Cheapos love a charity shop, but there are a few other creative ways that style-conscious Londoners can make a sustainable, affordable fashion statement. Rather than resorting to cheap fast fashion, which has a terrible environmental impact, there are better ways to update your wardrobe. From picking up a needle and thread to sociable swapping to designer resale stores, you can look great, save money – and help save the planet while you’re at it.
A stitch in time
Learning to sew is back in style. Picking up basic sewing techniques means you can mend old favourites and revive clothes with a few simple fixes, such as new buttons or trims. And if you develop some serious skills, you can try making your own clothes or doing advanced alterations.
The good news is that learning to sew in London doesn’t have to be an expensive undertaking. Parisa Wright, founder and CEO of community group Greener & Cleaner, has set up The Hub, a place in Bromley where skills such as sewing and mending are shared. There are monthly free public skills sharing events, such as invisible mending, hand-sewing, using sewing machines, embroidery to cover marks, repurposing textiles and more. For non-sewers, The Hub hosts free mending clinics every Saturday. Check the website for the latest events.
“Sewing is a great way to reduce waste, get creative and end up with something gorgeous and unique, while reducing costs, helping our mental health with mindfulness and reducing our carbon emissions,” says Parisa.
Another East London option is Make Mee Studio’s free beginners’ sewing classes for Lewisham borough residents, with priority given to local residents who are experiencing financial hardship or isolation. The National Lottery Community Fund means classes can run until at least 2026. GCDA Learning, with the support of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, offers all Londoners free classes covering a range of sewing and textile skills, but they fill up quickly, so it’s worth signing up to the newsletter to book early.
Over in north London, meanwhile, Haringey Council offers free introductory sewing and mending classes in Tottenham.
If you want to get serious about sewing, the Mary Ward Centre in Stratford and Morley College, with campuses in North Kensington, Chelsea, Stockwell and Waterloo, offer reasonably priced fashion and textiles courses for different levels of ability, with concessionary rates available for those eligible.
And if you fancy combining a spot of socialising with your sewing and you have a bit of spare cash, ClassBento’s Sip and Sew embroidery classes are good fun and priced from £37.00. If you’d rather stay sober as you stitch, they offer plenty of textiles courses with prices starting at £12.00. ClassBento holds public and private lessons across a number of London locations, including Nine Elms, Isle of Dogs, Hammersmith, Wimbledon, Worcester Park, Thames Ditton, Covent Garden and Wood Green.
Swap in style
Clothes swapping events can be a fun way to meet new people and come home with something new for your wardrobe, while ensuring your too big/too small/just-not-feeling-it-anymore clothes don’t end up in landfill.
Potter & Swish runs clothes swaps two or three times a year in South East London. Potter & Swish has even collaborated with Beckenham-based Know How You sewing school at clothes swaps to advise people on alterations for the perfect fit. Tickets are priced at just £8.80, the events have become well-known for being a treasure trove of designer clothes for bargain prices.
“There’s a huge variety of clothes that are brought to swap and that’s part of what makes it so exciting – you never know what you’re going to get,” says Potter & Swish’s Bonnie Adair. “We’ve had everything from Gucci skirts, Moschino scarves and an incredible Vivienne Westwood dress to more everyday wear from Reiss, Zara and ASOS.”
At The Hub, Parisa says they host a range of clothes swap events: “We put on costume swaps and costume sewing/upcycling events for Halloween and World Book Day, as well as clothes swaps once a quarter.”
University College London is hosting free clothes swap events on the first Friday of the month up to May 2025 for all staff and students of UCL and all other University of London institutions. If you’re eligible to attend, these events are strictly reseller-free zones.
High end fashion at low prices
While charity shops are a great way to shop sustainably, factory outlets, sample sales and preloved designer shops can offer more choice in size and style at an affordable price. Perhaps the best-known place for designer bargains is Wembley Park’s London Designer Outlet for mall-style shopping, but there are plenty of smaller shops around town that are worth checking out.
Fashion journalist and content director Gemma Champ, has plenty of recommendations for Londoner seeking great designs without the hefty price tag: “The Box in Hackney is spectacularly good with regular, proper designer sample sales – you can sign up for email alerts for sale dates and tickets.”
Gemma also recommends Arlettie for regular sample sales near Oxford Circus tube station, as well as online shopping bargains, and The Music Room in Mayfair for sample sales and pop-ups with brands including LK Bennett and Temperley.
For excellent vintage designer fashion where good quality meets reasonable prices, Gemma suggests heading east to Beyond Retro in Dalston and Soho, and Atika in Shoreditch, which she describes as a “secondhand emporium” for clothing, homewares, books and magazines. For “slightly more chichi secondhand”, Gemma says Camden Passage, with its shops and regular markets, is worth a visit. With fashions from the 1940s to the noughties, Rokit in Camden is another treasure trove for vintage fashion fans.
Every retro fashionista’s look demands excellent accessories, so Gemma says to head to Alfie’s Antiques Market for vintage costume jewellery and accessories.
For those serious about clothes that will last a long time, Gemma cautions that the advent of fast fashion means that with post-1990s clothes, the quality can plummet. If you’re looking for amazing retro styles that are as good today as when they were made, she says it’s worth keeping an eye out for 1970s Jaeger and St Michael, which was sold by Marks & Spencer, for the best buys.
Talking of quality, Bonnie recommends the Clarks factory outlets for excellent shoes at a fraction of the recommended retail price, especially her favourite black Chelsea boots. The London Clarks outlets are in Peckham, Woolwich and Edmonton.
With stores in Marylebone and Notting Hill, as well as a well-stocked online shop, CSD is a luxury consignment retailer selling quality secondhand designer clothes, bags and accessories. Brands include Chanel, Gucci and Louboutin.
