October 15, 2019

Secondhand September: No New Clothing

On the last day of August, I signed up to Oxfam’s secondhand September.

A pledge to not buy any new clothes for the whole month.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure how I’d find it. September is my birthday month and I usually spend birthday money on new clothes. This year I’ve been making more of an effort to make better choices. I’ve been trying to buy from more sustainable brands like Lucy & Yak, but fast fashion still lures me in sometimes. I’ve always loved clothes and fashion – I studied fashion at uni. Clothes help me express my personality and they determine how I feel about myself. If I’m not feeling great, new clothes almost always make me feel better.

Image shows a woman with red hair wearing sunglasses, a blue and black spotty dress and black leather jacket.

That being said, it’s hard to ignore the fact that fast fashion has a massive impact on the environment. And in my quest to be more eco-friendly it doesn’t really feel like something I can ignore.

So first up, let’s talk about me and secondhand shopping. For a start, I’m bad at it. I have very little patience and a lot of charity shops feel like rummaging through a jumble sale. In the past, a mooch around a charity shop would be to find vintage tea sets. I never ventured near the clothes. I kind of feel that in Britain there is also a bit of a stigma around shopping in charity shops. Thankfully one that we seem to be getting over as more people wake up to the impact of our habits.

I kicked off my secondhand September by trawling eBay for THAT Zara dress. I really didn’t buy into the hype initially. White is not a good choice for me – I’m way too clumsy! When I discovered it was a fabric you could dye, it changed everything. I also know it’s a dress I’ll get a lot of wear out of and can style in lots of different ways.

But this dress also properly opened my eyes to just how s**t fast fashion really is.

The dress arrived in perfect condition. But once it took it out the washing machine after dying it some of the stitching had come away and there was a hole in it. Thankfully I was able to stitch it back up. When I looked at the seams there were other ones ready to go.

This was THE dress of the summer and considering Zara was still selling it only a few weeks ago, you know they had people in their factories churning those dresses out. And you know what? It shows that the targets were probably unachievable. I love the dress and the colour I dyed it. And I managed to fix it so I can wear it loads, but there probably would be people who would’ve thrown the dress away because there was a hole in it.

Image shows a woman with red hair wearing a blue and black polka dot dress and Dr Martens boots, walking away from the camera. She is walking along a paved path beside water with the Forth Rail Bridge in the background. It's a bright day, with a clear blue sky.

Image shows Mary Portas secondhand shop in Stockbridge, an old building with cornicing and light purple wood panels on the walls

My friend gave me a proper introduction to secondhand shops by taking me around all the charity shops in Stockbridge. Stockbridge is a pretty affluent area of Edinburgh, so you’re almost guaranteed to find some gems. It’s also home to the Mary Portas charity shop. It doesn’t look like a charity shop at all, more like an independent boutique. I think more charity shops need to follow suit with this, especially if more people are to be encouraged to shop secondhand!

I managed to get some pretty good finds during the month, including a pair of All Saints boots for £5 and a vintage Levi’s jacket from Armstrongs. And my secondhand September wasn’t only confined to clothing. I got a new (to me) iPad, you can get refurbished ones that look as good as new for much cheaper.

Secondhand September wasn’t as difficult as I expected.

I know for many people who’ve already successfully ditched fast fashion, a month without buying anything new will be nothing. But for me, someone who is still new to changing my fast fashion ways, I honestly thought a month would be tough. Especially because you get SO many emails during your birthday month offering discounts! It’s opened my eyes a bit more to how bad the fashion industry is, and made me want to change my habits. I’ve unfollowed all high street shops on social media, I’ve stopped sitting and looking at clothes online. And I’ve started paying more attention to what clothes are made of. I don’t really want to spend money on a jumper or dress that’s essentially made out of plastic and will outlive me by a bloody long time!

For me, I still know clothing is going to be much more difficult for me to change than the other eco-friendly swaps I’ve made. But I’m determined to make changes.

Did you take part in secondhand September? How did you find it?