How to look freaking fly at work

With the environment going to shit it’s important to be cautious of where we buy our things and limit fast fashion purchases. But that doesn’t mean we can’t look freaking fly, especially at work.

Sustainably made and ethical products can be rather expensive, which is understandable, but a difficult switch when we are used to the prices of fast fashion.

This makes Depop, Vinted, eBay, charity shops, and vintage stores your best friends. The key is to know how to use them...

ONLINE: VINTED, EBAY & DEPOP

Ebay is the OG of online sales and if you do like bidding, it's definitely the most fun. It's easy to run into companies selling mass-produced stock though, so this is something to really look out for. Filtering your search results to "auction" under "buying format" can normally weed out these large sellers, but it does mean that you are then limited to auction-only items.

Vinted is probably the most user-friendly of the three as it has great buyer protection, is cheap, and there's no bidding if that scares you!

Depop has gorgeous things and is the most fashion-forward of these sites. However, because of its reputation and the specific curation of many shops, sellers can be cocky and put their prices really high for something that is probably worth £5.

All three are worth a whack, and here is how I would go about finding my new work clothes:

• Vary your vocab. Work trousers could also be listen as suit trousers or tailored trousers. Try them all!

• Save items to compare price

• Don’t go for the first thing you see!

• If you are confident in an item don’t be afraid to spend more for a nicer brand.

• Sometimes just search for the name of the brand eg Uniqlo.

With work clothes it's really important to get some good basics.

Vests, shirts, and black trousers that you LOVE are all really helpful. A good set of basics means that you can unleash the more adventurous and creative shopper, knowing that you will have something to wear the more unique pieces with and they won't sit in your drawer waiting for 'the right occasion'.

Search suggestions:

[insert brand name] ribbed vest

• Vests you can get online second hand, I really recommend the vests at Weekday and Zara ones as they’re thick and high-necked so perfect for a shirt or a small jacket.

[insert brand name] work trousers

• This can be :

  • Zara, M&S, Bershka, Uniqlo, etc etc. They go for as cheap as £2 and if you learn which brand and which size works for you then you never have to worry about them not fitting.

COS, & Other Stories, Uniqlo

• COS, & Other Stories, Uniqlo

  • These are slightly more expensive and therefore the deals are way better, the designs are nice and usually they last longer.

M&S white shirt

• M&S is king. You know they have everything you need. Get on it.

workwear

• If you just put ‘workwear’ into the search bar, you might get cool things come up that you hadn’t thought of!

CHARITY SHOPS

Charity shops have everything from really cool unique items of clothing to perfect versatile basics.

When looking for workwear in charity shops:

• Look for shirts, long skirts, blazers.

• Imagine the item with black trousers at first, or a white shirt. This gives it room to shine in your head so you can stop picturing it with all of the crap that’s in the charity shop.

• Don’t be afraid to size up. If there’s a blazer you see in a cool colour or pattern but it’s too big, it could be worn oversized.

• Try it all on – very key!

It can also be really helpful to look online for a charity shop guide in your area or an area near you.

VINTAGE SHOPS

Vintage shops are the most expensive option on this list, but they are full of beautiful gems that are one-of-a-kind and usually well made.

I wouldn't personally go to a vintage shop for my basics, but I would:

• Shop for shirts and blazers in both the men’s and women’s section.

• Trousers and skirts are also good here.

• Try on everything

Some great shops are:

• Rokit

• Beyond Retro

• Mary's Living and Giving

• Kilo sales!

We wear clothes to work every day - it's important to not hate them! By getting yourself some great second hand workwear you will save money, save the planet, and look amazing while doing it.