Posh Swaps Blog

Posh Swaps has just had its first birthday and in celebration, we are holding a great prize draw during the month of May. Anyone who lists clothes to swap on Posh-swaps.com during May 2010 will be automatically entered into the draw. For each item listed you will get one entry into the draw so the more items that you list, the more chance you will have of winning. The winners will be drawn at the beginning of June and notified by email, all prizes should be claimed within 2 weeks or there will be a redraw to determine a new winner. So here is what you can win:

First Prize - £100 of shoe vouchers for Spartoo.co.uk (this prize is only available to those resident in the UK) - take your pick of some of the latest styles of shoes and handbags including some great designer brands.

Second Prize - a new Initial wallet by Lollipops Paris - a large and well organised purse with large coin pocket and sections for notes and cards, this is the perfect balance of style and practicality.

Third Prizes - three lucky winners can take their pick of one item from our own Posh Swaps swapping account. With a selection of second hand accessories and clothes in a variety of sizes (and a few vintage pieces).

Runners Up - ten runners up will each recieve one of our stylish reusuable Posh Swaps cotton bags.

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

What can make from a load of old rubbish? Quite a lot actually. I seem to come across more and more examples of very stylish upcycled fashion lately, especially accessories. I’m talking about the sort of gorgeous pieces that you desperately have to have not because they are eco friendly but because they will look amazing and make a real style statement with that …..

The more recycled pieces that I find, the more I think about how much we throw away. With jewellery made from such a diverse range of found items and scarfs and other accessories made from all sorts of beautiful reclamimed, vintage and second hand materials.

To get some inspiration or some lovely recycled fashion, just try searching ‘trashion fashion’ on Etsy. I hope you love what you find as much as I did. Don’t forget, if you are making upcycled/ recycled fashion, www.posh-swaps.com is a great place to source materials and sell you creations (for free).

This bracelet called coffee berries by Jupita is made from old gift cards.

This hot asphalt recycled LP necklace made by Tresijas is as the name suggests made from an old record, heated and then folded over to give the appearance of a warped pavement.

This Ladybug Fairy Hood by Fairytale Fibres looks both stylish and warm and is made from 100% upcycled wool.

You can sell your used and refashioned or recycled clothes on www.posh-swaps.com for free. Refashioning is a great way to create your own line of individual clothes. It is not only fun and good for the environment but it is also a great way to make money. If your old clothes are looking a bit out of date refashioning them is a great way to bring them right up to date. There are so many ways to refashion clothes including dying, embellishing, shortening and deconstructing and reconstructing them into a completely new piece of clothing.

You can also sell second hand, designer, high street and vintage clothes on Posh-swaps.com.

Set up your Posh-swaps.com account today and start listing your items.

Just incase you were in any doubt as to how trendy eco fashion is, it had now been confirmed by the launch of a collection made from recycled clothes at Topshop. Topshop is considered the most cutting edge and innovative of the high street fashion store and it’s introduction of a line of recycled clothing proves that being green is red hot. It follows in the footsteps of Oxfam’s recycled DIY collection which has recieved plenty of publicity lately.

The collection is by the Eco brand My Only One, that used second hand and women’s vintage clothing to create beautiful and fresh new designs. The ideas come from a team of innovative and emerging designers.

The collection will launch at the Oxford  Street store of Topshop and will be called Sport Noveau. It will feature stylishly reconstructed sportswear.

There are so many creative ways that recycled items can be made into jewellery, here are some of our favourites:

Who would have thought of using old bicycle inner tyres to create beautiful and unique jewellery? Sasja Saptenno a designer from Holland did. She makes a range of delicate and intricate jewellery from bicycle inner tyres aswell as 3d shawls from recycled materials.

For fun colourful and stylish jewellery, I love Recycled Newspaper Jewellery. It is made from Bracelets, Brooches, Earrings and Cufflinks  made of  Recyclable Paper Materials including Newspaper, Sweetener Packets and Loser Lottery Tickets.

This gorgeous vintage looking bracelet made from recycled floral biscuit tins is just one of the beautiful pieces of jewellery made from recycled materials on www.the-green-apple.co.uk.

They say that diamonds are a girls best friend but for a recycled alternative to diamonds these sparkly necklaces by Kumvana Govmani are  a great choice. They are made from recycled PET plastic.

If you love vintage jewellery then why not try something new made from vintage. This vintage clasp and recycled chain necklace is just one of a range of one of a kind jewellery on http://uncommonlybeautifulrecycledaccessories.bigcartel.com that is made from recycled and reclaimed materials including scrap leather, clock parts and suitcases.

Everyone is refashioning at the moment, obviously the word is getting out that you can get some really amazing clothes using second hand and vintage items. Oxfam has just opened a DIY store in its Camden shop with unique creations made from second hand. Top designer and styling Mrs Jones has revamped the store into retro heaven which has become an oasis of style for trendsetters and vintage enthusiasts.

Mrs Jones who is a stylist to the celebrities including The Killers, Kylie, Scissor Sisters and Goldfrapp has created a limited edition collection of only 30 reinvented Oxfam pieces that will be on sale in the shop and online soon. The shop opened on Saturday with a series of DIY workshops run by the stylist herself.

If you can’t get along to the store, you can always have a go at refashioning some second hand clothes yourself with their DIY tutorial on how to turn jeans into a skirt. You can also get some ideas from their sidewalk to catwalk gallery.

I really enjoyed watching Mary Queen of Shops last night, when Mary had the unenviable task of sprucing up a charity shop in Orpington Kent. Not only was I interested to see the challenges that Mary faced trying  to apply her vast skills and experience of high end retail to charity retail with a team of dedicated volunteers to manage through the change process, but I was also really pleased to see that second hand clothes were being valued and not labelled as just a load of old rubbish. Mary has helped to change the perception of many people to buying second hand clothes in charity shops. The thought of getting a Jimmy Choo handbag at a fraction of it’s original price is bound to see fashionistas flocking to their local charity shops.

I loved the way that she change the look of the charity to shop to give the feeling of a vibrant market place and made sure that the clothes were sold at their real value. Even the fact that charity shops were chosen as a subject for the programme shows the growing interest in second hand and vintage clothes in the fashion world. When Mary said that charity shops had untapped potential she is only saying what many second hand and vintage enthusiasts have been thinking for years. Buy jazzing up charity shops (and I hope many more will follow suit), she may be pushing up the prices of second hand clothes but more importantly, she is opeing up charity shop shopping to a whole new group of shoppers, who are not serious rummagers but like their clothes to be arranged neatly in size order.

picture from bbc.co.uk

We have already established that clothes swapping is a great idea because it is environmentally friendly, frugal and fun, we have also discussed how to arrange a clothes swap. If you have already had a go at clothes swapping and enjoyed it, here are some ideas for clothes swaps with a difference.

1. A children/ baby clothes swap - this is a great way to recycle childrens clothes as they grow out of them. As baby clothes are only worn for a short amount of time they are often in really good condition. If you arrange a ticket system where everyone brings a bag of clothes and gets a number of tickets in return, it will allow people to swap clothes for the right size for their children.

2. A clothes swap and customising competition - not only can you get some new clothes but you could also get a completely unique and individual outfit that no one else has. You can ask frinds to bring along a sewing kit and any old buttons, trims, beads etc that they have. Once you have swapped, you can then spend the evening embellishing your clothes over a glass of wine or two. At the end, you can show off the clothes in a fashion show and award a small prize to the best creation.

3. Vintage clothes swap - If you and your friends love vintage clothes, why not arrange a vintage clothes swapping party. This is a great way to refresh your wardrobes.

4. Themed Clothes Swaps - for a bit of fun why not arrange a themed clothes swap. Perhaps try a flowers theme or  choose a particular colour which everyone should bring clothes in. In the run up to christmas, you could arrange a sparkly clothes swap with sparkly or evening clothes.

5. Accessories swap - you could arrange an accesories swap for accessories in general or for one particular type of accessories such as shoes, hand bags or jewellery.

Let us know your fun ideas for clothes swapping.

London College of Fashion is one of the worlds leading fashion colleges. It has a huge influence on the new designers and up and coming talents that graduate from it’s courses each year. It is really exciting to see London College of Fashion embracing recycling and second hand clothing with their short course in recycled clothing.

This course is great for anyone who wants to develop their own unique or individual style through second hand and vintage clothing. With second hand clothing being so immensley popular this course will give you the chance to get creative and also utilise some of your jumble sale or posh swaps finds to make some thing gorgeous.

The course will teach you how to make a capsule wardrobe from second hand clothes or clothes in your existing wardrobe. Following some research on current fashion and trends combined with your own inspiration before learning how to apply customising techniques. You will also learn aboout key skills like soft tailoring and pattern cutting which will allow you to alter items, improve the fit, change the lining etc. You will also get the chance to have a go at creative techniques like beading and embellishment.

The best bit about the course is that it is aimed at beginners so you only need basic hand and sewing machine skills. You could even make yourself some extra money by selling your recycled creations on posh-swaps.com.

We were lucky enough to interview Sarah Korsiak Cellier of  Rice and Beans Vintage to find out a bit more about women’s vintage clothing and how it fits into her own unique style. Rice and Beans Vintage offers handpicked vintage and designer clothing to clients around the world. 

Rice and Beans is an interesting name for a vintage store, is there a story behind it?  

The name Rice and Beans Vintage comes out of a nickname that my now husband gave me a while back.  He used to call me Ms. Rice and Beans & according to him it is because of my sassyness (in a good way of course)!

How did you get started with vintage clothes? 

I have been wearing vintage clothing since I was around 10 years old.  I have always mixed vintage with modern clothing to create my own unique look.  I began dealing in vintage clothing about 7 years ago when I lived in San Diego and was studying to become an Acupuncturist!  I ended up choosing vintage & designer clothing over Acupuncture and I couldn’t be happier with my choice.

What is it about vintage clothing that you like?

I love that vintage clothing has a story to tell, it has history, roots.  The great thing about wearing vintage is that you can pretty much bet that you won’t run into anyone else that day who is wearing the same thing as you!  I also really admire for the most part the quality of vintage clothing, from the cut of the pieces to the fabric. 

Do you have a particular period of vintage clothing that you love?

I can honestly say that there is something from every period of fashion that I have at one time or another fallin in love with.

What is you favourite vintage piece?

I own a Vintage 60’s bright abstract print brocade coat with rhinestone buttons that I had shortened to right below the knee.  I love it because it has a bright almost neon pink lining and looks fantastic with denim.

How old does a piece of clothing have to be to be described as vintage? 

I consider a piece to be “vintage” if it is Pre-90’s. 

How can you be sure that an item of clothing is vintage?

I am not a vintage expert, I would have to clock a few more years before I would consider myself “schooled” in vintage.  However, I do a lot of research and try to be as thorough as possible when dating and describing each vintage and designer piece at Rice and Beans Vintage.  You can tell a lot from a label about the age of a piece as well as the styling.

Vintage clothing is become increasingly popular, why do you think this is?

I think vintage clothing has become more and more popular for several reasons.  Firstly people are recognizing the environmental impact of the clothing industry and purchasing vintage and pre-loved designer clothing is a great way to help minimize the demand for more and more new pieces to be made.  Secondly I think there is an economic component to the whole vintage craze.  Let’s face it purchasing a Vintage Chanel bag can be much less costly than buying a brand new piece and again it’s got history.  I also know that people love vintage because it does set your look apart from everyone else and gives you the freedom to be creative with your look.  Isn’t that what fashion is all about?

picture - vintage floral cotton maxi dress from Rice and Beans Vintage