Way back at the start of September I decided to challenge myself to save some cash, and the environment, by wearing stuff that was already hanging in my wardrobe or borrowing, or buying, preloved or second hand clothes.
Oxfam had just mounted a big campaign to raise awareness of the huge amount of clothing that ends up in landfill, a massive 11 million items, each week! Now I’m not suggesting you should never buy new stuff, but as as I’ve always been a big fan of charity shops along with ebay, where I regularly pick up great second hand finds I thought I’d see if I could make it through a month without buying ‘new’.
So here’s how I got on……..and as promised I’m being honest!
Week one
Ok now this week I was working from home most days so any temptation in the form of nipping past the shops was pretty much out of the way, though I did pop in to both the Dogs Trust and Scope charity shops while I was passing through my local town. Didn’t buy anything this time round but have picked up some bargains there in the past.
My daily wardrobe this week was mainly jeans coupled with working my way through my existing t-shirt collection. The one above was originally from Gap but I picked it up at the Princess Alice Hospice Shop in Richmond, for £4 not long ago. It’s one of my favourite charity shops and always pop in when I’m in the area as often found some lovely things there.
Must admit that I do love a spot of shopping from Esprit so it was a bit tough not to have a sneaky peek on their website, especially as they’d sent me a £20 voucher against the new season stuff.
Week two
I’m also a big fan of Mary’s Living & Giving Shops. Set up by retail guru Mary Portas, these boutique style shops sell top quality second hand clothing to support Save The Children. I’ve been in several of their shops including Kew, Primrose Hill and Richmond and did pop in for a quick browse while in London.
Had a few meetings in London this week so I wore a mix of second hand including a John Rocha skirt that I picked up on ebay a while back, along with a jacket and t-shirt borrowed from my daughter and a few dresses that I’ve had in my wardrobe for a few years.
Week three
This week I was off on my holidays!
Now while I usually have my holiday togs and beach wear ready packed in my cabin case, I have been known to make a few last minute purchases at the airport, generally boosting the bank balance of Monsoon.
Well this time round, I’ll be honest, I did weaken and wander in and even started to come up with the rather sneaky idea that if I spotted something and persuaded my husband to buy it for me, then would this count as ‘cheating’?
But the Gatwick version was pretty small, so without too much of a tussle I genuinely, (honestly!), came out with a zero spend.
Week four
Only a few days of the month left and time to showcase one of my more recent ebay bargains that I wore for a work meeting. I loved this dress from Hobbs when I first spotted it in a sale in John Lewis earlier in the year. Would have snapped it up on the spot but sadly the only size was a wee bit too tight…..
But not long afterwards I found it on ebay in the right size, only worn once and in excellent condition, and bought it saving around 70% off the original price.