Sue in a skirt made from ties that she made for Secondhand September 2023

In a nutshell, I remake and repair because while I can afford to replace broken things, the earth can't afford for me to throw them away.

— Sue Bamford, award-winning environmental artist

4 mins read time
Published: 24th September 2024
Blog by Sue Bamford

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Second Hand inspiration; Sue and her love for all things second hand.

Sue is an award-winning environmental artist and has volunteered in Oxfam Ireland’s Holywood store. She now works with a small organisation in Belfast, Tools for Solidarity. It collects hand tools and sewing machines and sends them to some organisations it partners with in Tanzania and Malawi.

She tells the story of her love for all things second hand.

Sue was 14 years old when her mother gave her a share of the Family Allowance instead of pocket money. The aim was to teach Sue about the value of money.

Sue with Fiona Anderson, Manager of Oxfam Holywood Superstore. Records were cut into a bouquet for the Superstore opening.

"I loved textiles, and I quickly worked out that shopping second hand gave me much more bang for my buck."

I developed a wardrobe full of Miss Marple tweeds and strange 70s polyester psychedelia during my Margot Ledbetter era. I stained the bathroom dyeing everything black during the height of ‘80s Goth and new romantic fashion.

The environmental element is also a core part of why my wardrobe is second hand and self- made. I have slightly more disposable income today than my 14-year-old self, but I still prefer pre-loved fashion because the clothing industry is costing the earth.

"The cheap t-shirt in Tescos costs far more than the swing-tag price, it's just not the shopper that's paying it."

"Charity Shop-shopping and jumble sales were also just more fun."

You would be banging elbows with vicious old ladies competing for the best treasure, and I learnt to identify fibres by touch while rooting through the piles.

Jumble sales in the 80s were definitely a contact sport, and many a time I came home with bruised shins from being rammed by a tartan shopping trolley. Those Cornish pensioners took no prisoners in the fight over an Aran jumper or Dayglo jeans. These adventures were also my first contact with vintage clothes, and the difference in the quality of materials and manufacture from the fast fashion of my youth was staggering.

"There is a joy in discovery in second hand shopping, that just doesn't compare to the bland repetition of the same objects in “normal” shops."

"Things are so much worse since the 2000s, and now the ‘90s fast fashion of my university years is seen as quality."

This is deeply depressing, and I only wish today's 14-year-old fashionistas could get to feel the ‘30s weighted silks, ‘40s fine wools and the swish of ‘50s cotton dresses I got to have fun with.

I think it's important to recognise how things have degraded.

"Owning a high volume of poor-quality garments is a miserable treadmill, and a small number of beautiful things - things that fit and make you feel amazing - is a better vibe."

As a 20-something, entering the professional world, I was teased for choosing second hand, but it was an ethical stand. Over time, colleagues would ask for help to learn to make and mend for themselves.

"The message filtered through! Repair, in the age of consumerism, is a radical act.

I'm happy to have never fitted into consumer society, and I am constantly complimented on my self-made and second hand style."

Tools for Solidarity and Belfast City Council worked together to create a Fashion Show in September to highlight textile waste and teach recycling and upcycling skills to community groups across the city. As well as fabric, and textile donations, Oxfam supplied clothes from the ragpile that were reworked into new items using patching, embroidery and dyeing. These were pieces that couldn’t be sold because they were damaged, worn or stained, and so they have truly been given a new life.