I love going vintage shopping when I come back to Victoria, theres so many options and everything is at real thrift store prices. The two best places in town are the Patch, which has everything from varsity jackets to full sequin dresses, and Flavour Upstairs, a small space that you can find vintage designer pieces. Theres also tons to find at large places such as Value Village, where you may spend an hour hunting but it will be worth the while. ​

Restricting myself to only buying vintage and second hand clothing hasn’t slowed down my shopping habits yet. Rather, I have been excited to find new places to buy and try to find hidden treasures. Surprisingly it has also been saving me money, in the sense that I am buying less expensive things not in the sense that I am shopping any less.
 So far I have been online, market, and pop-up consignment shopping. Finding everything from second hand designer accessories to street wear. My wardrobe is beginning to expand both with size and variety and I love where the journey is taking me. 

Since entering fashion school this September there has been one topic at the forefront of all discussion; sustainability. Forget fabrics and silhouettes this is the newest and biggest trend the fashion world is obsessing over. 

What is most interesting about the topic is that it is arising at the exact same time as ‘see now, buy now’ fashion. The two movements are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Fast-fashion is all about new, more, and now, while sustainability is following the path of creating products which last people longer and are made from materials that have a more positive effect on the environment. Large scale companies are trying to have it all now, saying their products are made sustainably yet attempting to sell them in mass quantities, ironic really. 

The question being asked by the consumer is the same, how can I be a responsible consumer while also staying fashionable and expressing myself? This is the journey I am attempting to go down over the next year. I have been so inspired by London’s vintage style and the resources that are available in the city that I have decided to stop buying any new products from conventional stores. I hope to remove myself from the mass consumer market and prove that one can be fashionable and innovative without participating in the fast-fashion movement. Oxford Street does not seem as appealing when there are Markets in Hackney and Peckham. With trends continuing to appear on the runways again and again, consider the 70’s inspiration which took over the 2016 shows, the products that can create cutting edge fashion are already out there, you just have to look for them and be creative.
 
I also think that most the fun in fashion is through the creation of an outfit not in the purchasing of it. No stylist takes a look directly off the runway and prints it in a magazine, there is mixing and matching; creating. This is what I hope to do over the next year, explore how new fashion is simply just old fashion with a new label.