Vicki Wright, Fashion Intern. Vicki’s bow and veil hair accessory from H&M adds a quirky touch to smart hareem trousers from Zara and pretty chiffon top from Republic. Her gorgeous vintage shoes from a boutique in Bournemouth top off a fabulous outfit.

Fashion journalist, Naomi Davis, is a picture of retro-chic. She wears second hand printed top and skirt by Aquascutum, a vintage bag from ebay and a borrowed belt.

This second hand cabin-boy jumpsuit looked cheeky and comfortable as well as chic, when worn with a Agyness Deyn-alike haircut and simple colours.

We love the offbeat high-waisted harem style trousers set against the dainty vintage lace. The moccasins and bling gold jewellery are also second hand.

Most people’s reaction to The Uniform Project – to wear the same dress, every single day for a whole year – is a pretty natural one; surely she would smell? Not this girl. The way the team have got round it is by creating seven of the same dress, so she can do a wash a week, in case you were wondering. Creating seven dresses might not be the most waste-conscious process but it’s the idea that carries the real sustainable living weight. The idea that you don’t have to buy brand new clothes to look different, new, or on trend, but that you can simply change what you already have, just make do and ..bend.

The picture here (June 23) is the dress in it’s most basic form, but it can actually be opened up and worn as a waist coat, worn back to front or covered up. It was created by Eliza Starbuck who designed the dress to be worn in all seasons and in every way possible. If it sounds like cheating, it isn’t really. It takes a lot of imagination to look as hot as she does every day in the same dress, which is why I’m using her subtle dress updating ideas as my own.

What I love most about The Uniform Project though, is that to get these looks, you don’t need to do any clever pinning or cutting, and you don’t have to go anywhere near a sewing machine. Nope, these relentlessly varying and always sexy outfits are created with cleverly placed accessories, removable collars, sleeves, buckles and brooches.

Alright, endless accessories might not sound that eco either, but in fact all the extras are donated from supporters of the cause or sourced from vintage stores, Etsy or eBay. What a smarty pants.

We really have been put to ethical fashion shame. Take a look at some of our favourite days so far here, and be smitten.

The Uniform Project was created to raise awareness of sustainable living and fund the Akanksha Founation, which donates money for education and school uniforms for Indian children who live in slums.

The Uniform Project

This is the chance you’ve been waiting for to finally sort through your pile of half customised or wrong sized second-hand garments and give them the sexy revamp they’ve been waiting for, so you can wear them with the same pride as you would a brand new item. As if you needed an excuse.

Oxfam’s DIY competition forms part of the launch earlier this month of the fashion-pack’s new ‘must do’ flagship Oxfam DIY store in Camden, London, which was designed to be the ultimate resource and destination for independent style seekers. It’s a mixture of hand made and quirky pieces that promise to be the perfect antidote to the mass produced rails of the high street which are lacking as much in personality as they are in ethics.

Oxfam’s one-of-a-kind competition, invites people to create or just customise their own unique clothing, and make the most of what they already own in a  fun, fashion-forward twist on the punky DIY attitude we’re all used to. It is encouraged to use vintage and used clothing or recycled materials to really hit the eco message home to everyone.

On top of being rewarded with your own self-satisfyingly personalised outfit, the winner will also receive a custom-made garment designed exclusively for them by Mrs Jones. If that isn’t inventive enough I don’t know what is.

Keep clicking to see more party photos of the launch night at the Camden Oxfam DIY store in London, and see the supermodels and celebrities who’s DIY company you’ll be keeping.

Please visit Oxfam.org.uk/diy for more information.

Next page: Modelling glam feathers

Ruth writes: I hate those targeted advertisements you get on Facebook, you know, the ones at the side of your profile page that somehow know your every interest and desire. I always think it’s just gullible people that click on them; but I guess that’s me then, because I clicked on one the other day and I haven’t looked back.

The offer just seemed too good to be true: design your own dress and wear it in 10 working days, with prices starting from £41. With a wedding coming up I was intrigued to say the least and once I noticed they used organic silk, I was sold!

StyleShake.com is an easy to use website, with a great selection of fabrics and colours to choose from, and once you start designing it’s hard to stop because it’s just so simple and addictive.  Best of all, if you are like me and you hate shopping on the high street this is the perfect site for you.  This way you don’t have to traipse around stuffy shops, and you get to wear something that is completely unique. For me, this means there is no risk of me turning up to that wedding only to find someone else wearing the same dress.

Sizing is a piece of (fluffy white layer) cake too. I just selected UK size 10, but if you want a more tailored look, just type in your measurements at no extra charge. If your dress comes back and it doesn’t fit, they offer an alterations service as well.

My organic silk dress came to £62 altogether, complete with trimmings and p&p. It arrived within 10 working days as promised, was really well made and looked just how I designed it online. It also features a charming little label that says ‘made in England, designed by you’ on it; how lovely it is to see a label that doesn’t say ‘made in China’.

The only thing I would recommend is that you maybe ask them to send you samples of the fabric before you order if you are looking for a specific colour, because my dress was less purple than it appeared on screen.  My forward thinking flatmate ordered some samples since she is planning to use the site to design her bridesmaid dresses.  By doing this each bridesmaid gets to design her own dress, made to measure, and it’s easy to keep the fabric the same for all. This way everyone’s happy… and I am certainly more than happy with my dress!

StyleShake.com

More real fashion:

greenmystyle.com writer Stacey holds her own clothes swap

Fash-pack pics at Estethica after show party

Bigwardrobe.com is the new eBay

Real style: Spotted at London Fashion Week

Swishing in Shoreditch

Stacey writes: As a contributor for greenmystyle.com I have been to many a swishing event, but this was the first one I had decided to gallantly organise myself. My first experience of clothes swapping, or swishing as it is affectionately named, was at the V&A museum during their Sustainable Fashion event last November. Since then whenever I had heard the word swishing I was there! So with my once-loved items under one arm I was ready to find something new and exciting, and all for free.

Amongst crowds of eager swishers, it was a battle of the fittest to grab the leather jacket, those patent heels and that green tea dress before someone else did. Knowing how riotous and unruly these events could be, I was more than apprehensive when the time can to open the doors, and let the crowds devour my single rail of collected items.

When I first pitched the idea to a friend we thought it would be nothing but a great success. At a time loomed with talk of recession and credit crunch, who wouldn’t want to enjoy a bit of guilt-free shopping? Clothes swapping is truly taking the fashion scene by storm and it is an eco-fabulous way of recycling those old items hiding in the darkest corners of your wardrobe.

After a month of organising I was really excited to see how my swishing day would turn out. Amongst my single rail of items was a fabulous Topshop wrap dress, a vintage grey studded leather jacket, numerous lumberjack shirts and a strapless Fifties style print dress that I had my eye on, not to mention an array of shoes, belts and jewellery I had gathered throughout our week of collection.

With the thrill of bargain-hunting inside them, a small crowd had gathered and I was starting to feel quite unprepared with the small amount of clothes I had to swap. Thankfully, after the doors opened, people arrived clutching even more items to swap and I could then add them to my rail.

It seemed to all be over in moments though, and after just 30 minutes the rail has been totally pillaged. All that remained were are a few T-shirts that looked like rejects from the Eighties and a couple of pairs of jeans. Throughout the frenzy, what had I managed to grab? That strapless dress and a pair of turquoise leg warmers!

Among the people who had come to swap till they dropped was Ruth, 21. She said, ‘I got a pair of jeans, a skirt and two great party tops. This is the first swapping event that I have been to and I am really pleased with what I picked up. It is such a good idea!’
A fellow swisher Lucy, 22 said, ‘I’m really pleased with what I managed to find on the rail! I found these shoes, a belt and a gorgeous Forties dress which I’m going to customize.’ Thrifty.

From what I could see and hear people who came along were really happy with what they found hiding amongst the rail and I was just so thrilled to get people involved in the great clothes swapping ethos. It is rewarding to put on your own event and I really recommend it. Even though I enjoy a good swishing event just as much as the next person, there is nothing really like the buzz of sharing it with others who have never experienced it before.

Click the numbered pages to see more pictures of Stacey’s swapping event and see her modelling that Fifties style dress…

The party, sponsored by climate change charity Global Cool, was heaving when I arrived, fashionably late. The great, good and God darn gorgeous of the ethical fashion industry were already getting up close and comfortable with a bevvy of supportive music, model and TV biz stars. We spotted the beautiful Jasmine Guinness, the lovely chaps from The Feeling, Duran Duran star Nick Rhodes, Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole and his fiance, TV presenter Caryn Franklin, actor Nick Moran, Jo Wood and cute son Jesse, and star of stars, Mathew Horne of ‘Gavin & Stacey’. We photographed just about all of them too, alongside a proper packed party full of fashion designers.

Start our picture gallery here

Isabella Bradford (left) looks stunning in a vintage faux fur jacket, jewellery and headscarf while her friend Anna Lonson rocks a vintage belt, skirt and jewellery too.

They prove that you can get up to the minute looks by raiding your local vintage boutiques and still totally fit in with the fashion-pack.

Keep clicking to see more of the London fashion army’s outfits