Outfit Recycling: Only Fit For The Queen?

June 13, 2012
By: Lara Keay

Now all the Jubilee celebrations are over, we finally have the time to reflect on what is really important – the Queen? The monarchy? Great Britain? Well yes, but probably more so…fashion!

This said, not being a royalist myself I couldn’t help but be impressed by last weekend’s events and at her majesty’s seemingly ever-lasting reign. However the question of longevity can be applied to all parts of life, and certainly the one that us girls seem to care about the most – our wardrobes.

The Diamond Jubilee didn’t just bring miles of bunting and rainy street parties; it also gave us a true sense of royal style. Our beloved Kate or rather the Duchess of Cambridge maintained her usual elegance and grace by sporting a beautiful, pale pink Emilia Wickstead dress at the Queen’s jubilee garden party. However fashion journalists and online gossipers alike were quick to note that she had stepped out in the very same outfit just two weeks earlier at Windsor Castle. The scandal! What is more, the Queen herself is also renowned for repeating her outfits: she wasn’t afraid to re-wear her yellow ensemble from last year’s royal wedding, even though the millions who watched it would have noticed.

But enough about the royals, we must return to the real question at hand…can we bear to wear the same outfit twice? For those reading I don’t want to sound snobby, as I must admit I wear the same pair of jeans three times in one week and the same shoes everyday. It is those all-important going out outfits I am referring to.

It seems in this snap-happy, Facebook-obsessed society we now live in, our local pubs and clubs have turned into our own personal version of the red carpet. If we’ve been photographed in something once, it appears that that dress or those shorts have to stay locked away for the foreseeable future. Although there is something quite glamorous about stepping out in something brand new on a night out, the harsh reality of the student budget makes this fairly impossible to maintain on a weekly basis.

Thus when planning an outfit, my advice would be to think beyond just your wardrobe; your housemates, friends and family are all bound to have gems in their closets that you can use. So if you are desperate for something to wear and can’t afford those ever-climbing Topshop prices, plan ahead and organize an outfit swap…preferably before drinking starts, as no one wants a fashion disaster!

Even though we might not have the money to buy a new outfit every week, being students we have more time than most to sort these things out, so perhaps forward-planning is the answer to our problems, and it seems that if we root around long enough before we know it we could have an outfit fit for a queen!