had come loose, and Stelios’s tailor was painstakingly replacing each missing bauble from less visible areas on the skirt...

Across London in Brick Lane, the team behind Junky Styling, Kerry Seager and Annika Sanders, have been reworking new garments from old since 1997, and their Wardrobe Surgery service offers couture remodelling using the customer’s old clothing.

Meanwhile, the Internet is, as always, the incubator of a movementin-the-making. The anarchic geniuses behind the AlterNation website, which is devoted to the conversion of charity shop also-rans into fantastically expressive new gear, have just published a book of the same name.

Restyling is a concept ready to relaunch for all kinds of reasons.

It’s ethical – nice pieces are given a fresh life, with little to no impact on the environment. It’s individual – by its very nature, a restyled piece is one of a kind. It’s creative – in a time when we’ve all become so detached from the origins of our clothes, restyling is a way to rethink a design from the seams out.

Given its incredible range, vibrant aesthetic, and resourcefulness, restyled clothing seemed a natural for Oxfam to include in its new boutiques. Established re-workers such as Defraye as well as McQueens-and-McCartneys-in-the-making from the London College of Fashion will be represented, with ever-changing, no-single-one-the-same creations on offer.

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So it’s eminently possible to walk into an Oxfam boutique, where the pieces are curated for style, wearability, and up-to-theminute appeal, and buy a piece of ready-made restyled art.

But maybe you won’t want to stop at buying. Perhaps you will be so inspired by the simple yet ingenious ways to make new from old that you yourself are drawn into the restyling fold a bit earlier, at the creation stage. This section of the book is all about how you can become a re-styler as well.

What? Me a fashion designer?

I know what you’re thinking. Really, I do. But let me assure you that it’s possible to restyle with no sewing knowledge whatsoever, because it’s really more about a mind set than a skill set. You don’t have to be a fantastic seamstress (or even be able to thread a needle) to have a go. My abilities are limited to affixing buttons and adjusting trouser hems (don’t look too closely at the stitch work). I can’t operate a sewing machine (but pine to learn, and will someday, when an orphan Singer lands on my doorstep).

Despite these disabilities, I’ve been actively restyling for about five years now. It’s a skill anyone who hangs out in charity shops or lurks on eBay long enough automatically tunes into, for so many pieces acquired there need a little help to be brought to full potential. If a particular project requires a lot of help in the form of true tailoring or dressmaking skills, I hire the job out to people 80

who can stitch in a straight line. And I still pay far, far less than I would to buy the resulting equivalent garment brand new.

In fact, if restyling requires a talent, it’s this: you need to be able to see beyond a piece’s current role, and, at the same time, understand its current limitations. Given these two factors, you then imagine it in some other guise. A run-of-the-mill bridesmaid’s gown cut down into an outstanding party top? A piano shawl into a scarf? A brother’s baggy knit jumper transformed into a cute shrug? Once you get started, you won’t want to stop, because potential is everywhere. This section explains the hows and whys.

Raw material Remember that bag of wardrobe discards, the clothes from your closet that you were ready to give away or recycle? Now’s the time to scrutinise them once again, not only for what they are (and aren’t), but for what they could be. It’s likely that the items landed in the ‘don’t want’ pile for one of the following reasons:

It no longer fits well (if it ever did)

Its silhouette is no longer in style

You’ve worn it to death and are just plain tired of it.

These pieces, which currently seem so free of energy and allure, do have one great benefit: they’re familiar. You know their limitations all too well. But are they truly hopeless? Let’s look at the issues and how they might be offset by clever restyling...

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It doesn’t fit Sometimes this can be improved in a measurable way simply by moving a button or clasp, to gain a looser or snugger fit.

(Groaningly obvious, I know, but you’d be surprised by how many women have been so brainwashed by the current buy-and-bin culture that the idea of altering any aspect of a garment never enters their minds.) On one Oxfam foray I came across a Japaneselabel boy’s safari jacket (cool!) that sat a bit too tight (arg!).

I bought it anyway, for £7, and dedicated half an hour to moving all the front placket buttons over by 3/4 inch. Presto: it fits like it was custom tailored. I wear it with a wide faux-croc belt, and fashion-y types ask if it’s Yves Saint Laurent.

Bear in mind that if a zip lies beneath the fastening, there won’t be much leeway. And what if you can’t sew on a button?

No more excuses, missy. Instructions are provided a few pages along.

Baggy-fitting jumpers, shirts, and dresses gain instant chic with some form of cinching – this works especially well if the fabric is lovely and drapey rather than bulky and clumpy. You can use a belt, or get more creative – a scarf, a bit of decorator’s trim, or even a long (sturdy!) necklace. A good collection of charity shop belts in various materials, widths, and lengths is invaluable in this regard (as is a good collection of oversized Oxfam jumpers).

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One of my favourite belts is actually a belly-dancing hip chain (no coins, just jingle), which lends instant Talitha Getty drama to boho summer wear.

If the garment is valuable, meaning made of great fabric and crafted with quality workmanship, why not take it to a local tailor or dressmaker for an opinion? If there’s enough seam allowance in the hems, you may be able to gain a couple of inches where it counts (vintage clothing tends to have more generous hems).

Most garments, no matter what their age, are easily taken in to accommodate a drop in size (try not to expect more than this – unless your tailor is an absolute genius).

If casual trousers are hanging too short, cut and hem them into capris or even shorts (basic hemming how-to is described in a few pages). Likewise, if sleeves are too short, you (or a tailor) can cut them to three-quarter, short, or sleeveless length.

A second option for too-short sleeves or trouser hems is adding a lengthening band of fabric. Ribbon or lace can work wonderfully for lighter summer trousers. With jeans, consider salvaging the bottoms off another, similar-diameter pair and affixing them inside out for an interesting faux turn-up look... alternately, for autumn wear, sew on a band of heavy tweed in a colour that complements the denim.

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The cut is no longer fashionable If you have wardrobe items that are beautifully made but slightly outmoded, there’s no reason to discard them or banish them to wardrobe limbo. Bring in a competent garment surgeon and find out what he or she can do in terms of nips and tucks (information on finding one is described later in this chapter).

Here are some options: A-line skirts can be cut into a pencil silhouette by a tailor.

A tailor can alter wide flares into a skinnier shape.

If you have a top that is of an unfashionable tunic length, give a thought to hemming it shorter and/or belt it at the waist for a fresher silhouette.

With thong-flashing jeans consider grafting on a second waistband (from an otherwise unwearable pair) above the first.

Wear with two belts, or cut the lower set of loops off.

Create flairs from skinny jeans by cutting open the inseam below the knee and adding a triangle of floral fabric.

Very Janice Joplin!

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It’s looking tired and the worse for wear Suit jackets in lighter fabrics can be tailored down to waistcoats (Stefano Pilati is doing this look at YSL this summer; Prada showed armless long coats last winter).

If you have a moth-holed jumper, cover the holes with badges, baubles, decorative patches, clever embroidery, or cut offending sleeves down to a shorter length.

Always a bridesmaid? Get some mileage out of it! A long gown can be cut shorter for greater wearability. (There’s more about gowns later in the chapter).

If a garment is truly a loser i.e., a suit gone shiny from too much wear, can any element be salvaged? Cuffs? Buttons?

This is just a sampling of ways to go. Other ideas may inspire you in the pages to come. In the meantime, let’s quickly look back at your discarded pile. If pieces remain that are so utterly hopeless you can barely cast eyes upon them, dispose of them properly. Take them to a charity shop, recycling centre, or some other facility that can ensure they are channelled to an environmentally responsible fate.

Or... hold a swap party with girlfriends – a cheap and tremendously cheerful way to freshen up stuff in your wardrobe. Here’s how it works: everyone brings their no-longer-wanted pieces and swaps for free. A couple of bottles of cava – or Bolly if you’re going 85

for an Ab Fab vibe – help loosen tongues for the inevitable catwalk critiques to follow.

Obviously, no matter how you are recycling your clothing, be sure it is clean, as a courtesy to future handlers and wearers.

A charity shop cannot afford to launder pieces as they come in.

If anything smacks of wear (stains, cigarette smell, pet hair, or worse), it will be sent for flocking – even if it’s otherwise brilliant.

This would be a shame, because it vastly reduces the amount of money the charity would earn from its sale.

Restyling for needle-phobes: scarf arts You’re a crafty one, you. You’ll figure out ways to make things go your way. Because fashion is not all about sewing. It’s also about folds, draping, clever knots, and artful pinning. Entire costume histories were written without the aid of a sewing machine!

To get comfortable with the idea of knotting in different ways for different effects, that old classic, the scarf, is the best possible item. Find a square one – quite big, at least a metre long and high. You’re sure to find something workable at an Oxfam shop.

It doesn’t have to be heavy silk (though it wouldn’t hurt); do try to find something nice though – the Italian designers make some gorgeous ones. eBay also has beauties at ridiculously low prices (more on eBay later). Got it? Great. Now find yourself a mirror, and get ready to tie one on.

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Project 1: wrap halter It’s summer and it’s hot (hurray!). You’ve run low on cute breezy tops. Instead of making a dash to a fast-fashion outpost to buy some tatty something that every other girl on the High Street will be wearing, get your scarf and: 1) Flap it out on the bed or another flat surface, wrong side up.

2) About 1/3 of the way down from the top edge and midway across, twist up a handful and knot it off quite tight.

3) Stand in front of a mirror, hold the scarf right side out, and bring the two upper corners around your neck and tie, so that the central twist is about sternum-high.

4) Bring the two lower corners together at the small of your back and knot. If either of the back knots seems too bulky, keep knotting to make a tidy chain.

5) Fluff and arrange so that scarf hangs prettily.

Note: If you don’t want to feel overexposed, try this look over a close-fitting tee in a complementary neutral colour; it’ll work with all sleeve lengths.

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Other fun looks possible with a silk square As a first step, make a strip out of the square by taking the two opposite corners and folding each one down and inward by a couple inches, and down and inward again, continuing to fold until the two sides meet and the strip is about two inches wide. Be sure to fold so the best side is facing out.

Girl’s own necktie This looks especially fine if you’re wearing a shirt and waistcoat.

Ask a male companion to stand behind you and help you tie the strip into a loose Windsor (or other traditional tie knot).

Warning: he may get frisky.

Pussycat bow This is a great face-framer if the colour of your top isn’t one of your best. Take your strip and tie a loose knot in the middle.

Put the scarf on so the knot is in front of your neck, then loop the loose ends around the back of your neck, and then back around through the front knot, pulling them snug.

Knots landing This is a great way to liven up an open neckline when you want something other than a necklace. Take the strip and knot three times along its length (do the middle knot first), then tie in back to make a choker.

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Quickie glam cover-up No matter how hot it gets, once the sun goes down you’ll want to wrap something over your shoulders. Here’s a look nicked off an elegant woman spotted in Marbella: take a lightweight shawl or pashmina, fold it into a long, narrow strip, as above, then lay the middle against the nape of your neck. Drape the two loose ends under your arms, and knot ends together in the middle of your back. Adjust for warmth/drama.

“Representatives of fashion are often those whose surprising originality leads them to a very private outward expression of themselves... they may border on exhibitionism, or even eccentricity, but their means of self-expression curiously corresponds to a need in others who, in a modified way, copy them. Thus they create taste.” Cecil Beaton

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Baubles rerocked Restyling without needles isn’t just about fabric. Did you know you could restyle jewellery as well? Try this the next time you’d like a flash new necklace, fast and cheap. In your jewellery box (or in a charity shop) find a sturdily-strung faux pearl necklace (not too plastic-looking; decent imitations are available for just a couple of quid). Next find a cute brooch; a round one will probably work best.

Affix the brooch onto the string of the necklace between some pearls, so that it hangs like a locket. Instant bling!

That wonderful shrinking feeling Knotting is the ideal first step into the world of restyling because it reshapes a garment while leaving it essentially intact. Any mistakes made are between you and the mirror (and all of the High Street, if your halter knots weren’t tight enough).

The next phase of your restyling initiation is a bit more definitive. In that it involves scissors. But we use them only after destroying the original garment in another way. Indeed, this is a grand project to embark upon if you’re feeling kind of Godzilla.

Just keep those scissors pointing away from me.

What happens when you put a pure-wool or cashmere jumper in the wash? Destroyed, yes? Felted down into a matted, teensy mess? Well, that’s one way to look at it. But felt is a fabric with

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brilliant possibilities for sewphobics, because it doesn’t fray and therefore can be cut into any sort of shape and pretty much stays that way. Besides, reclaiming an old jumper is good in green terms.

In Green is the New Black, Tamsin Blanchard reports that if everyone in the UK bought one reclaimed woollen garment each year, it would save an average of 371 million gallons of water and 480 tonnes of chemical dyestuffs.

For raw material, keep your eyes out for an oversized, stretchedout, possibly even bobbly and moth-holed 100% cashmere, merino, or lambswool jumper (potential sources: dad, brother, boyfriend?

On second thought, best not take the boyfriend’s, it’ll probably have some ridiculous nostalgic back-story attached, and he’ll sulk for weeks).

“While no one is advocating the return of clothes rationing (although a slight reduction in the quantities we buy wouldn’t hurt any of us), we can learn a lot from our grandparents about how to look after our clothes and make them last longer. The time it takes to sew on a button or darn a hole in a jumper is a fraction of what it will take to go out and buy a new one. And it’s far more satisfying.” Tamsin Blanchard, Green Is The New Black

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Project 2: felted jumper If you can ruin this sad sack in clear conscience, set it aside for the next (ideally infrequent) occasion you run a warm wash and dryer load of dark items. Throw the jumper in with the rest. It’s the combination of heat, water, and agitation that will shrink the woollen fibres; the dryer is the coup de grace. (If the jumper already looks small enough after washing, let it hang dry).

Now that your jumper is matted and small, press it into form with a warm iron. It may be cute enough to wear it as is, but if you’re feeling more experimental... make ready your dressmaking shears.

Don’t just hack into it, though. Think about what you’d like to do, possibly even cut a pattern out of paper, or use another top as a template, pin it to your victim, and chalk the outlines, so you’re not just chopping away willy-nilly.

Possibilities: cut it down the middle into a cardie. Chop it into a shrug.

Make it into a cute tee by cutting the sleeves short and the neckline into a V. Frankly speaking, it’s unlikely your first couple of goes will turn out roadworthy, so play with really atrocious cast-offs first.

Once you get the hang of it, remember that these tops are extrabeautiful once embellished with ribbons, embroidery, pins, and other sweet trim. It might be enough to convince you to buy a packet of needles...

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Alterations: the basics every girl should know If you’re like many modern women though, the idea of picking up a needle and doing anything productive fills you with a vague sense of pique. Maybe it’s cultural memory. From the first crude darner fashioned from bone and sinew back in the Ice Age, a threaded needle has represented women’s contribution to society—a measure of her worth. Until about mid-way through the last century, upperclass girls with entire retinues of ladies maids were expected to be expert embroiderers, their hands busy at something useful.

For how many eons have women’s livelihoods been knotted to the needle? Today it continues, in so many parts of the world. With this slenderest of tools, a woman can eke out her livelihood.

Given the cultural associations of needle and thread, we may not see beyond the drudgery. But as a trade, sewing has uplifted far more lives than it has downtrodden. For the women who do it for a living, it is empowerment. It liberates them, by allowing them to ply their own skills and bring income into the family and community. With the help of enlightened businesses, it also provides a means to carry on traditions of local decoration and craftsmanship that otherwise might have fallen to the demands of industrialisation. Finally, for nearly all who do it, sewing is communal. A way of being together while working that allows for sharing ideas, issues, and laughter.

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Jane Shepherdson, voluntary creative adviser to Oxfam and CEO of Whistles, visited a workshop in northern Bangladesh that supplies to the manufacturer People Tree.

Here are her impressions: “The handicraft unit at Swallows is where it all happens. Here the yarn is dyed in huge stone troughs heated by an open fire into the most wonderful vibrant hues. Deep violet, bright chartreuse, and ochre contrasted vividly with the smoke-blackened walls of the dye house.

The next step is the hand weaving, whereby the yarns are intricately woven together to create a bolt of cloth. The women operating the hand looms were a feisty bunch, who claimed that the physically hard weaving process helped them to get rid of any frustrations, and indeed watching them slamming the bobbin across with some force as the cloth emerged from the loom did look pretty therapeutic. The cloth itself, something that I had previously thought a little coarse and rather basic, now took on a beauty and value that it had lacked. Simply the fact that these women were calculating in their heads when to throw the different coloured bobbins across to create the stripe, made the whole process much more creative than a machine-woven piece of cloth.

The women in the embroidery section seemed to be having the most fun. A group of seven or eight brightly clothed women sat cross-legged on the floor, around an enormous bedspread, each of them hand embroidering a perfect little flower, or a cross-stitched

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pattern, whilst chatting and gossiping amongst themselves.

It almost felt as if the stories they told somehow became interwoven into the piece they were working on, so that it became so much more special. I saw the finished product, which had taken those seven women 20 days to embroider, and not only was it spectacularly beautiful, but it was also something to cherish.”

A stitch in time As most of us do not need to sew for our supper, we can approach it for its many pleasures. It’s a means to get back to our hands and, as they become adept, appreciate their ability to make something lovely.

A sewing circle or knitting party derives much of its fun from the underlying hum of activity that draws the participants together.

Even performed solo, a small sewing project makes any television programme, no matter how dire, somehow improving.

(It’s probably unwise to confess this in print, but I’m especially fond of sewing along to America’s Next Top Model, and often wonder when Tyra will make the girls whip up their own outfits).

Never mind couture-quality detail work – there are three basic sewing skills every girl ought to have under her belt.

They’re tremendously helpful if you want to take restyling projects to the next level.

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Sewing a button Thread a medium-sized needle with thread that matches the colour of the garment. Try also to match the fibre if possible: wool thread with woollens, cotton thread with cottons, synthetic with synthetics. Once the needle is threaded (it helps to hold the eye up to a light background), knot the loose thread ends, and place the button on the desired spot. From the opposite side of the fabric, push the needle through, attempting to come up through a hole without too much wiggling of the button. Pull the thread all the way up and snip the tail ends behind the knot. If the button has four holes, stitch an x-pattern, if it has two, make parallel stitches.

Make about six passes in total. Loop the needle several times around the stalk of thread, then push it back underneath. Knot several times and cut the thread.

Hemming Take a pair of trousers (or, more ambitiously, a skirt): select desired length for trousers. Measure so both hems match. Pin up with straight pins. Thread the needle with a corresponding colour and knot the loose ends. Hold (inside-out) trouser leg so that the bottom edge is up. Working from right to left, anchor the thread at the edge of the hem turn-up (not passing through to exterior), then take a tiny stitch down and to the left, into the fabric the hem is being sewn onto, picking up only one or two threads. Lift needle

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back to the hem edge about 1/2-inch to the left and make another anchoring stitch. Alternate stitching between garment and hem to make a string of small v’s, not pulling thread too tight. This will result in “invisible” stitching on the right side of the garment.

Backstitch This is the basic sewing stitch, used to attach two pieces of fabric together. Thread needle and knot off ends. Hold needle on the underside of the fabric layers you would like to stitch together and push through to top. Move 1/8-inch to the left and push needle through to underside. Bring needle back up through the fabric at the mid-point of the first stitch (you’ll be going backward here), then sink it through the top layer about 1/8-inch ahead of the resulting stitch.

In some cases, fusible tape or fabric glue allows you to affix a hem without sewing – the heat of an iron melts the material and seals two pieces of fabric together. Do note that the resulting meld may not withstand dry-cleaning, and that fused hems lack the flexibility of sewn ones, and so will not hang as cleanly. If you’re not too fussed and the fabric is fairly stiff anyway, this is an option to consider.

People Tree, the pioneering Fair Trade-observing clothing company whose originals are sold through Oxfam boutiques, works with artisans in India and Bangladesh who have passed embroidery skills down through the generations. The hand embroidery on one evening dress will take a worker 36 hours to complete.

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Project 3: Gorgeous old tie into cool neck ornament Oxfam and other charity shops spill over with fabulous, mysteriously overlooked ties. They include the most gorgeous heavy silk twill from Como’s master mills, the finest luxury fabric in the world. With one, we’ll make an ornamental choker that will liven up any plain neckline with an unexpected shot of pattern and colour.

1). To find the best ties, look for a multiplicity of bright, clear colours and heavy weight, as well as the usual suspect designer names. Make certain there are no stains on the narrow end.

2). You’ll also need to source some popper snaps, metal being preferable to plastic. A decent hardware store or even a large supermarket will carry them.

3). To get the measure, stand before a mirror. Hold the narrow point of the tie right side out and facing down, about two inches to the left of your Adam’s apple. Throw the rest of the tie around the back of your neck and then tuck the strip underneath the narrow-end point, so that the point extends just a bit past the strip.

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4). Experiment with the length – you may prefer a choker collar, or something a bit longer. Using straight or safety pins, carefully pinpoint the crossover points (where the snap will go) on both faces of the fabric.

5). Now it’s time to cut off the excess tie fabric: make your cut about 1 1/2 inches past the second snap point (the one farthest away from the narrow point of the tie). This will allow enough fabric left over to hem neatly. To neaten the raw edge, hem it down with a backstitch (fold over and hem again if you are extra neat).

6). Next, affix the snap halves at the marked points. One large snap may be enough to secure it, or you may prefer two small ones.

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Essentials for the home sewing kit At a pinch, you can use one of those hotel-freebie sewing-kits, but you’ll find yourself much more inclined to do a task if you have all the right stuff to hand in a basket. This may be one of the more boring fashion purchases you ever make, but you’ll be grateful every time you pull it out.

Good scissors (sharp, and made for dressmaking – cuticle scissors won’t do!)

Straight pins (with bright balls at the top, for quick spotting when you drop them into the bed) Packet of needles, in varying sizes (larger for heavier fabric and leather) Tailor’s chalk, not strictly necessary, but fine indeed if you happen to have it All-purpose thread in black, white, navy, taupe Tape measure with inches and centimetres (the fabric kind, a carpenter’s metallic one won’t go round your bends) Clear plastic ruler to mark hems Thimbles (if you’re thin-skinned) Good iron 101 100

Advanced alterations – when and how to work with an expert Of course, some jobs are just too specialised to attempt on your own – especially if these are garments you intend to wear where your dress will be closely assessed by others. If a restyling job requires opening up seams and you’re not an accomplished sewer, then set your sights on finding the best tailor or seamstress in town.

How to audition and hire a fairy godmother/father Dry-cleaners often have tailors on staff, but skills of such individuals may be limited to simple hemming. Test their abilities by giving them a straightforward task, i.e. simple hemming (a tailor I used once – for obvious reasons – botched this very job, by letting the fabric down rather than taking it up). Once you get the item back, look closely at the workmanship. Is the stitching tidy and regular on the inside, and invisible on the out? Are the thread ends cut close to the fabric? Is the item pressed? If the answer is yes to all, then test them again with something trickier. They should always be willing to redo an unsatisfactory job for no charge.

Another way to find alterations helpers is to check the Yellow Pages, or even Google. If you have a sewing supplies outlet near you, ask at the till if they can recommend anyone. If you’ve had

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good work done at a shop or department store, discreetly ask the individual if they are willing to freelance.

One of the most effective ways of finding a fine tailor is to ask friends if they know someone. A woman whose clothes fit her beautifully undoubtedly has this resource at her disposal, and ought to be happy to share.

Important note: if you are lucky enough to own an old vintage garment (possibly inherited, possibly a lucky find at a market stall or shop) proceed with utmost caution in any restyling efforts.

Older fabric, especially silk, is prone to disintegrating if it’s been callously stored. Seams can fray under the slightest pressure. If you are in London, you might consider a consultation with the Victoria & Albert Museum’s vintage clothing opinions service, which welcomes the public once a month. Or perhaps a local museum or society has an expert willing to lend an eye and some advice. If the garment seems sturdy enough to withstand alteration, go with a practitioner who deals with old fabric frequently – a good option is an outfit that restores old wedding gowns. Have a hunt on Google to see if any are working in your area.

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Remodelling and repurposing Sometimes a little change makes all the difference. Would any of your clothes benefit from the following transformations?

Or could a charity-shop also-ran be made into a wardrobe all-star? Open your mind to the following possibilities:

Cut down sleeves from full-length to 3/4-length, short, or sleeveless.

Cut down trousers from full-length to 3/4-length, capri, shorts, or hot pants!

Cut down and edge jumpers from full-length to boleros or shrugs.

Open up jumpers into cardigans.

Cut down full-length gowns to tea, knee, mini, tunic, or top length.

Cut down old nightgowns into lovely cami tops.

“Floor-length dresses are hard to wear these days. No one really likes the sort of large cupcake effect they went for in the seventies – it’s a bit too prim and proper. But give it a bit of Roland Mouret, cut it well, slim the skirt down and brush it over the hips, let it skim the buttocks, and you have a red-carpet show-stopper.” Imogen Edwards-Jones, Fashion Babylon 104 103

Nip and tuck: ways to transform your clothes Remodelling is changing the original lines of a garment, to refresh its appearance and broaden its utility. Repurposing takes this idea one step farther, transforming a piece of clothing from one function to an entirely different one, say turning a long skirt with an elasticised waist into a sleeveless top (have a go! Remember to belt it for a neater look!).

Most of the time, remodelling is the realm of an expert sewer.

One who understands that adjusting one seam will have important implications to the hang of the garment as a whole. You may not be that sewer, but there is no reason you can’t work with a good one to bring your remodelling dreams to fruition. If you can’t afford a tailor for what is essentially a hobby, think hard about other ways to attract these skills to your corner. Do you have a relative who can sew? A friend? Could you barter for their expertise, exchanging their sewing hours for your babysitting/editing/dog walking/ lasagne cooking/fill-in-your-own-blank?

If you’re set on attempting a remodelling or repurposing project on your own, think positive, but don’t be overconfident.

It will probably take longer than you expect, and may not come off as you’d hoped. I say try it anyway. Risk is an underrated factor in modern life, and the sense of accomplishment we get from overcoming it is hard to beat.

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Project 4: cool top from long gown This works especially well with neglected vintage gowns with ornately decorated bodices (the section above the skirt).

Take a good look at how the bodice is attached to the lower part of the dress. Can it be detached with very careful scissor work?

Will the bodice’s hem remain intact? If so, even a non-sewer can have a go at carefully detaching it.

If the problem is more complicated (i.e., a zip runs through the bodice down into the skirt), then an expert needs to separate the sections and hem the top. Don’t neglect the skirt as a possible wardrobe add-on: can it be shortened to wearability?

If the dress was sleeveless, can the skirt fabric contribute to making straps? You’ll find that once you start looking inside a garment to see its potential, the puzzle work becomes addictive.

Luckily, due to their fairly short life in anyone’s wardrobe, neglected gowns are still fairly easy to find in vintage shops and even charity shops.

EBay is also an excellent source (there’s more to come on eBay and other types of online buying in the following pages).

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Problem pieces and how to restyle them into perfection Occasionally a garment falls out of favour in our eyes, not because of any wear issues but because mishap, accident, or foul play has befallen it, diminishing its lustre. So accustomed are we to a throwaway mentality that our first impulse might be to discard the piece, or consign it to the rag basket. This would be a shame, because so many flaws are easily fixed. In some cases, the fixes might even improve the look! Here are some typical garment flaws and possible solutions:

Holes Moth holes bedevil even the most careful clothes caretaker.

The best way to prevent them is to keep woollens clean of stains and sweat, for these are what attract the bugs in the first place.

Always wash woollens before storing them, and for extra protection, line the storage bags with lavender and cedar balls.

If you find a moth has been snacking on your Pringle jumper, after the mandatory cursing, repair the hole, using wool thread in the closest colour match. Turn garment inside out, and use an extra fine needle. Catch a few loops with the needle, draw the hole gently closed.

If the hole is located front and centre of the jumper, you can cover the damage with a sparkly beads, a rosette made of ribbon,

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a felt flower, or a gorgeous vintage brooch. The haberdashery department of John Lewis can provide loads of inspiration to this end. Better still, salvage some trim from an overlooked charity-shop item.

Tears If these run along a seam, they are easily repaired using a basic backstitch. If a pair of jeans is developing a rip at the knee, stitch it as soon as possible, otherwise it will develop into a sizeable hole, which will need patching, unless you want to look like a refugee from the Bon Jovi fan club, circa 1988. Iron-on denim patches are available at sewing shops; alternatively, make your own with a piece of salvaged denim and fusible tape (never iron directly on tape, use brown paper as an intermediary).

Stains Fresh stains on washable clothing often respond quite well to spot treatment with a quick dab of dishwashing liquid or even gentle shampoo. Older stains on cotton may freshen out after being sponged with well-diluted white vinegar. Be on your guard if a stained item has been laundered and the stain remains: it’s probably there for good. In this case, dyeing may be the best recourse.

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Missing beads/sequins Belles of the ballgowns, like their owners, may look a bit the worse for wear after a big night. Sequins and beads are vulnerable things; I have a few highly ornamented gowns that shed spangles every time they’re removed from the closet. If you have a treasure that is developing a notable bald patch, you can either try to match the ornament with a replacement from the sewing shop, or more simply, take bits from unobtrusive areas (near the hems) and use them.

Frayed hems In most cases these are best repaired by taking the garment up by an inch or so. If this is not possible, perhaps a new border in a different band of fabric could do the trick.

Hem tide-mark on let-down trousers/skirt This is a particular problem with certain types of fabric, like corduroy and suede. The latter will respond very well to a light going-over with sandpaper. If dirt is present, a clean white pencil eraser will probably be able to lift much of it. With corduroy, the problem is more difficult. A permanent marker in a colour close to the fabric, dotted along the line, may be the best (if imperfect) solution.

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Tinting and dyeing fabrics If you have a garment that has a (very) faint stain or is of a colour that you’d like to change, why not try dyeing it? (This could work especially well with a table-runner shawl!) You can buy fabric dyes in craft stores and even large supermarkets; some are made to be used in the washing machine.

Follow the instructions, being aware that the garment needs to be clean beforehand, and that the colour will dry lighter than it looks wet. Note that if a garment is stitched with synthetic threads, these threads may pick up the dye at a different intensity from the surrounding fabric.

If you’re dyeing woollens, use cold-water dyes, often used for batiking. Any dyed item should be washed separately after the procedure, just to be sure it won’t bleed.

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Source material While your own closet is the most obvious source of restylable material, it’s also possible to find wonderful things (as well as inspiration) in second-hand stores. Where once upon a time I would enter an Oxfam shop solely to find something instantly wearable, today I might go in hunt of a Cinderella garment; a piece whose charms might not be immediately obvious but with a bit of TLC (and inexpensive tweaking) could easily become a treasure.

Any one garment won’t show them all (otherwise it wouldn’t be languishing on the rack!). Here are some tell-tale signs of a great restyling candidate: Fantastic fabric Glorious detailing that remains intact on an otherwise lacklustre piece It’s the “odd man out” – a great floral boy’s shirt, a holey cashmere jumper in mid-summer...

It’s of a distinctly vintage shape that could be disguised or altered with clever nips and tucks It’s ankle-length. So many great dresses are overlooked for this simple reason!

It’s missing buttons, or a belt, or some other replaceable element

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It’s not a piece of clothing at all. Experiment with gorgeous household linens like tablecloths, runners, net curtains, all of which could have an alternative career in your wardrobe.

The Internet The Internet is also a fantastic source for both ready-to-wear and fixer-upper clothing. I have become a devoted eBay bidder over the years and find this to be one of my best sources for spectacular ball gowns and long silk nighties (that can be cut down into camis).

Oxfam’s Online Shop (www.oxfam.org.uk/shop) is another great provider of all sorts of goods, ranging from well-priced High Street jeans to more exotic items so kindly donated by the local duchess.

I must confess that there is a gambling element to buying from afar that I find irresistible. This very fact puts off quite a few potential buyers, who understandably want to see and try on the items they’re considering. Fair enough, but I contend that it is possible to successfully acquire wonderful pieces, new and second-hand, via the Internet.

No matter what the online source may be, there are a couple of rules I live by to avoid disappointment.

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Online bidding Getting the fit right ...is the trickiest aspect of online acquisition. Know your measurements cold, and be sure they match up with the item described. Don’t ignore the inseam measurement – you want to be sure trousers hang nicely with your shoes. Also be aware of the rise measurement: it’s a rude surprise indeed to discover that your brand-new trousers sit lower than all of your knickers.

When bidding on jeans, I generally look for waistline/hip measures exactly one inch larger than my own, and these usually fit just right.

Check the shipping cost Before you commit to buying, be sure you’re aware of any shipping, handling, or other charges. If you are buying from overseas, you may be charged duty on the item, especially if it’s sent via courier rather than by post.

Read the item description very carefully ...to assess the wear condition of the garment. With vintage, “mint” means close to perfect, “for study only” means it’s about to fall apart.

If you are unsure, ask the buyer, who should be happy to respond.

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Oxfam’s Online Shop ...you can be assured that you are dealing with an established organisation that offers a 21-day no-quibble return policy in the unlikely case that you are not satisfied with the item.

With eBay ...check the seller’s feedback. The more good recommendations, the more confident you can be. If you’re concerned about what you’ll be getting, be sure you can return it without hassles.

My own success rate ...with internet buying is this: I’m slightly disappointed 1/3 of the time (a second-hand garment comes in smelling smoky or is not quite the right size), well pleased about 1/3 of the time, and overjoyed about 1/3 of the time, because the piece is so much better than I expected. If you can live with this sort of ratio, go ahead and bid on the object of your restyling dreams.

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Finding (or founding!) a restyling community This is hardly the last word on the art of restyling – as more and more individuals become interested, more and more creativity will flow.

If you feel as though it’s something you’re intrigued to try but would like more support, think about finding a beginner’s sewing group, or take an adult-education course, or have a look around the Internet for a like-minded community... it could be a hobby, it could change your life.

Restyling saves money, heightens fashion consciousness, and allows us to wear beautiful things in fresh new ways. And it’s about as ethical as you can get. So why not get going?

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Inside cover/back

To the Oxfam volunteers

This book is available exclusively in Oxfam shops and on Oxfam Online shop.

This book has been written by Christa Weil and the views expressed in it are hers alone. The right of Christa Weil to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Text and illustrations donated by Christa Weil and David Downton respectively.

Copyright Š 2008 Christa Weil. Illustrations Š 2008 David Downton.

First published May 2008. All rights reserved.

This book has been published by Oxfam Activities Ltd, which covenants 100% of its taxable profits to Oxfam GB by gift aid.

Oxfam GB is a registered charity number 202918.

Heart on your sleeve CHRISTA WEIL

CHRISTA WEIL

From the author of It’s Vintage, Darling!, this book is for any woman who feels challenged by the goal of looking great and doing right by other people and the world we live in.

Heart on your sleeve demystifies what ethical fashion is, offers guidance on sourcing pieces ranging from Fair Trade originals to restyled ballgowns, and explains how wearing sustainable clothing can revolutionise one’s appearance for the better.

Heart on your sleeve

RRP

£4.95

ILLUSTRATIONS by DAVID DOWNTON

CHRISTA WEIL BC234699

The fashion-lover’s guide to finding, choosing, and wearing ethical clothes