Sustainable Living Festival Slow Fashion show
Melbourne has its fair share of fashion events, but the ones I’m most interested in supporting are the ones which tie in with my love of “do-gooding and looking decent while doing it”. That is, doing something positive for the world without digging around and getting grotty nails while trying to plant zillions of trees on a riverbank somewhere to soak up the carbon that was emitted in actually getting to the riverbank. This weekend I helped out at the Slow Fashion Show , jumping on the bandwagon at the last minute to dress and style the models as I was overseas during the planning stage.
I took some photos but they are nothing to get excited about (in comparison to all the other photos on my blog, which provide reason to wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care and make sounds like WOOT!) so just check out the pictures on the Slow Fashion site, which will hopefully be up soon. As I was helping backstage, I didn’t actually get to see the show, but there was a lot of stuff that would probably save the world if everyone would wear it
instead of buying new things from [insert bad unethical un-ecofriendly chainstore name here]. Things like recycled and reclaimed gear, Fair Trade and other ethical and sustainable clothing, stuff from op shops and stuff made from organic materials. The jewellery was all provided by a man who recycles old cutlery, so the models were wearing rings made from fork tines, pendants from cake servers, earrings made from bowls of spoons, etc. He sells at the Rose Street Market and Camberwell Market, if you’re interested in purchasing his work.
I took some photos but they are nothing to get excited about (in comparison to all the other photos on my blog, which provide reason to wave your hands in the air like you just don’t care and make sounds like WOOT!) so just check out the pictures on the Slow Fashion site, which will hopefully be up soon. As I was helping backstage, I didn’t actually get to see the show, but there was a lot of stuff that would probably save the world if everyone would wear it
instead of buying new things from [insert bad unethical un-ecofriendly chainstore name here]. Things like recycled and reclaimed gear, Fair Trade and other ethical and sustainable clothing, stuff from op shops and stuff made from organic materials. The jewellery was all provided by a man who recycles old cutlery, so the models were wearing rings made from fork tines, pendants from cake servers, earrings made from bowls of spoons, etc. He sells at the Rose Street Market and Camberwell Market, if you’re interested in purchasing his work.While I prefer to use my cutlery to eat (especially if I’m eating cakes, delicious cakes… not these ones though), I think my wardrobe definitely rates as sustainable. I usually shop at op shops, to the point that it’s not only a treat for me to go into a normal clothes/shoe shop, it’s also slightly scary… “FORTY DOLLARS FOR A TSHIRT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? AGGGH!!!”
…
which leads me to WHY I LOVE OP SHOPS.
Well, probably nothing new here as it’s become cool to shop at op shops and everyone does it, because they know that it’s cheaper (usually) than buying stuff new, plus you get to support a charity like the Salvation Army or St Vincent de Paul Society, and they tend to do good stuff to help people. Also, if op shops did not exist, people would have to be very organised and put out the crap they didn’t want on the right hard rubbish day (which is a topic for another post.. mmm hard rubbish day), or if they were really eco-conscious they could host clothes swapping parties or just give their old stuff to random people… anyway the point is that op shops do exist and prevent amazing crap from going to landfill and emitting methane and other yukky things in the process of decomposing, in addition to all the good stuff that op shops do for disadvantaged people, animals etc. But that’s not really why I shop there. I love having stuff that no one else has, and often, it’s the very fact that someone has worn/used something that makes it special (and makes some of my friends run a mile yelling something like DO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT’S BEEN???). It’s also the element of surprise and the feeling of anticipation that I get when I enter an op shop as I never know what I will find. 1950s photo albums (complete with captions, but alas, no photos) alongside balls of wool next to designer heels and a clothes brush in the shape of a doll, for example. Not exactly the sort of mix you’d get at your local Kmart, well, not any of the Kmarts I know (if your local Kmart is like this, please let me know IMMEDIATELY and I will move there).
Anyway I will get around to putting up some pictures of excellent op shop finds soon, hopefully… and in the future I will even have my own house where I can have my purchases on display all the time, because the stuff I buy at op shops makes me happy, and then I’d never have to leave the house to find happiness cos I would already be happy, except I’d probably still leave to do some op shopping once in a while and buy cat food, because of course I would be living with at least one cat to hel
p me make 
dresses.
…
which leads me to WHY I LOVE OP SHOPS.
Well, probably nothing new here as it’s become cool to shop at op shops and everyone does it, because they know that it’s cheaper (usually) than buying stuff new, plus you get to support a charity like the Salvation Army or St Vincent de Paul Society, and they tend to do good stuff to help people. Also, if op shops did not exist, people would have to be very organised and put out the crap they didn’t want on the right hard rubbish day (which is a topic for another post.. mmm hard rubbish day), or if they were really eco-conscious they could host clothes swapping parties or just give their old stuff to random people… anyway the point is that op shops do exist and prevent amazing crap from going to landfill and emitting methane and other yukky things in the process of decomposing, in addition to all the good stuff that op shops do for disadvantaged people, animals etc. But that’s not really why I shop there. I love having stuff that no one else has, and often, it’s the very fact that someone has worn/used something that makes it special (and makes some of my friends run a mile yelling something like DO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT’S BEEN???). It’s also the element of surprise and the feeling of anticipation that I get when I enter an op shop as I never know what I will find. 1950s photo albums (complete with captions, but alas, no photos) alongside balls of wool next to designer heels and a clothes brush in the shape of a doll, for example. Not exactly the sort of mix you’d get at your local Kmart, well, not any of the Kmarts I know (if your local Kmart is like this, please let me know IMMEDIATELY and I will move there).
Anyway I will get around to putting up some pictures of excellent op shop finds soon, hopefully… and in the future I will even have my own house where I can have my purchases on display all the time, because the stuff I buy at op shops makes me happy, and then I’d never have to leave the house to find happiness cos I would already be happy, except I’d probably still leave to do some op shopping once in a while and buy cat food, because of course I would be living with at least one cat to hel
p me make 
dresses.And I’d buy food for me too, but not scallops, because I’m allergic to them, and not low-fat cheese, cos what’s the point of eating cheese if it’s low-fat?
What was I saying?
What was I saying?
he he he. Cottage cheese can be ok if you eat it on bread for dinner with tomato, salt and pepper, but otherwise lo(sic)-fat cheese no way!The real question is though: if I buy way more ethical clothes (People Tree etc.) than I really need, am I a better person????
yuk, cottage cheese…you are a good person anyway, and if you buy more ethical clothes you can take your older stuff to an op shop, thereby upping your good person points!