Vintage Fashion, A Celebration of Design and Recycling

 

by Stephanie Fortescue

There’s something special about walking into a vintage shop, rows upon rows of clothes nowhere to be seen in those highstreet chains, it’s a treasure trove of lost goodies, nestled in the backstreets of the city. There’s no one particular style, it’s a mish-mash of vibrant colour, eccentric shapes and peculiar sizes. After hours of sifting through, you choose something safe in the knowledge that the odds of meeting someone wearing the same as you are extremely low.

The streets of the UK have seen vintage fashion burst into life in the last few years, with a surge of vintage shops beginning to edge their way across the country, it’s hard to miss. Vintage trends make their mark on the catwalks year after year, but rather than make these clothes new, why not just reuse, revive and refresh the originals?

Timeless Classics

Once bought, these timeless classics are given an invigorated sense of life. No longer doomed to the same fate as if bought from the highstreet; it’s worn once, goes out of style and is cast aside without a second thought. These old clothes never go out of fashion, the attraction is the basis of their being; second hand, slightly fraying at the edges and maybe even a touch faded, but all only adding to their charm. It’s for this reason they are a celebration of style, allowing their owner to be free of conventional rules. No longer bound to the restrictions of “oh, are you really still wearing leggings?”, but freed in the knowledge that the rules don’t apply. They provide a warmly welcomed contrast and distinction to what’s out there already, and an opportunity to reuse and recycle as opposed to discard and fabricate from new.

The perils of a throwaway culture

The production of freshly new clothes is a lengthy procedure. With many high street companies choosing to use factories in opposite parts of the world and produce under mass production; you can imagine the carbon footprint the industry leaves behind. Merciless chemicals and pesticides are all too often involved, not to mention colossal amounts of energy. In the UK we throw away vast amounts of clothing, it’s seems almost second nature in today’s throwaway society. The year 2006 alone saw over 800,000 metric tonnes of clothing and shoes deposited into landfill sites across the country . In our battle against climate change, recycling clothes not only reduces waste but minimizes excess production, two crucial elements in the fight to save our planet.

Unfortunately, it seems that no matter how hard you try, 100% sustainability doesn’t exist. The fairtrade model works hard to be carbon neutral, but however natural the materials that a company uses, those materials still need to be produced, processed and shipped. That involves energy, fuel emissions, and a carbon footprint. It’s all about degrees of sustainability and subtle ethical choices on a daily level. Every day, we can choose to do small things that will make big difference in the long run, and choosing to go ‘vintage’ is just one way to go about doing this.

Stand out from the crowd

It’s not just about making a difference where the environment is concerned, it’s about straying from the crowd. Next time you choose to go down that enchanting little backstreet, you may find your decision to deviate from the main stream gave you more than you were expecting.

Source 1: http://www.greenusesforwaste.co.uk/ways-reuse-recycle-old-clothes.html

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