By Erin Lindsay
10th Feb 2020
10th Feb 2020
What’s normally a jungle of fast-fashion shopping hauls has now transformed into a haven of second-hand buys, charity shop gems and informative captions on how to make this sustainable streak go the distance. While there is endless inspiration from around the globe, here are our favourite home-grown Instagrammers sharing their sustainable fashion knowledge.
Molly Parsons (@mouldyparsnips)
Podcast host and sustainable fashion lover Molly is one of the most popular Irish influencers on the platform, and her Y2K/grunge-inspired look is so of the moment (and thankfully, very easy to find vintage for). Molly has featured on many other sustainability-focused platforms and conversations, but her own Instagram provides the perfect backdrop for her vintage hauls and advice for those looking to make the move to slow fashion. The above post, where she chats about how her need to keep up with fast fashion was negatively affecting her body image, is a particularly great point, and another important aspect to the conversation around constant new-in consumption.
Geraldine and Taz from Sustainable Fashion Dublin (@sustainablefashiondublin)
The reigning queens of the Dublin sustainability scene, Geraldine and Taz are two of the most fun, relatable and informative women on Instagram when it comes to slow fashion. Building a sustainable empire from the ground up, their shared project Sustainable Fashion Dublin hosts DIY workshops, charity shop crawls, swap shops, discussions and Q+A’s… you name it, they have it. Their regular Insta-stories informing followers of the dangers of unsustainable consumption (not only in fashion, but in beauty products, food packaging and more), are a great bite-size way to get informed. Plus, they just look like two of the most fun girls to hang out with. Sign us up.
Katrina Carroll (@vintagestylebykat)
Katrina’s latest venture, where she showcases her charity shop and online vintage finds, is an offshoot of the account where she made her name @vintageirishkat. Katrina’s real shtick is sustainable interior design, DIY-ing her way round her house in Dublin, and documenting the entire process on her hilarious Insta-stories. But her vintage-vibed outfits were too good to leave to the side, so she started a second account just for us fashion lovers (lucky us). Katrina is hilarious and so down to earth, and her charity shop hauls and stories of design failures will have you dying for more.
Roz Purcell (@rozannapurcell)
An already well-known name on the Irish fashion scene, recently, model Roz Purcell has been sticking her toe in the sustainable pool, and it’s yielded amazing results. From vintage hauls (like the one above on IGTV) to showcasing how easy it is to use clothing rental services for big events, Roz is the poster child for how to look impossibly glam on a vintage budget.
Aoife Power (@aoifepowerok)
Waterford-native Aoife is a stylist and had worked in Penney’s before embarking on a sustainable fashion buzz, so it must have been particularly hard to stray away from fast fashion. But stray she has, and has cultivated a gorgeous wardrobe full of 90’s dresses, denim and accessories in the process. Aoife’s journey towards a more ethical wardrobe mirrors many others — it can be hard to dive right in to vintage clothing only, but doing it little by little is making every step better for the planet.
Niamh Cullen (@niamhcullenx)
One of the biggest influencers on the Irish scene and she’s a huge vintage lover? We love her already. Niamh Cullen is a household name to any of us familiar with Irish Instagram, but her love of thrifting makes her stand out from the crowd in the best way. A lover of Nine Crows, a vintage shop in Dublin that has recently started up a thrift shop for those looking to shop on a budget, Niamh’s cultivated wardrobe has some stunning pieces, and is great inspiration for those who want a clean-cut, glamourous look from second-hand sources.
Tara Stewart (@tarastewartdj)
If upcycling and personalisation is your game, Tara Stewart is your new favourite follow. The Dublin-based DJ and radio presenter is a fiend for slow fashion, and is always on the hunt for second-hand pieces that she can make her own — from blazers painted with her own name, to bandanas sewn together to make a killer skirt. Tara’s look is impossibly cool, but thanks to her meticulous Insta-story filming, you can find out exactly how to emulate it yourself.
Sarah Hanrahan (@i_come_undone)
A stalwart of the Irish influencer scene, I’ve always admired Sarah Hanrahan for refusing to blend into the influencer crowd — she always does her own thing, and that includes loving second-hand and sustainable clothing before it was the cool thing to do. From charity shop IGTV episodes, to selling her own pre-loved wares on Depop (always at a very reasonable price, might I add), Sarah has cultivated a look unique to her, and her capsule wardrobe is a thing of beauty.
Read more: Are you doing Sustainable September? Here are 5 ways to curb your shopping habit
Read more: Stuck in a fashion rut? Here are 6 ways to get out of your comfort zone
Read more: The best vintage finds as worn by IMAGE staffers
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