Practical Magic

Time to send your unwanted items on their next adventure!
 
I've shown you how to create your Mood Boards and carry out your Creative Wardrobe Cleanse and now it’s time for Practical Magic – extending the life cycle of your unwanted items.
 
From your action card piles, you’ll need to make a plan for the items in your SELL, FIX, DONATE, STORE, RENT, SWAP and CHUCK piles. Read on to learn my top tips for each.

#MakeSpaceThenCreate

SELL
 
These days, there are so many options for reselling your items. First of all, think local! What about your own community? You could post an item you no longer want on your Insta Stories and see if there are any takers. The joy of this… no commission.
 
HIGH STREET HITS
 
I often wonder what on earth I would do without Ebay! It is the mecca as far as I’m concerned. You can list items within a minute as the app is so user-friendly. I will often list bits on here that I know wouldn’t sell elsewhere. Brands like Zara seem to FLY on Ebay and there are buyers galore for any old high street item. Starting an auction low always attracts more sellers, as does offering free shipping. Take a bit of time to get nice photos as this will also attract buyers. I love sifting though all the listings to find weird and wonderful things to buy too. I’m currently obsessed with buying painted plates… It will be something else tomorrow. You can consider the very popular Depop app too although I haven't tried this myself.
 
MID-TIER DESIGNERS
 
Do you have a local Consignment Store? My favourite in London is Deuxieme. My sustainability career journey started in this happy shop. It’s based in Parson’s Green but wherever you live, it’s well worth a visit, not just for selling your items but also for the incredible selection of pre-owned fashion it houses. It accepts seasonal stock in very good condition from mid tier- high designer. Think Sandro, Isabel Marant, RIXO, Ganni etc. The commission at Deuxieme is 50% and you leave your items in the shop for 8 weeks. Deuxieme take care of everything else for you, including bank transfers for your sold items. After 8 weeks, you can either choose to collect your unsold bits (they have a brilliant sell-through) or you can opt to donate them and save the journey.
 
HIGH DESIGNER
 
For designer items such as Celine, Chanel or Louis Vuitton, I would opt for Vestiaire Collective and their sliding scale commission structure - the more expensive the item, the less the commission. I worked at Vestiaire for over six years in their VIP department and I’m incredibly passionate about this brilliant brand and what it stands for. They authenticate every item so buyers trust in their stock and buy confidently and they manage global shipment on your behalf, after you've posted your item into them using a free shipping label. You can either list items for sale yourself or if you’re based in London, why not try the VIP Concierge service where they take care of everything for you? Just email conciergelondon@vestiairecollective.com or download the app to list directly from your phone.
 
BRIC-A-BRAC
 
Hello car-boot sales! Obviously, now is not quite the time for these guys BUT, once we’re all out and about again, I can’t recommend a Sunday boot more – for the people watching alone, it is a winner! In the past I’ve held stalls at Battersea and Pimlico car-boot sales and made a couple of hundred quid back at each. My favourite weekend car-boot for shopping is Princess May car-boot in Stoke Newington. Get there early to grab the best deals!

FIX!
Move to your FIX pile. I imagine most of these things would have been plaguing you for quite some time! It's time to sort them right out. Here is a list of my favourite solutions.
 
SHOES, BAGS AND LEATHER GOODS
 
For shoes that need re-heeling or re-soling, leather bags that need tidying up or even a leather jacket with marks, look no further than The Restory. Book online and their team will collect your items, send you a quote to approve and then magically restore your items. They are then dropped back to your home or office, good as new. The Restory are sustainability pioneers and they are always developing new processes to revive your items whilst being kind to the environment too.
 
ECO DRY CLEANING
For dry cleaning, I have recently discovered Blanc Living and I love it! They use biodegradable detergents on specialist cycles to get your items perfect without harming the environment too much. They have spaces in Marylebone, Chelsea, White City and South Kensington or better still, they can collect from home for you. They also offer an alterations service too.
 
SPECIALIST GARMENT RESTORATION
For special pieces that need expert restoration such as vintage items, formal gowns or wedding dresses, email Shanon Fernandes. Shanon has over 10 years experience in the fashion industry, having freelanced for design houses such as Bora Aksu, Ossie Clark London, Avsh Alom Gur and William Vintage. You will need to drop your items to her at-home studio in Islington. Get in touch : shanonaf@gmail.com .
 
UPCYCLING
If you have an old dress that no longer fits you but you adore the material, why not turn it into something new? I often encourage my clients to do this in my 1:1 appointments. Sophie Rist, Founder of Agnes LDN, can help you find the best way to turn your old item into something new. Follow her Instagram or join her Facebook community and take part in her upcoming, online upcycling workshops.
 
Get in touch with my great friend Holly Howe who makes stunning hoop-handle bags from her living room with discarded materials. Holly can even make you a bag from a pair of your old curtains! Her bags range from £45-£65 and she allows you to customise your handles according to what you like from her stock. Get in touch with Holly on holly.c.howe@gmail.com  

DONATE
 
The first thing to do in this action pile is to think of the charity and their needs. Is this piece good enough to be of use to them? If you are merely throwing something old and tired away to make your life easier, this is not necessarily going to help a charity to make money – it will most likely cause them more work. Please be thoughtful when you donate items and only give what you think someone would wish to buy.
 
Everyone has their own favourite charities and I always believe it’s up to the individual to decide where they send their unwanted goods. However, my favourite option is Smart Works Charity, where I was lucky enough to work for a year as Partnerships and Communications Director. This fabulous charity gets unemployed women back into work with free interview clothing and coaching. They would be delighted to take your smarter pieces in fantastic condition for their dressing rooms or fun, fashion items for their fundraising sales.
 
If you can’t get out to one of their 11 shops across London,
Traid offer an at home collection service, as long as you have a bin bag full. Simply bag your good condition clothes, shoes and accessories and book a collection online here.
 
Once we are back up and running with events and gatherings again, you can get creative and host your own sale for charity, offering up a % of the sales you make. You can align with any charity that you feel passionately about. In my first Creative Wardrobe pop up, as well as collecting work-wear items for Smart Works, I offered a % of sales to Malaika Charity where I am an avid supporter. Malaika schools over 300 girls in the Congo and empowers the local community at the same time. Find out more here.

STORE

You still want to hold onto these items but you don't want them out at the moment. You need to make some space and so these items need to be stored out of sight for now.
 
You might have very limited space in your room but investing in some storage boxes and neatly folding the items you want to put away in groups is often a great move. I collect baskets and my Summer holiday clothes live in one of these with a sheet of Japanese paper over the top to keep the clothes free of dust. You can find storage boxes online at Muji or HM.com. 

Before committing any item to storage remember to ask yourself this question: Will I really miss this item once it’s gone?  If the answer is no, you might want to consider moving this piece to another action pile.

RENT

It’s 2020 people, and yes, you can in fact rent out your own wardrobe as well as renting beautiful pieces to wear, instead of buying. My top three rental destinations are HURR COLLECTIVE, a tech-tastic platform that connects fashion-savvy women in an instant, My Wardrobe HQ that allows you to both rent and buy pre-owned beauties and Cocoon Club – a subscription service that offers a new designer handbag each month for you to play with! If you have too many designer handbags (and if you do, lucky you!) why not sell the bulk of them and switch to renting instead?

SWAP

We often have similar styles to our nearest and dearest. We know our friends better than anyone and we KNOW when they would love one of our pieces we don’t want anymore. We also know when we would love one of their pieces… this is where the SWAP card can be pulled to maximum effect. An eye for an eye, although rather more pleasant. Get swapping and enjoy newness at no extra cost!

CHUCK

By CHUCK, I don’t mean just… chuck. I mean carefully and responsibly remove your unwanted items (that can't be donated) from your home and pass them on in the best possible way. All over London (and in every city) you can google recycling banks, where your items can be passed on responsibly. Search for your nearest clothing bank here. For mass collections, for example someone like me who collects in bulk from other people’s wardrobes, LM Barry Textiles is a good solution. Thank you to my girl Emma Slade Edmonson for bringing them to my attention.
 
Please do share your Creative Wardrobe Cleanses on Social tagging @ccccreativewardrobe and #creativewardrobecleanse so I can follow all the action!
 
Sending love and light to you, your families and loved ones at this time. Stay busy and active and keep smiling,
 
Charlie x