There is such a huge misconception that if you’re a blogger you just horde clothes and keep buying new stuff every new season. But I tell you, this really isn’t the case. Yes, of course we like to shop and we do buy new clothes, but on a whole, a lot of things (at least in my wardrobe) are a good couple of years old ! The trick is the art of learning how to wear a certain item in multiple different ways so that it looks like you’re wearing a different outfit every time 😉 . Of course, you can keep those outfits that you love so much and re-wear them (I would be lying if I said that I didn’t do that,) but it’s all about trying out different ways of wearing things and stepping out of your comfort zone. (I know… that’s a phrase that I use a lot but I do live by it! lol 😉 )
I sometimes do struggle with trying to come up with new outfits, I guess it’s because you get caught up in what you usually wear so can be difficult to branch out ! But I’ve learnt that you just need to think differently and kinda just put together things that you would never expect to work well together ! 😀 So, in this blog post I’m going to share with you my tips on how to re-wear clothes and why I believe it’s so important not to keep buying new clothes all the time !
Why Am I Obsessed With Re-Wearing Clothes?
The environment of course ! Now, I’m sorry to say but I’m not vegan or vegetarian (surprised ? 😉 ) so I’m not going to go down the road of not eating meat to save the environment. But I’ve only really recently learnt just how much natural resources we use as a society and how future generations are not going to be able to live like we do if we carry on the way we are going. I’m sure you’re probably thinking, “well, what has that got to do with clothes?!” So, the clothing industry uses SO MUCH resources. For example, just to GROW enough cotton to make a pair of jeans uses 6,800 litres of water… I’m not joking that’s a CRAZY amount ! That doesn’t even include the processes such as dying and treating ! Then it takes another (roughly) 4,000 litres to process the whole thing… so we’re talking around 11,000 litres of water for one pair of jeans… Isn’t that just RIDICULOUS?! Can’t that water be used elsewhere for more important uses ?! If that’s just for jeans then just imagine the resources that other clothes are using up?!
The electricity for all the sewing, and the finishing touches… that has to come from somewhere? That once again must either come from fossil fuels or nuclear power etc… What about all the clothes that are made from plastic? Such as shoes, plastic totes and everything synthetic (ie. not cotton, natural materials or leather.) They’re all a form of plastic so originate from crude oil. Let me tell you, at the current rate we’re using crude oil, it’s going to run out in 40 years time! That means no petrol for cars, no medical equipment (which we obviously need) , no plastic bags…. you name it and it’s probably made of oil. So as you can see the list goes on forever ! So don’t even get me started on started on transport, and delivery/ plastic bags 😉 for clothing. I’m sure you can understand why clothes play such a big part in our environment. We don’t want future generations to live without these little luxuries so we need to find ways of preserving what we’ve got!
(Yes , I don’t airbrush my photos and I don’t mind that you see my blemishes ! It’s real life to have blemishes so why hide them?!)
- Re-wear, don’t re-buy! Eventually, if people aren’t buying as much new clothes, then companies won’t be making as much money so they’ll lower their production number which means that the environment won’t be as hurt ! I know it sounds silly “but every little thing helps!” (thanks Tesco for that fabulous Moto! 😉 )
- If you want to buy something new, then buy something second hand or vintage ! They’ve already been through the industrial processes so you’re not wasting anything ! Why waste a perfectly good pair of jeans?! That would mean wasting 11,000 litres… not too sure about that 😉
- Even think of the small things ! Like not using plastic bags and using reusable bags instead ! This will help lower the production of plastic bags which means less crude oil will be used !
Of course these things are not mandatory, but if we all do our little bit to save the environment then we’re helping future generations and saving our planet as one! And of course, I’m not stopping you from buying new clothes or suggesting that you shouldn’t buy brand new clothes. I’m just hoping that you’ll to be thoughtful and aware of what goes into the clothe making processes !
The Art of Re-Wearing
It is an art, I will admit that I believe its an art 😉 . I know it’s difficult, especially since the trends are moving so fast at the moment, it’s so hard for our wardrobes to keep up! Of course, you can re-wear wardrobe staples such as that simple white tee or jeans, but it’s a whole new ball game when it comes to statement pieces ! In this outfit, I would say that the shoes and the blouse are definitely the “out there” pieces. I bought the blouse last year in summer from H&M after seeing it on the gorgeous Megan Ellaby, I just had to get one for myself ! Hhaahhaa 😉 I bought the shoes in the January sales this year from Toyshop for £15, not too bad if you ask me! So, both pieces are not THAT old but they’re old enough that the trends have since moved on and fashion is taking yet another route. The issue with statement pieces is that I always thought that people remember that “exact” item you wore… which as a blogger I feel like you don’t really want. But let’s be real here, not all of us can afford to buy new outfits 24/7 hahahah 😉 I mean, I am a student after all so I do have to be careful on how I spend my money 😉 . I’m sure you all know what I mean!
If I want to go for something more out there… that’s when it get’s a little more difficult ! So as I said earlier, I usually pick out something Im not too sure the “statement piece” will go with. I know it does sound a little strange but, honestly, you’ll be surprised how well it works ! The thing is, with all these statement pieces it’s sometimes nice to pair them with something just as unusual to keep out whole “out there” look going strong. I think this is how big named bloggers keep their head in the game and their followers coming. They continuously keep coming up with new and funky outfits which their readers and followers loveeee, so they continue to come back for more! 😀 Who knows… maybe that’s what I’m trying to do 😉 Okay… just kidding, being bright and fun is just part of my personality which is why I dress the way I do! And re-wearing clothes just keeps my pocket a little healthier hahaha.
What Am I Wearing?
As I said earlier, I’m wearing this gorgeous floral blouse by H&M which has some seriously stunning statement sleeves and is full of bright colours ! (I ACTUALLY LOVE IT SO MUCH!) I’m also wearing my 20p dungaree dress which I recently bought from Fiji, what a bargain right?! I thought the colourfulness of the blouse would look lovely with something white and summery but a little more “edgy” just to bring the blouse back down to a casual level. As for shoes, I’m wearing my FAV Topshop red buckle shoes, I think these are such a cool and fun pair of shoes which adds a little bit of “va va voom” to the outfit and goes so nicely with the floral blouse ! As for my accessories, I’m wearing my dads old ray bans which are 20 years old ! Talk about re-using 😉 (Thank you daddy hahaha ) and some statement earrings which I picked up in the Asos sale for £8… I know not the cheapest thing… but as statement earrings go I thought that wasn’t too bad ! So as you can see, I’m mixing a up a couple of staple pieces and re-wearing a lot of my favourite clothes (and yes the blouse and the shoes have already appeared in previous blog posts!) but still manage to make them look different by teaming them up with some different wardrobe staples!
I hope you liked this blog post! It’s definitely a little different and gets goes a down a more “sciency” route, but it’s a topic that I believe is pretty important and that people should be aware of ! We don’t want to live in a barren world so let’s do all we can to do save our little planet ! I also hoped you like this outfit and found some ways on how to re-wear some of your favourite pieces. If you do please let me know as I’d love to hear what you have to say!
Thank you to my girl @thats_just_emily for as always taking fabulous photos, she’s literally a god send ! Love that girl to bits! Be sure to check out her blog at www.thatsjustemily.co.uk , it’s rather fabulous!
See you in my next one, Izzy xxx
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