Faye De Lanty grew up with a love for things antique and vintage but the eco-stylist and Salvos fashion ambassador said being thrifty when it came to clothes shopping developed from necessity.
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“I’ve always had a passion for it but it wasn’t until I was living overseas and it was genuinely all I could afford and I had to find a way to make it look cool, to make it look stylish,” Ms De Lanty said.
“So I would just devour the pages of Vogue and I would think, ‘How can I copy that for $20?’.
“I started challenging myself and people started commenting on my clothes. Necessity is the mother of all invention, they say, and it definitely became that for me.”
The fashion blogger and TV presenter said “90-95 per cent” of her “small wardrobe” remaines pre-loved and she will be spruiking her tips on reducing clothing waste when she delivers a free upcycling and styling workshop at Newcastle’s Salvos store on Hunter Street on August 29 at 10am.
The workshop is part of a national tour Ms De Lanty is on for National Op Shop Week from August 27 to September 2.
According to Ms De Lanty, 83 per cent of Australian women have clothes in their wardrobe that they have only worn once or twice, and 62 per cent own clothes that have never been worn or still have tags on.
She said you could find plenty of “hidden gems” when op shopping.
“Just because it’s an op shop, where things are inexpensive, it doesn’t mean that you should buy a whole heap of stuff that you’re not going to wear,” she said.
“Go in there with an idea of what you are looking for, a new black dress or a new pair of jeans. Look for something good quality then slowly build your wardrobe from there.
Look for something good quality then slowly build your wardrobe from there.
- Faye De Lanty
“When you start with that basic wardrobe you can easily inject trends with accessories.”
As part of the one-hour workshop, Ms De Lanty will demonstrate how to transform broken pieces of fashion into trendy accessories.
More information on the workshop or to register interest, go to www.salvosstores.salvos.org.au or 13 72 58.