The event was BTR's second fashion salvage event held at Bristol lab Space ( the first fashion salvage event was at the BTR factory with more clothing than I have ever seen and all set for landfill unless we saved it, I made it my personal mission to save as much as I could at that event! The Mini Fashion Salvage was a much smaller affair but was still bursting with wasted clothing all waiting to be fashion salvaged by the twenty odd salvagers keen to get stuck in! All salvagers had bought tickets with 100% of the proceeds going to the charity for garment workers right abroad, Labour Behind the Label. With more money being spent on the extra garments bought at the event at very reasonable prices, in this case all clothing was only £6 a kilo which averages out at approx 4-5 garments per kilo, depending on the weight. I think it is a great idea to encourage people to buy at these event but at low prices, people will be less intimidated to attend and will buy more, raising money for the charity and saving the garments from being wasted. Spreading the word about these events and the brilliant items you could find can only be a good thing. With creatives on hand to teach you how to upcycle and style up garments and to make you see items in a new way, whatever your style.
This charity fund raiser for Labour Behind the Labour encourages you to upcycle and reuse, it will astonish you to know that 20 tons of garments a day are sent to landfill, this waste is crazy and senseless. I am not saying that I am not guilty of over buying, we all are and slowly we will prevent this from happening, through these events and also through learning what you can do to help and consider how much your household is wasting. These events inspire you, to show you what you can do, if you love fashion, Love a bargain or are just interested to find out more then please come along!
I love rummaging through the piles and rails of clothing, to see what I can find. Towards the back of the event i found shelves full of oversize t-shirts which I had trouble finding at the last fashion Salvage event so i made a beeline for them and collected and handful and took them over to the haberdashery area where Lady Gonzalez and her team were ready to help you customise your found items into new ones! I had an oversized maxi dress and tassels in mind and when I started it, I wish I had the whole day to make more and more! I could have had a whole customised t-shirts range by the end of the night given more time! I really got stuck in an enjoyed. Making customised t-shirts reminded me of my upcycling fashion label I ran over 12 years ago, I knew nobody else doing it at the time and would have loved the Bristol Fashion Salvage scene that is thriving in Bristol now. I am happy that I did it however and to have been involved in the scene for so long.
Following the salvaging, upcycling and outfit creating, it was time for the final photoshoot for the competition and a quick chat with the team filming the event, I talked about how I find charity shops a let down since they seem to be cleared of any personality and oddities which used to be the interesting thing about the charity shop didn't it? Why would I want to buy a plain second hand H&M top for possibly more than H&M sold it for? The prices have gone up and the standard of the stock has gone down. I buy more furniture than clothing from charity shops these days! With the help of fashion lead events like BTR's Fashion Salvages and charity run spaces like The Shop on Gloucester Road Bristol, where you can find vintage charity bargains and upcycled gems from Fix Up Look Sharp. Hopefully things are starting to change for the better. I attend these events one because I love fashion and two because you find the most amazing and alternative gems, I love one offs and being inspired by a found item that I hadn't considered before, I love mixing colours and prints and wearing things in a different way, I am never short of inspiration at these events! I Love Fashion Salvage!!!
My favourite outfit from the Mini Fashion Salvage winners was the clashing prints crop top and hareem trousers ensemble. The Crop top was made from a dress, literally chopped in half, I am so giving the chopping up dresses a go next time! I'm inspired. I had created my oversize maxi dress which I wish i had had the time to make even longer ( I forget how long I am sometimes) another panel could have been added to the bottom of the dress in my opinion! Always the critic! I also made a tasselled crop top which I love! Amongst the customised t-shirts I also found two crochet jumpers, a gold bodycon maxi and a 1980s Puma vest. Not bad for one night! Although I didn't win on this occasion, (Helen from Keck's was one of the judges too, that wouldn't have gone down well!) I did win a bottle of wine for being creative and inspired at every event and for really understanding what the fashion salvage events are about. I honestly love these events so much and was gutted to miss the Christmas event but unfortunately it clashed with my daughter Sylvie Belles 4th birthday party! I will definitely be attending the next event and I will be on hand to inspire and help people look at their found items in a different way and help style them up for their photoshoots. I'm already excited about being involved! Watch this space for details. Thanks BTR I had the best time!
What I wore inc dress (worn as a jacket) and Midi skirt both from the Summer BTR Fashion Salvage Event
My Upcycled T-shirts outfit
My Favourite winning Outfit
Fashion Salvagers
Helen From Kecks Clothing
Lady Gonzalez Team
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Thanks for checking in Fashionistas xx
ND xx
Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Google +, Pinterest.
Thanks for checking in Fashionistas xx
ND xx
