One shocking pink jacket, unlimited looks. Stats show that with fast fashion brands presenting an insane 52 collections annually, women have adopted a throwaway culture and discard their clothes after only 3-7 wears to avoid being photographed in the same outfit on social media channels like Instagram and Facebook, and risk being judged and criticised by followers. Fickle, I know... :(

Here, I've proven that, with just a dollop of imagination, it's possible to create wildly different ensembles (and #slowdownfastfashion) all centred around a single, very distinctive item: a three-year-old Witchery blazer from Woolworths which I've paired with garments and accessories from my existing wardrobe. Opulent gold featured a lot due to the gold button hardware, and naturally staples in neutral shades - black and white - rotated between all the different looks from "sporty" to "sultry", but to inject complementary popping hues, I turned to a digital colour wheel which suggested burnt orange and a soft duck egg blue. Eventually, I settled on a little Miss Sixty grass-green skirt instead.

That said, these nine gorgeous looks are just a sample of the mix 'n match potential and show that the unhealthy attitude of not wanting to repeat outfits doesn't have to be the reason that any clothing item is wastefully binned or retired to the back of a wardrobe just because you think "everyone has already seen it". If it still fits, style it up or down and #wearclotheslonger
The point is: you don't have to splurge on brand new clothes to simply follow trends. Instead, you can set the trend by using the clothes already hanging in your closet as a means of self-expression.

However, if you don't plan on repeating a gently-worn item again, then at least be eco-conscious enough to put it back into circulation so that it can be worn and enjoyed, and kept out of landfills for longer. As consumers it's critical to understand that during the making of non-essential fashion items, essential resources are used and so we have to honour every last drop of precious water and energy that was used up during the production process, and to do this we need to shop responsibly and buy quality items made with sustainability and circularity in mind.





