Posh Swaps Blog

We are pleased to present our first Posh Swaps DIY refashion project. We thought that we would start off with something fairly simple. We have refashioned two boring old t shirts/ tops by bleaching them. It can take a little bit of trial and error to get the desired effect, but it is really quite simple. We used some tops/ t shirts that we bought from a second hand shop for a few pounds.

All we did was to bundle the t shirts up and tie them loosely with string. We then covered our clothes with an apron to protect and donned some very attractive rubber gloves. We put a bit of bleach in the bottom of a washing up bowl and rolled the tops in the bleach. We left for about 3 or 3 minutes before topping the bowl up with water and leaving for another 10 minutes. We then cut the string and rinsed the tops really well.

For the eco friendly option, you can use an eco friendly bleach like Ecover.

This black top turned orange when bleached. I love the effect even if it does look a little like the hippy tie dye thing. It is worth experimenting with the amount of bleach coverage for different effects. A bit more bleach and this top would have been even more orange.

This orange t shirt changed yellow when bleached, making it a really colourful summer t shirt.

All Posh Swaps Refashion projects are available to buy on www.posh-swaps.com

Top designer & stylist, Mrs Jones has created a limited edition collection of only 30 reinvented Oxfam pieces that are on sale now in the Camden High Street Oxfam Store and Oxfam online. Each piece is made from second hand clothes so is completely unique and there is certainly nothing last year about these clothes.

Tie Dye Brittania - the all English sundress in trendy denim

Hats off to  monochrome - an incredible bustier dress in black and white

Shipmate Stripes and Shirts - sailors stripes and shirty checks.

Cheeky nautical stowaway - this striped mini declares ‘genius’ across the derriere

Eighties biker revival - embellished black leather bomber with black and white patch print leggings

Even if you don’t buy any of these, there are some great ideas for DIY projects that you could work on yourself. Don’t forget you can also buy and sell refashioned, reworked and restyled second hand clothes on Posh Swaps.

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.

Silk Missoni Dress

Do you love wearing designer clothes? Most of us would love to be able to fill our wardrobes with lovely designer clothes each season, but in reality there are only a few who actually have enough money to do so. With the recession hitting many of us and our clothes spend, don’t despair, you can still have a great designer clothes filled wardrobe without filling for bankruptcy.

Investing in second hand designer clothes or swapping your old designer clothes is a much better way to look stylish on a budget than resorting to fast fashion clothes that are not good for the environment and are sometimes produced unethically. They are often poorly made in inferior fabrics and it will show when you wear them.

Firstly you should sort through any designer clothes that you no longer wear. These can then be listed on a clothes swapping website like Posh-swaps.com. All that you need is a photograph of the item and as much information as possible about it including the size, designer, fabric and details of the condition. It can also be useful to take a photograph of the label to show that the item is genuine.

Then comes the fun part. Browse for some lovely clothes that you would like and propose a swap or to buy.

We thought we would put together some ideas on how to be thrifty and do some good for the environment. Here are our fifteen best ideas on how to look stylish, save money and even make a bit of money.

1. Of course clothes swapping is at number one. Apart from being great fun, it also doesn’t cost any money and is a great way to reduce waste.

2. Selling your old clothes, just like clothes swapping this is a great way to reduce waste and make money from something that you no longer want.

3. Buying second hand clothes. So much cheaper than new clothes, you get a lot more quality for your money by buying second hand clothes.

4. Selling refashioned or customised clothes. This is another one of our favourites, why not make old clothes into something unique and more valuable. If you are clever enough, you will be able to sell them for more than the original piece of clothing.

5. Accessorise - the cheapest way to get a new look is to accessorise some clothes that you already have. It is not about what you wear, more how you wear it.

6. Borrow clothes - if you have  one off event to go to and you need something specific to wear, why buy something new if you can borrow off a friend. Remember to always return borrowed clothes in immaculate condition.

7. Buy quality clothes that will last. If you buy quality clothes they will wash better and last longer. They don’t neccesarily cost much more than poor quality clothes.

8. Develop your own individual sense of style - you will be less dependant on following trends and so your clothes will last longer.

9. Look after you clothes - the better they are looked after, the longer they will last. Don’t let the moths get to your cashmere, your clothes lose their shape by being hung on the wrong hanger. Always follow the instructions on the label.

10. Mend your clothes - instead of throwing your clothes away if they get damaged try mending them. If they are irrepairable, you can recycle them by making them into something else.

11. Shop in the sales- look for classic clothes that will not be out of fashion next year and you could find some great bargains at a fraction of their original prices.

12. Compare prices - if you are looking for a specific item of clothing, shop around a bit. You may be able to find it somewhere else a bit cheaper.

13. Use shopping discount vouchers - there are plenty of websites with discount vouchers that will give you the opportunity for some money off.

14. Plan carefully. If you are going shopping, think beforehand about what you really need, set yourself a budget and stick to it. Thinking in advance will help to avoid those impulse buys that turn out to be a big mistake.

15. Watch out for extras associated with going shopping, like car park charges and delivery fees. If you are only buying something small these can add on a large percentage to your shop. Try shopping less often so you don’t pay out too many unnecessary charges.

picture from www.treehugger.com

Eco fashion is quite a general term that is bandied about quite a lot lately. As with any green or eco product their are different levels of environmental credentials and different ways that fashion and clothing can be Eco friendly. Basically Eco fashion is anything that lessens the environmental impact of clothing and fashion in some way and is more sustainable than conventional clothing. It is up to the individual buying to decide exactly how Eco friendly each piece of clothing labelled as Eco fashion is.

Organic Clothing

This is clothing made from natural fibres that are grown without the use of pesticides. Conventional cotton is grown using a lot of chemical pesticides which are damaging to the ecosystem and pose health hazards to humans. Organic cotton offers a much more sustainable option but there are also a whole host of other organic fibres including bamboo, hemp and soy which may be even more sustainable than organic cotton. There are a variety of different certifications and standards which are applied to organic fabrics, it is always worth checking that your organic clothing is certified by the relevant body. There are more details about organic clothing and certifications on Adili.

Natural Clothing

Natural clothing is made using natural fibres such as wool, silk, cotton or linen. It is better alternative to synthetic fibres which are difficult to dispose after their useful life, use petro chemicals which are a limited natural resource and have a relative large carbon footprint due to the energy used to manufacture them. Natural clothing is not necessarily sustainable, for example cotton is grown using large amounts of pestcides.

Recycled Fibres

Clothing can be made from fibres that are manufactured using recycled materials. This can include anything from rags to plastic bottles. This is a great way to reuse materials that have passed their useful life in their current form and prevent them ending up in landfill. There is also less energy used with producing synthetic fibres in this way than starting from scratch.

Recycled materials or clothes

Second hand, vintage and reworked or recycled clothing can be included in this category. It is probably the most Eco friendly type of Eco fashion as the materials do not have to be manufactured and so it is carbon neutral (or almost). It does not cause pollution as no or minimal manufacture is required and it helps to reduce waste and landfill. A really sustainable form of Eco fashion. Even better, it is usually cheaper to buy than conventional clothing, where most other forms of eco fashion are more expensive.

picture - 100% organic cotton Leila dress by Komodo at Adili

There are some other labels such as fairtrade and ethical clothing that are often associated with Eco fashion. Whilst these clothes often have more eco credentials than conventional clothing, they are not necessarily Eco fashion.

We are so excited there are yet more exciting activities in the refashioning, DIY, customising and restyling of vintage and second hand clothes. It is such a great way to recycle old clothes into something really new, unique and exciting. A pass time that is becoming really popular lately.

Oxfam has lauched a DIY competition with a prize of a custom garment designed by Mrs Jones and their winning garment will be featured on the online pages. Mrs Jones is the designer that Oxfam has recently brought on board to design the Oxfam DIY collection, a limited edition of 30 pieces, created using second hand clothes. Previously, Fee Doran AKA Mrs Jones has worked with some of biggest names in the industry and celebrities including Kylie and Goldfrapp.

You can enter the competition by submitting photographs of your creation to Flickr or by emailing them. Full details of the competition are on the Oxfam website. There is also a gallery of entries, great for inspiration.

Don’t forget, you can also sell your recycled, refashioned and restyled creations on www.posh-swaps.com.

Another great idea is to buy clothes cheap online, for wholesale clothing prices. After you wear them a bit, then refurbish them, to save even more money!

Picture from www.oxfam.org.uk

Neon Floral Pattern Mini Skirt - Want to Swap?

If you haven’t had a chance to make your first clothes swap on posh-swaps.com, why not give it a try? I guarentee that you will be addicted. The thrill of recieving your first swap is just as exciting as that feeling that you get from going on a shopping spree. Actually it is a lot better as you don’t have a great big credit card bill to pay off at the end of it. It is also a great way to refresh your wardrobe so that it does not get too over crowded.

It is quick and easy to list your items on posh-swaps.com. All you need to do is set up an account (if you don’t already have one), take a photo or three of your item. Then log into your account, go to the add a new item, select ’swap it’ and complete as many details as you can before submitting. Don’t forget that the more information that you give about the item that you are hoping to recieve in return, the more chance you have of getting what you really want. If you are not really sure what you want, give a few clues like size,  casual clothes etc and state that you are happy to consider any proposals.

If you have a blog or participate in any social networks like Twitter or Facebook, you can also link to your item page to help promote it.

Clothes swapping is becoming very popular. We at Posh-swaps.com love Twitter, there seems to be plenty of tweeting going on about clothes swapping at the moment.

If you would like to receive regular updates about all of the latest clothes swaps and second hand clothes listed on posh-swaps.com, the just follow poshswaps on Twitter. You will also recieve updates on recycling, eco fashion, sustainable living and looking stylish on a budget.

Whilst most people understand the importance of recycling and how it helps the environment, some people need just a little bit more of an incentive than helping the environment to get them recycling. There are so many ways that you can recycle now but did you know that you can actually make money by recycling?

Here are our top ways of making money by recycling:

1. Mobile phones - www.mobilephonerecycling.co.uk allows you to compare prices and get the most for your phone. Mobile phones should not be thrown away in your bin as the batteries contain hazardous substances.  

2. Computers and laptops - find out how much money you can get for your old computer on www.wastecare.co.uk

3. Clothes  - you can sell your old clothes on www.posh-swaps.com

4. Refashion clothes - you can refashion second hand clothes into something new and sell it for a higher value on www.posh-swaps.com

5. Make Jewellery - you can turn waste into beautiful and unusual jewellery to sell at craft fairs or on posh-swaps.com. Old watches and jewellery are a great place to start but there are so many other things you could use. Think creatively.

6. Turn your kitchen waste into compost, bag it up and sell it to your neighbours. Find out how on http://www.composting101.com/

7. Sell just about anything that you don’t want or need any more at a car boot sale, through newspaper ads or online

You just need to think a bit creatively. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure so before you throw something away, think about whether it might be of value to someone else.