Fashioning new from old
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IT’S not often a wedding guest manages to upstage the bride with her outfit. But an unlikely style candidate, Princess Anne, managed to do just that in her Maureen Baker wrap dress at the recent royal wedding of Lady Rose.
Too short? Too bright? Too flamboyant? No, the real reason Princess Anne caused a stir in “that” dress was the fact that she first aired her outfit at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana 27 years ago.
The yellow and white floral print dress was even topped off with the same matching John Boyd hat for good measure.
Fashion faux pas or vintage genius? It seems Princess Anne is joining a growing number of people who are reaping the benefits of recycling their wardrobe.
The new breed of trend-recyclers are not only reducing their carbon footprint, but sidestepping the dreaded credit crunch.
Here’s how you can join the recycle revolution the stylish way.
CLASSIC TRENDS
In an age of “fast fashion”, Princess Anne’s outfit choice was a refreshing wardrobe manoeuvre.
Sales of new clothing in the UK have increased by 60% in the last 10 years, largely due to the rise in budget high-street stores such as Primark.
“I love that Princess Anne has worn this look again,” says celebrity fashion stylist Rachel Fanconi.
“The print and colour are very on-trend for this season, but you sense that this is not her prime motivation for the look. The most fashionable thing about it is the expression of the new austerity.
“It’s great that, in these times of continual makeovers and style rethinks in the world of celebrity, the royals still stand apart from all that.
“Her decision makes a very strong statement that she is above all that fashiony nonsense.”
TAKE-TWO?
Can the rest of us follow in the Princess Royal’s surprisingly stylish footsteps and attempt the same brave take-two fashion move on our favourite event ensembles?
“If attempting this tactic at home, I would always change the hat and the jewels,” Fanconi recommends.
“Shoes would certainly require an update – it’s a good rule of thumb that if you wear a vintage outfit the shoes must be current, and even a little edgy to prevent you from looking frozen in time,” she says.
“It’s also key to avoid repeating a look for the same audience – for example, family weddings when the same crowd will be in attendance.”
SWAP ’TIL YOU DROP
When you feel like your wardrobe is looking stale, stop before you leap into buying next season’s transient trends.
Followers of fashion, especially those who revel in vintage finds, are taking to clothing swap parties to revamp their look.
Hold on to the party poppers – these get-togethers are more about dress hunting and diving for designer bags than birthday cake and champers.
TRAID’s Visa Swap party’s figures speak for themselves. The annual event, held in London last month, attracted almost 800 keen visitors ready to root through the thousands of items of clothing and accessories.
“With almost 13,000 items brought into the Visa Swap, it was great to see people updating their wardrobes in an ethical way through swapping,” Visa’s Simon Kleine says.
PARTY PLANNING
Organised clothes swap events are gaining momentum all over the country, and there are even websites where you can barter for clothes that you covet in exchange for your cast-offs, such as www.whatsmine isyours.com and www.bigwardrobe. com
But DIY informal swapping parties are also proving popular between friends who combine clothes exchanging and cocktails in their own living rooms.
Here are our top tips for hosting your own successful swap:
Invite enough friends and family for there to be lots of swap goodies, but don’t go overboard on the guest list. No fewer than eight will conjure up some fashionable finds, but don’t go over 20 as things may turn ugly.
Make a rule that everyone must bring at least three items to swap, and agree on what you would like your guests to bring, such as clothes, bags, shoes and/or jewellery.
If two guests are bickering over the same must-have item, make them both try it on and let everyone else diplomatically vote on who looks best in it.
Make the event a sociable occasion. A bottle of bubbly will get your guests in the mood for shopping without spending. But be warned: red wine around clothes could spell disaster.
TAILOR-MADE
If the idea of clothes swaps and re-wearing the same old styles doesn’t appeal to your fashion sense, you might like the idea of “remodelling” your wardrobe.
You don’t need couture labels for a one-off find. TRAIDremade is a label founded in 2000 by recycling charity TRAID to give damaged second-hand clothing a stylish new lease of life.
The new collection features trend-led restyled summer frocks, hand-printed tees, restyled suit jackets and handmade accessories that would otherwise end up in landfill sites.
More than half-a-million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year in the UK alone.
“We take torn or marked clothing that can’t be resold in TRAID shops and use techniques like printing, cutting and sewing to create gorgeous one-off pieces,” says TRAIDremade’s head of design, Paula Kirkwood.
“As well as reducing your fashion footprint, buying remodelled clothing is a great antidote to the monotony of the high street.”
DIY FASHION
If you want to give old clothes a new twist, you don’t necessarily have to be a dab hand with the sewing machine.
“To completely remodel an outfit so that it looks good does take sewing skill,” says TRAID’s Leigh McAlea.
“However, using simple techniques such as cutting, ripping and dyeing, it’s easy to update clothing even if you’ve never been near a sewing machine.”
Scour the fashion mags for inspiration and take the plunge with clothes that no longer cut the fashion mustard.
“Dated necklines can be slashed, a great piece of clothing sporting a horrible logo can be patched or appliqued, and raising and lowering hems can transform skirts and trousers,” McAlea explains.
“A pair of not-so-great jeans could be turned into a sweet pair of frayed shorts to enjoy the last of the summer sun, and that boring cream shirt could be dyed violet or tomato red to bring it bang up to date for autumn/winter ’08.
“Mixing fashion trends with classic and vintage pieces that are permanent residents in your wardrobe is a much more interesting and less slavish way to wear your clothes.”
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