Without further ado… the third edition of the Restyling Exchange is here! Last year’s Restyling Exchange was a great success – with over 60 participants from 10 countries and 3 different continents. How could we not bring it back this year?!
Like every year, we aim to make the exchange as accesible and inclusive as possible because for us, raising awareness about refashioning and sustainability in our fashion and sewing practice is really important. For that reason, we’ve made a few changes to this year’s exchange and we really hope you find them exciting!
This year we give you the option to find your own restyling partner! This gives you the possibility to team up with a real life or online sewing friend and restyle for each other, and why not, meet up and sew together! We will also be sending a “Looking for a restyling partner” post to share for those of you that would like to find a restyler within your IG sewing community.
With this options we are trying to avoid that sometimes overwhelming feeling of restyling for someone you don’t know (although we must say you guys have been doing a pretty amazing job!)
If on the contrary you prefer that we assign you a partner like in previous editions, then that’s also an option, just tick the box on the sign up form (link below)
For the rest of the exchange, same general rules apply (you got all the nitty gritty details below.)
Also, just to remind you we have a dedicated pinterest board packed with refashioning ideas and stash buying patterns, and we’ll be of course sharing inspiration on our IG feeds.
And like last year, we will be naming “winners” in different categories. This is just for fun, no actual prizes other than your beautifully refashion garment! So here there is a reminder of the categories for this year’s exchange:
Most radical
Biggest transformation
Best before and after picture
Best modelling
Least left over fabric – take a picture!
Amy’s fave
Pilar’s fave
These awards are to encourage everyone to really have fun with it and challenge yourself!
And now, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY all the details below before signing up, especially if this is your first year joining us!
The Restyling Exchange is a global fashion swap connecting restylers all over the world to promote the value of refashioned clothing, deepen the online sewing & crafting community, and challenge your creativity.
HOW DID IT START?
A few years ago I came across a post on instagram of Pilar sharing a refashion that she was doing for a friend. Just then, something sparked in my brain. How cool would it be to make this a community-wide thing!? I left a comment on Pilar’s post not really thinking anything would come of it. To my amazement she sent me a direct message saying she loved the idea and how could we make it happen!
If you are at all into eco-conscious making Pilar is definitely a gal you need to follow. She is super involved in the eco fashion community (she even started working with THE Fashion Revolution this year!!) She also partners with Kate of Time to Sew on the #makeyourstash challenge encouraging sewists to use what they have instead of buying new fabric. It was total serendipity that we would come together to start this challenge – a match made in sewing heaven! Last year’s exchange was an overwhelming experience for both of us because it surpassed any expectations we may have had. It was just so amazing to see how much people cared and “stalked” their restyling partners to really grasp the essence of their style… resulting in truly beautiful garments.
Why during Fashion Revolution Week? We thought this week would be the perfect week to launch our project to coincide with Fashion Revolution week, which was created in response to the Rhana Plaza collapse in April of 2013 that killed 1138 people, mostly garment workers. Fashion Revolution is a movement that calls for greater transparency, sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry. You may have seen the posts and hashtags: #whomademyclothes. Its an amazing week that raises awareness of the damages of the fashion industry to our planet and it’s people. Refashioning your old clothing, or second hand clothing is a great way to contribute to the eco fashion movement. It not only reduces waste, but reduces the need to consume more new, unethically produced clothing. Click here to learn more about Fashion Revolution week, and how else you can get involved.
It’s quite simple really! We all have that pile.. you know the one I’m talking about. Clothes that you never wear but cant seem to get rid of, that skirt you picked up at the thrift store because you love the fabric and were going to refashion it but couldn’t think of what to make it into, that tiny bit of vintage trim you can’t seem to find the right project for.. yup…. THAT pile!
After signing up, you will go into that pile and pick out either one garment or a couple items that you would like refashioned. If you choose multiple items it is assumed that they will be used to make one “look” – you will not receive multiple refashioned items in return.
You then will mail off these items to your Restyler (you can choose your own restyler or ask us to assign one for you based on your location and size). At the same time, you will be someone else’s Restyler, it could be the same person is you are exchanging with a friend, and you will receive a package of garments from them. In order to keep postage costs down, you will be assigned someone in your own country. We will also do our best to match people of similar size (you will enter your measurements in the sign up form).
Everyone has about three weeks to restyle the garments and send them back to the owner.
At the end we have a big instagram party sharing our before and after pics of what we’ve made and what we’ve had restyled.
This is the perfect opportunity to have someone else make some magic on that garment you are struggling to find inspiration on.
Just to make sure we are all clear.. here are a few guidelines!!
WHO CAN JOIN:
– The exchange is open to everyone that has a public Instagram account AND feels they can restyle and give a new lease of life to an unworn garment. Deadline to sign up is April 28th (sign up link below!).
– Again, you will be matched up by general size & location if you are not choosing to find your own partner.
GARMENTS:
– You can include more than 1 garment as long as they are intended to be restyled together. Not for sending 20 garments to get the 20 refashioned!
– Please do not mail valuable or precious family heirloom garments.
– Please ensure that the items to be restyled are clean.
– We encourage you to print, fill in and send the downloadable questionnaire (found below) along with the garments to be restyled. That way you’ll let the other person know a bit more about your tastes and preferences. But don’t include specific instructions, the end result has got to be a surprise!
– You are welcome to use fabric from your stash in addition to the garment(s) sent to you to be restyled, but we like to encourage you not to purchase anything new for this project.
– There are no limitations to how you restyle the garment you are sent. Go all out as if it were your own! You can cut, paint, dye, embellish… the possibilities are endless!
– It may help you to have a little browse of the owner of your restyled garment’s social media accounts to get a feel for their style.
- Check out last year’s hashtag #restylingexchange2017 and #restylingexchange2018 and our pinterest board for more inspiration!
MAILING:
– The pieces to be restyled must be mailed by May 6th, 2019 at the latest. The sooner you send them, the more time you’ll allow the restyler to plan and refashion your pieces.
– The finished pieces must be returned by June 7th, 2019. Please post them back to their owner as soon as they are ready.
– No one likes getting mail lost in the post, so we encourage you to keep on the safe side and send it with tracking & signature required. If the packet did get lost in the post, either before or after being refashioned, neither the sender nor the recipient can be blamed for the loss.
– By entering, you are committing to pay for any post costs involved in this exchange.
– In the odd chance that only one person was to sign up from a given country, and was not willing to cover international postage, then we may cancel their request to join in the exchange due to a lack of restyling partner in their country.
SHARING:
– You can use the hashtag #restylingexchange throughout this time to keep us posted about your process. Maybe you want to post about the garments you’ve mailed off for restyling, or maybe you want to share your creative process and how you are approaching the refashion. Before and after shots are also very effective, don’t forget to post yours!
– We will be having a dedicated weekend so that we can all share and see the restyled garments at once, so even if you’ve been posting about your make, don’t forget to join the community over the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of June.
All of that sound good to you? Click to sign up NOTE: Please only sign up once!!
Happy Restyling!!
PS, Use the images below to spread the word or find a restyling partner!
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