It's happening.........a whole year without buying new clothes!
I'm not really a believer in New Year's Resolutions. I've made them in the past but never really stuck to them so this year I thought I'd set myself some challenges instead. Things that were important to me but that actually made a difference to the world in a positive way.
The Challenge:
Not to buy any clothes from brand new sources for an entire year.
Why I hear you ask? Well as of the 1st January, China will no longer accept waste from the rest of the world. This includes a HUGE amount of textile waste from the U.K.
This means we all need to try and reduce the amount of waste created in the first place. In the U.K. alone, we export 365m kilos of used clothes every year and the figure is rising.
Where are all these clothes going? Sadly mostly to landfill and when you know it takes over 1000 years for a faux fur coat to break down, we're creating a huge problem.
Image from Pinterest
Why will the challenge help?
I started off believing that I could make a difference just by changing my own consumer habits but quickly realised there would be a much bigger impact if more women joined me. I opened up the challenge to the women who follow me on a Facebook and very quickly I had over 70 eco-conscious women all pledging to do the same.
That's over 70 of us who, this year, will source our clothes from charity shops, pre-loved boutiques, clothes swapping events, vintage stores and so on. Re-using clothes that could otherwise end up as waste.
Does the challenge mean absolutely all clothes?
No. There are certain items we're just not prepared to buy secondhand and these are:
Underwear (secondhand pants? Just NO!)
Swimwear
Sleepwear
Specialist items e.g. Sportswear/gym stuff
Footwear
The first port of call will always be to try to source secondhand because brand new items do come onto the secondhand market, but if it's not possible to source the above, new is permitted in these cases.
Image from Pinterest
Every month I'm going to provide support and expert guidance. The first face to face event will be a "how to charity shop like a pro" which will be held in one of my favourite charity shops, free of charge in conjunction with Eco Designer Linda Thomas
Linda gave up shopping on the High Street over 12 years ago, so between us we have a lot to share. If you'd like to come along and listen to our top tips, please book your place here
Care to join us in the challenge too?
If you'd like to have a go, it's not too late! Just start from now but please get in touch with me to let me know you're on board. That was I can make sure you receive all my tips on how to survive the year with ease. Go on, you know you can do it! x
In need of a confidence boost? I might have just the thing for you!
One of the reasons I set up my business was because I witnessed women losing their confidence over the years and I wanted to help give some back. I can say this from a position of authority as I was one of those women. The type that had a career, a great social life and didn't think twice about spending time and money on myself.
Then babies happened. My world changed overnight. Post natal depression kicked in, I felt isolated, incompetent as a mother and over time, I slowly lost my identity.
My self esteem took a nose dive, my body took a battering and as a result I morphed into the background. My son didn't sleep through the night until he started primary school and I gave birth to another baby in his first term. So just as I had one successful sleeper, another round of sleepless nights began.....
You will be hard pressed to find ANY photos of me at this stage of my life. I really didn't like what I saw and to some extent, I gave up. I was in survival mode and when you're there you just don't have the capacity for anything else.
But slowly things got better, the children became older, I got some sleep and I began my second career as a stylist to enable me to work around their needs.
And that is where the magic happened. My love of colour and clothes returned. The excitement of buying a beautiful piece came flooding back. I got my hair cut, had my nails done and started to put myself further up the priority list. I was turning into me again and it was bloody powerful stuff!
Over time I started to rebuild my sense of self worth and noticed that instead of it being an indulgence, the whole family benefitted from my new found happiness.
So why am I telling you all this? Because over the next 12 months I'm going to be teaming up with other incredible business women whose purpose is exactly the same as mine - to help you feel better about yourself, to give you a shot of confidence and to help you see just how beautiful you are just the way you are now.
The first collaboration is super exciting as I'll be working with Janette from Beautifully You Photography. Janette creates absolutely stunning photos of women and is as passionate as I am about helping women to see their true beauty. You can check out her work here: https://www.facebook.com/beautifullywomanportraits/
For a limited period we are coming together to offer you a unique makeover package which includes:
A style and body shape consultation
A full colour consultation and booklet of colour swatches to keep
A wardrobe edit to include an outfit building session
A shopping list of suggested pieces to invest in
A high quality, luxury makeover photoshoot including professional hair and make up
A gorgeous 10 x 8 inch image to treasure forever
And most importantly: A HUGE boost of confidence and much needed pick me up! All for just £399.
So if you feel like a you're ready for a little lift, we're here for you x
How would you like to get body confident with your clothes?
All too often I work with women who have a downer on themselves. They feel they should be taller, slimmer, have a more defined waist, have perkier boobs.... I can say this with confidence as I was like that too. For years and years I felt I wasn't good enough, until I hit my 40s and figured I could go on being unkind to myself for the rest of my life, OR, I could accept who I am and work with what I have.
And that's where a science called anthropometry comes in. Anthropometry is the measure of human form and it's something I've studied closely. Both in terms of theory, but also in reality, having had the opportunity to work with over 200 incredible women of ALL shapes and sizes.
I truly believe that all women can look fabulous regardless of age, size or budget. You just need to get to grips with what works on your body. And I mean the body you have right now, not the one you had when you were in your 20's....!
So if you'd like to understand what is going to work for you once and for all, please do come along to an hour long workshop I'm running as part of Bristol Fashion Week. It's just £20 and during our time together I will show you the key to dressing with confidence.
You can get your hands on a ticket here but be quick as places are limited for each workshop (you can choose from 1 of 3 dates).
Would love to see you there and help you achieve the look you've always wanted x
A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for others...
Remember the Swap 'til You Drop fundraising event in July? It was just a-maz-ing for so many reasons.
The first is that I'm over the moon to say I was finally able to present a cheque last week to our charity for the evening, Labour Behind The Label for the sum of £1500!
Honestly, I never ever thought we would raise that amount but I'm thrilled that we did and I know it will be put to good use. The work LBTL undertakes is incredible as they strive to improve the rights of garment workers right across the world. If you want to know more, including how you could help, please visit www.labourbehindthelabel.org
Aside from raising a huge sum of money, the night was so much more than I could have dreamed of!
Here's what one lovely guest had to say:
"What an evening! I went to Becky's charity evening on my own as my mate couldn't make it. So I put on a smile and left telling the babysitter I would be back by 9. I felt nervous but I thought "hey it's for charity and I might find one nice swap". What I didn't expect was the camaraderie, the giggles and the good natured banter with women I've never met. I bonded with one lady over her new floaty blouse and another over an unexpected trouser suit find and another over her dresses. Women of all ages standing around in their bras chatting. I enjoyed myself so much and came away with 4 items to spruce up my wardrobe. When Becky organised another evening like this, I'll definitely be back!"
I know also that women are now considering upcycling too. Another gorgeous guest wrote to me and said:
"Had to tell you I dyed my faded jeans and threw in 3 tops that were likely to head to recycling. So happy with the results, especially the jeans as had there been a pair in Debenhams I would have bought them. I've caught the upcycling bug".
It was an evening that encouraged us to recycle and repurpose our clothes as well as consider who made those clothes in the first place and it was SO much fun in the simply beautiful surroundings of Leigh Court.
However you played a part in the evening this is my personal thank you to you. I couldn't have done it without you and I'm truly grateful for your heartfelt support.
Here's to the next one......
Becky x
Photography courtesy of www.viktoriakuti.com
