I am fed up of expensive high street brands where a) you don't know how the clothes have been made and in what conditions, b) they are mostly overpriced, low quality items that don't last very long and c) the styles available at the moment are horrible!
Unless I want to wear a neon crop top or some shapeless gingham dress (which I am sure I once wore at school?) then I really shouldn't be heading to my local shopping centre.
I want quality over quantity. I'm not interesting in showcasing my 'Primark Haul'! I want organic cotton and items made from sustainable sources in fair trade environments. But of course I still want to look stylish.
So what are the solutions?
1) Sew your own. I can see you rolling your eyes thinking why would I do that! I urge you to visit my new favourite website The Little Tailoress as she can inspire anyone to start sewing with her fantastic creations.
Last year I made me first garment which you can see in this blog post. It was massively rewarding making my own piece of clothing just to know exactly what has gone in to making it. I still wear it all the time and once you have bought a pattern you can reuse it over and over to create so many different versions of it.
You can choose what you make i.e. skirt
You can choose the type of item you make i.e. pencil skirt, A line skirt
You can choose the type of fabric used
You can tailor the fit specific to your body
Remember this series last year? I'm hoping there will be another one this year. Anyway, one of the contestants Tilly has a website and blog which I follow and you can too HERE. She makes so many of her own clothes and she also has a book coming out called 'Love at First Stitch' which I think is a brilliant name. I really recommend you check her out!
2) Charity Shop 'til you drop. With buying second hand you just don't know what gems are waiting to be discovered. You could find vintage pieces or shirts a bit too big but maybe you could cinch in with a belt or a cardigan for 50p. Buying things you know everyone won't have whilst supporting charities at the same time. Even if the charity shop doesn't have a changing room (most do) it almost doesn't feel too bad if you buy it and it doesn't fit.
I once bought a lovely green dress for £1.50 and it is the item in my wardrobe which has had the most compliments. I also bought a gorgeous black and gold chunky necklace for 25p and it looks like I could have paid £10+.
Not only can you buy fashion items for yourself, charity shopping is great for house hold items and kiddy items such as toys, blankets etc.
3) ASOS - Green Room. If you're still a bit too scared of buying second hand and prefer buying brand new pieces check out ASOS's Green Room where they sell brands such as People Tree and ASOS Reclaimed which are all feel good buys. They also have the Marketplace on the ASOS website which I suppose is a bit like an eBay where you can buy and sell your own clothing and accessories.
4) Style with Heart. Style with Heart is a gorgeous website collating all the eco/organic/fair trade clothing websites in the UK. It will introduce you to some great new brands such as Sea Salt and Lowie and although the prices may be slightly higher than you would pay in Dorothy Perkins etc. just remember you are investing in feel good, quality clothing. A lot of them are British made so remember it is great to support our clothing industry too.
The point I am trying to make is that when I look around these high street stores I don't find anything to entice me anymore. I rarely see an item of clothing and think 'Wow I have GOT to buy that' and it is especially harder to part with money when, for example, a simple cami top is £18 in Topshop currently. People on minimum wage would have to work 3 hours to purchase said cami top and I can't justify paying that amount.
What about you? Do you feel the same? Or am I just a strange 23 year old girl...
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