Revitalising Old Clothes (and dealing with those that are too far gone)

In order to avoid doing my uni work today, I decided to at least be productive in another way. I did an over haul of my clothes – some of which have been in my “wardrobe” (its drawers and a clothes rack) – since I was about 15/16 years old back in 2012.

2012 for me, and for many, was a very emo year and was prime for a lot of post-/hardcore music. Going to too many Soundwaves and You Me At Six concerts has led me to having a lot of black band shirts and skinny jeans that were identical to what Hayley Williams wore on tour.

Living with these still in my clothes collection has been tough. My style has changed dramatically, but as a Student with only a part-time job and somewhat enough of a conscious to not want to buy from mass-producing fashion retailers, I’ve learnt to adapt these into something I can actually wear and feel good.

1. These are some classic skinny red jeans reminiscent of pretty much all kids in 2007 while Paramore rocked Warped tour in red and yellow jeans. Nowadays, I stray away from colour as I don’t like a lot of obnoxious, attention-capturing colours and patterns.However, these are a solid material and too good a fit to throw out.

Wearing:

1. Levi’s Denim Jacket – bought it from an op shop in Melbourne for about $60. This one is either the exact same, or very similar.
2. Textured black top – bought from St Vinnies a few years ago. Brand tag washed out.
3. Dr Martens – not sure what exact kind but I reckon this is it.

2. As my super emo Paramore stage continued, I bought the exact same pants that Hayley wore on their pacific rim and warped tour in 2011 I think. I have barely worn these and I bought them in 2011. I definitely wouldn’t wear these in daily life, probably when I’m going out to the city to dance etc.

Wearing:

1. Asian style black top – I bought this top at Savers in Melbourne. It’s kind of a sheer material and is really long. In summer I wear as a dress with bike shorts underneath when I go out but winter I’d wear it just like this. It’s very long and has long sleeves as well.
2. Black and White Split Jeans – I ordered these online. They’re from a brand called Tripp NYC. They do a bunch of different colour combinations of split-legged jeans. These are mine.
3. Black school looking shoes – I bought these from Red Cross for $10 but any black shoes would do.

3. This is one of my oldest band shirts. I got it from my sister when I was in Year 9 and I think she had it when she was in Year 8 so It’s about 10 years old. Classic AC/DC Dirty Deeds shirt. All band shirts can be re-worked the same but I’d just wear with denim, always.

Wearing:

1. Levi’s Denim Jacket – linked above
2. Old Levi Jeans – I got these jeans from a family friend when I was about 13. They were flared and gross at the ankle so I cut them into shorts and they are my go-to summer shorts now.Super comfy. I’d definitely recommend to save money, buy some jeans from an op shop and just cut the ugliness/ill-fitting parts off and use them as shorts. New denim shorts are so stupidly expensive and for me, they often don’t fit very well.

4. At uni last semester, they had a clothes swap event on. I didn’t have any clothes to swap but I made a donation so I just grabbed something that looked cool. Unfortunately, it was a dress that I find fits me terribly. I’m not a very feminine girl at the best of times, and this dress is a singlet strapped, low-cut one that accentuates the top of your body and flows down. On its own, would never wear. However, combined with a few other pieces it is tops.

Wearing:

1. Black Woollen Jumper – my nan got this for me from Target, I think any kind of jumper that is longish and free flowing at the bottom would work.
2. Black Ankle length pants – these pants are from Uniqlo. They are somewhat tight, have pockets and elastic on the back of the belt. Some of my favourite pants when denim is just too stiff.

So those are some of the clothes I chose to revitalise and keep in my collection. However, I am getting rid of a large number of pieces that for some reason I’ve held onto for the years. Without any sentimental value, when I get the time they’ll be either sold or donated. I urge everyone to not throw out their old clothes. So many resources are wasted on generating new clothes for big retailers to sell but these clothes already exist in what other people instead put in the garbage. Don’t add to the landfill. There are plenty of options when it comes to getting rid of old clothes but here’s a few:

If they’re in good condition:

1. Shove them in a bag and take it down to the local charity bin. The Smith Family in NSW and ACT have bins set up all around the place which they recycle and/or give to disadvantaged children.
2. Give to 2nd hand clothing store. Not-for-profit ones are good. Around Sydney and Australia there’s U-Turn Fashion, St Vinnies, Red Cross and Salvos which all (I think) accept donations.

If they’re not in good condition:

1. Recycle textiles. Stores like H&M and the Planet Aid organisation assist with this. Or just look up where does it in your local area!!