It’s not about what you wear, it’s about how you wear it.
This is the mantra Geannie Todaro, lives by when determining what clothing pieces to upcycle.
The Werribee South resident last year won the Stitch don’t Ditch clothing competition, which involved residents in the municipality transforming pre-worn clothing into new and exciting designs.
Returning for 2022, the contest entries will close on Monday, August 15, and Ms Todaro is encouraging community members to participate and help minimise the amount of clothing going to landfill.
“With the outfit I did last year, it was a pale pink dress,” she said.
“I went to the op shop and I bought a large women’s shirt, because it had birds in it and the colours in the birds would suit the dress.”
Ms Todaro said the key to nabbing unique second hand items was pondering the potential a clothing piece had.
“You’ve got to look beyond the item, you’ve got to see what you can do with it,” she said.
Speaking on fashion trends, Ms Todaro says she prefers to avoid following the crowd and wears what suits her instead.
“If I’m comfortable in what I’m wearing, you get a positive reaction from people,” she said.
“I call it DOSE, D for deportment, O for originality, S for style, E for elegance and if you’ve got those four elements, anybody can look good on a basic budget.”
The Stitch don’t Ditch competition was founded by Wyndham councillor Heather Marcus, after learning Australia was the second worst clothing polluter in the world.
Environmental organisation Ark estimates that each year, Australians purchase an average of 27 kilograms of new clothing, with 23 kilograms of clothing ending up in landfill.
“It’s very serious…we’ve got to stop the waste going to landfill,” Ms Marcus said.
“If clothing is so bad, we’ve got to do something and that’s how I did it.”
By Fatima Halloum
