Even though Shift originated when I completed the three-day FashCamp course at the University of the Sunshine Coast in July of 2019 that is not where my fashion journey began.
My fashion journey began long before…. I had always marvelled at the sight of vintage fashion and this began when I started watching the television series, This Old Thing: The Vintage Clothes Show hosted by Dawn O’Porter and also because I loved watching the original television series of Wonder Woman and Charlie’s Angels. This Old Thing was a program that gave you the history of different fashion eras combined with styling sessions and shopping tips; my mum and I loved it. So, I started to rummage through vintage and thrift stores to find my favourite vintage pieces.
All my life I had received and given hand-me-downs, but I always just saw it as a cool way to get ‘new’ clothes and save money. By 2017 my mum and I had also started going to the incredible fashion event, Her Wardrobe. Her Wardrobe is a pre-loved clothing market where women come to sell their wardrobe and that is where a large percentage of my wardrobe has originated. On one of my visits to Her Wardrobe someone brought their vintage wardrobe to the markets and I went crazy. I rummaged through baskets and flicked through coat hangers in record time. Embarrassingly, I must admit I took maybe 20 (or more) garments from the racks to the change rooms. The offer was 3 for $15 so I had to try on all the clothes as quickly as I could while choosing my favourite 3, challenge accepted!
Around this time I had an InStyle magazine subscription and I wanted to be a fashion designer (now I want to be a fashion journalist-my career ideas used to change quite regularly!). So, in 2018 when my mum told me we were going to a talk with Clare Press (Vogue’s first ever Sustainability Editor 2018-2020. She was also Vogue’s features director for five years and was a fashion editor-at-large for Marie Claire) I was very excited. When the talk started though, my mood changed drastically. She was talking about sustainable and ethical fashion and I was in awe. I had heard the terms sustainable and ethical, but I had never connected the words to fashion. I was horrified as they spoke of the consequences of fast fashion and I kept saying to my mum, “Mum, what are they talking about? Is this true?” and she was trying to kindly make me quieten down. At the end of the talk I was lucky enough to get a photo with Clare Press (see above) and I told her I wanted to be a fashion designer and she said she would look out for a brand in my name in a few years. I was hooked on everything she had said and in the car ride home I talked a million miles an hour about everything I had just learnt. For the next few days I researched and I haven’t bought any new garments in over two years. My source of ‘new’ clothing comes from vintage shops, Her Wardrobe, other pre-loved markets and from friends and family. If I need anything that I don’t have and need it urgently I go to my mum’s wardrobe-Thanks mum.
Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you have enjoyed reading about how my sustainable and ethical fashion journey began. I would love to hear your story, so please email me or message me on Instagram. I look forward to hearing from you.
Eva Aroha x
Instagram Links:
Clare Press- https://www.instagram.com/mrspress/
Dawn O'Porter- https://www.instagram.com/hotpatooties/
Her Wardrobe Markets- https://www.instagram.com/herwardrobemarkets/
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