Country Living – Give of your best

I was raised in what I prefer to term as a “financially challenged” home, and while our bellies were always full, there was little left over for new clothing. I spent most of my childhood wearing thrift shop clothing, spending hours searching for that perfect outfit to look cool. My family may have been financially struggling, but we did our best not to look it. Dressing well gives us all self-esteem and should have no boundaries. As I have got older, this life challenge is now a beautifully re-written story of my lifelong love affair with vintage clothing and a belief that those that wear secondhand are spearheading a worldwide eco-movement towards sustainable fashion.

Covid-19 will see many of us financially touched. However, the pride we seek by looking and feeling confident can still be achieved in an economical way, and, at the same time, crown us as environmental warriors who are on top of their game and looking fine and dandy.

To prove my point, I enlisted my teenage daughter Saba and some town and country queens to go on a shopping spree. The brief was to source the cheapest outfit they would “rock out” from the myriad of charity shops we have in our rural towns. At first I thought shopping with teenagers would be like sticking my finger into a power socket – an almighty buzz and tingle that had the ability to hurt my head. However as it turned out, they loved it so much. Searching for the perfect outfit is time consuming, but I spare my compassionate thoughts to the mostly elderly volunteers who are sorting through the mountains of clothing donations, which are often stained, ripped and even dirty. Sadly, our charity bins are slowly disappearing, along with many vulnerable volunteers, who have grown weary of the small number of people who seem to think that tired hands want to sort through bags of rags that hold no dignity for a recipient who is in need. Horrible household waste and broken appliances serve only to take away from those in need.

Donating such items does not in any way disguise itself as charity or relinquish a dumper’s guilt. However, all is not lost and with a little empathy and a bit of education we can send the self-esteem of all in our communities through the roof.

So come close, let me whisper in your ear. You know those beautiful clothes you have hanging in your wardrobe that you have not worn for years? Let us gently inhale and breathe new life into them. Let others share in the feeling you got when you slipped it on to your body and looked in the mirror and felt so handsome or beautiful. Your clothes can rock someone’s world; they are a compliment at a party or a turn of the head in the street.

They can elevate someone who is inwardly sad to outwardly proud; keep one warm in winter or confident in a job interview, while serving the charity from which they were brought. Your no longer worn but still beautiful clothes can give an astonishing gift of confidence and a form of street-style equality. So I will start the ball rolling. I’ll dive into my wardrobe and drag out some of my lovely but lonely clothes, donate to my nearest charity shop and offer up my help as a volunteer to anyone who wants me. Maybe some of  you hipsters out there would like to join me. Why not? Dress-ups are cool.  So, let’s get jiggy with it and be the best community we can – reach out to hold the hands of those who have been dealt a bad one and tug them gently up.

Julie Cotton
admin@oceanique.co.nz