And On We Upcycle

From what we eat to what we wear, sustainability has been on all of our minds lately. And as we become more and more aware of the human and environmental costs of fast fashion, secondhand style has become more popular than ever. Depop, Vinted, and a host of other independent vintage shops have seen huge success as more and more of us become committed to quitting fast fashion altogether. 

While St Andrews is somewhat lacking in trendy independent thrift stores and vintage boutiques, we do have plenty of charity shops. While a lot of what you’ll find perhaps looks like something your grandma would wear, with a little creativity, ill-fitting, dowdy items can be turned into forever pieces you love.

I start my own searches by looking for beautiful fabrics, even if the item itself is ill-fitting or ugly. This 3-piece ensemble was objectively awful, but if you look past the shape and size the material is gorgeous.

I reshaped the skirt to work as a dress, hemmed the jacket, and used the leftover fabric to make a bias-cut skirt. A few extra details, including some hand-sewn buttons, a sash, and a bracelet, all tie the look together.

I liked the print and the seam detailing on this dress too, so I preserved those elements when I cropped it into a top and then took it in at the sides for a more flattering shape before pairing it with some Y2K flares.

I’m also a real sucker for anything sparkly right now (I think I miss clubbing), so these dresses immediately stood out to me. I wanted them to be more flattering and wearable for a night out, but still eye-catching.

A sleeve of the black dress made a great halter neck top when tied in the back, and the silver dress just needed to be hemmed and taken in a little to make a space-age inspired set (Sex-pistols DMs are optional but strongly encouraged).

If machine sewing isn’t your thing, embroidery is another easy way to add some personality to simple items. I found this black shirt and loved the sheer fabric and delicate lettuce hem; however, it was still ill-fitting and rather plain. But all I did was cut up the middle and gather the edges a little to help with the fit, and then embroidered some colour over the flower design.

The simplest upgrade of all, however, is probably tye-dye. You can use coloured dye, but if you go for a darker fabric all you need is some household bleach (30p from Tesco), a bowl, and some rubber bands to make a design. The men’s section is great for oversized jumpers and jackets (I found this denim one in Oxfam), and I had loads of fun bleaching boring or garish men’s sweatshirts to tone down their overall brightness before adding a design.

Before this summer, I hadn’t touched a sewing machine in a few years, and if you’re learning or re-learning such a skill, there will definitely be disasters (don’t drink and sew - trust me), but it’s all a part of the process. I find working on such practical skills a great way to relax from uni work while still feeling productive on days that could instead feel long and rather empty. Right now, we don’t have a lot of opportunities to put together outfits that express our style and creativity, but I’ve still tried to explore those things this year by building a wardrobe that I’m excited to wear, even if it's just around the house.