Chennai’s fashion lovers are becoming more conscious of the impact of their shopping habits on the environment. For all of the complaints about the ‘Gram it’s also the perfect forum for people to realise that discarded clothes end up in landfills.
Karishma Sehgal and Sruti Ashok; Tanitha Pereira; Lingeshwaran and Pallavi with a friend
Chennai:
Model-stylist Tanitha Pereira, who started Tanitha’s thrift shop on Instagram, had a wonderful response to her first sale. She tells me that the city and people still need to unlearn a lot of misconceptions when it comes to thrifting. It’s not just a second-hand shop and no, you will not be finding torn, stained, old clothes that no one wants. To the contrary, a great thrift shop has clothes and accessories that are maintained well and were loved by its previous owner, who for whatever reason have outgrown them or wants to find them a new owner, who will love them and wear them with as much if not more love. Remember that last designer limited edition collab that sold out before you get your hands on them? Well, thrift stores are great places to look for such pieces. It’s a wonderful thing to donate your clothes to an orphanage or an old-age home or any charity but you have to understand that no one there is going to wear your crop top or sequin dresses.
Tanitha plans to open her own thrift shop and as with all things she does it is going to be highly curated. As someone who grew up going to thrift shops in Italy and picking up vintage beauties that have been preserved; well you know, this is going to be great. She wants to go old school and have a physical store where people can try on the clothes before they buy. While she is working on making that happen, you can expect thrift pop-ups coming soon to Chennai.
Sruti Ashok, founder of Inai, a leather brand and Karishma Sehgal of The Baksa Project, two women who try to live a more sustainable lifestyle came together and organised a pop-up last week called the ReLove Closet and many turned out to shop. This was a great way for people to find a loving home for those impulsive buys that were still sitting in their closet with tags intact that they never wore and never will. They got a ton of feedback on wanting a bigger size selection and many wanted to donate their clothes as the proceeds from ReLove Closet were donated to charity. Sruti even took up a one-year no shopping challenge and repurposed her old clothes and wore them. She has followed it up with the decision to not buy fast fashion. Are you feeling a little faint already because I was when I heard this? What Sruti is doing is admirable but do what works for you and be aware of the impact of your choices.
There are many ways to thrift and many reasons to embrace thrifting. I, for one, am enjoying the fact that Chennai is becoming more conscious of the impact of their fashion choices on the environment and the world that we live in.
The top fashion influencers in the city are encouraging people to repeat their outfits and style it differently and also for friends to share wardrobes if they can. This way we end up consuming less of fast fashion where we shop each season for its hottest trends and get rid of them in time for the next to make space in our closets. I share my clothes, accessories and shoes with some of my closest friends and family. My grandmother, mother and I share our sarees with each other and that’s the beauty of slow fashion or buying pieces that last and there is joy in sharing.
Model-stylist Tanitha Pereira, who started Tanitha’s thrift shop on Instagram, had a wonderful response to her first sale. She tells me that the city and people still need to unlearn a lot of misconceptions when it comes to thrifting. It’s not just a second-hand shop and no, you will not be finding torn, stained, old clothes that no one wants. To the contrary, a great thrift shop has clothes and accessories that are maintained well and were loved by its previous owner, who for whatever reason have outgrown them or wants to find them a new owner, who will love them and wear them with as much if not more love. Remember that last designer limited edition collab that sold out before you get your hands on them? Well, thrift stores are great places to look for such pieces. It’s a wonderful thing to donate your clothes to an orphanage or an old-age home or any charity but you have to understand that no one there is going to wear your crop top or sequin dresses.
Tanitha plans to open her own thrift shop and as with all things she does it is going to be highly curated. As someone who grew up going to thrift shops in Italy and picking up vintage beauties that have been preserved; well you know, this is going to be great. She wants to go old school and have a physical store where people can try on the clothes before they buy. While she is working on making that happen, you can expect thrift pop-ups coming soon to Chennai.
Sruti Ashok, founder of Inai, a leather brand and Karishma Sehgal of The Baksa Project, two women who try to live a more sustainable lifestyle came together and organised a pop-up last week called the ReLove Closet and many turned out to shop. This was a great way for people to find a loving home for those impulsive buys that were still sitting in their closet with tags intact that they never wore and never will. They got a ton of feedback on wanting a bigger size selection and many wanted to donate their clothes as the proceeds from ReLove Closet were donated to charity. Sruti even took up a one-year no shopping challenge and repurposed her old clothes and wore them. She has followed it up with the decision to not buy fast fashion. Are you feeling a little faint already because I was when I heard this? What Sruti is doing is admirable but do what works for you and be aware of the impact of your choices.
There are many ways to thrift and many reasons to embrace thrifting. I, for one, am enjoying the fact that Chennai is becoming more conscious of the impact of their fashion choices on the environment and the world that we live in.
Model Pallavi is the new ‘bridechilla’
Over the last two days, the who’s who of Chennai descended upon Madurai as one of the city’s popular models, Pallavi aka Pearl got married to Madurai lad Lingeshwaran aka Manu, a businessman. From the groom’s good friend actor Arya to the city’s fashion set who were all part of the bride’s gang turned up in their stylish best and set the temperatures soaring in the beautiful temple city. Pearl is the embodiment of the word ‘bridechilla’. I have never seen a more chilled-out bride whose only aim was to enjoy her big day and steal lovely little moments with her family and friends amid the wedding as these are moments to cherish for a lifetime. For the wedding functions, the groom wore pastel shades and looked dapper and Pearl looked so radiant and beautiful in silk sarees off the looms of Kanchipuram woven specially for this occasion. I guess all the years of modelling and dressing up as a bride was a rehearsal for her big day. We are wishing these two a lifetime of wedded bliss and for all the broken hearts in the city, let me just say chocolates will ease some of that pain!