Lexy Silverstein: You’ll never believe who I have on this week’s episode of eLEXYfy: The Place for Fashion Podcast. She’s a sustainable fashion advocate who is also a fellow Remake ambassador. Hello, Sophia. How are you?
Sophia Marie: I am so great. I’m very, very happy to be here today with you and talk about our passion together.
Tell us about yourself
Lexy Silverstein: Me too. So, let’s just get right into it. So, for those who don’t know you, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Sophia Marie: Okay. My name is Sophia. I am born and raised in San Francisco, California. I currently live in Oakland. I am a sustainable fashion designer. So, what that looks like is I upcycle and reconstruct secondhand clothing. I also create new patterns from deadstock material and I often natural dye with food, plants, flowers, and herbs. And, yeah, that’s a little bit about me.
And, I also work for Remake, meaning that I’m a community organizer. So, what that looks like is building different events and different meetups that emphasize sustainable fashion, just to bring that community together. And that’s been fairly new. And since I’ve been with Remake, it’s just been so, so great because being in the sustainable fashion sphere and having like the weight of the world on you sometimes, it feels like a lot. So, to be part of a community, so many opportunities arise and a lot of ideas are shared about how we can make this world a better place.
Lexy Silverstein: Amazing, amazing, amazing. I completely agree. I feel like with sustainable fashion or just being a content creator, I feel like most content creators honestly promote fast fashion brands and just don’t really necessarily focus on the harmful sides of fashion. So, it does feel like a lot of it does kind of lay on the few of us that are like, “No, no, no, sustainability, please.” And so, it does feel like a lot of the time.
I remember when I first found Remake, I was like, “Oh my god, like these are people who have similar interests as me and just really care about the planet, but also how the fashion industry directly impacts the planet.” And not only that, but also the people in the fashion industry. So, it was just such a relief to find other people like us to help us feel less alone in the journey.
Sophia Marie: it’s speaking the same language and then elevating it from there.
How did you originally get into sustainability?
Lexy Silverstein: Definitely. So, how did you first originally get into sustainability? Was it kind of like you were already into fashion and then later on you learned about sustainability or did you first learn about sustainability and then be like, “Oh, this is important to me. I’m going to include this in my day-to-day?”
Sophia Marie: Yeah, so it was totally a love story from the beginning. I love creative fashion. I’ve always wanted to be in fashion ever since I was younger.
I graduated from high school, I moved to Australia, I started a fashion business there, journalism, and then I moved back home to San Francisco and I was feeling rather lost in my journey. So, a friend at the time suggested I go back to school. So, I took a sewing class and I fell in love more. I was like, “Oh my god, like fashion design is where I’m at.”
I was super happy being in the fashion industry and really finding my voice in creativity. And one night, I was living at home at the time and I was watching a documentary with my mom and my sister on the couch. We had popcorn already and were super excited. The documentary was called True Cost. Yeah, yeah, so you know…
Lexy Silverstein: I know that one.
Sophia Marie: That kind of just like, I like literally have popcorn in my mouth and I just remember putting my hand down and just being like, “What?” Like, I feel like my life was a lie in a way because here I am just like super gung-ho, super passionate about fashion and like style and you know, fashion shows and like. And then to see that it’s like the second biggest polluter right behind oil and that most of our clothes are made of oil and I’m just like, “What? Like where is this information coming from and why haven’t I heard about it before?”
So yeah, it was a love story, but I felt like I was lied to and betrayed and it was hard because I literally just felt like I had to rework my whole life because I wasn’t going to support something that was going to destroy humanity or nature, because that’s one of my passions too is nature.
And so I looked at my work and I looked at myself and I was like, “Well hey, like I am upcycling.” Because at the moment, I was taking items from Goodwill and reworking them. And I was like, “Okay, I’m like, I’m not really that big of a problem, but what I can do is to be a voice and to be, um, my clothes could be like a form of protest against this.”
So that gave me a whole lot of fire and once I had that kind of mental switch of like, I don’t like what’s happening here, I want to change it, that just gave me even more fuel and fire to be even more invested in fashion, but sustainable fashion. And what does that look like? Especially because when this happened was in 2015 and the language wasn’t there really. Like my friend, because at the moment, I’m going to go into college right now and my friend mentioned even a few years ago, like she tried to present a sustainable fashion manufacturing plan and they turned her down because they’re like, “That’s not possible. That’s not like, that’s not where the world wants it to be. Like consume, consume, consumers.”
So there are certain areas that weren’t elevating this type of language or even setting it up for success. Yeah, so that was really interesting and I’m really happy that in the last few years, even going to fashion design school, it’s been more of a topic of conversation in the classroom, because even studying fashion, like I should have known about this, you know what I mean?
Lexy Silverstein: No, literally, I feel like I had a very similar experience. And there’s this blog that I wrote that I always refer back to when people are like, “Oh well, what’s your sustainable journey?” or stuff like that. And a while ago, I wrote this blog post and I kind of talked about what my journey was. Literally from like as a young kid, I was like a huge Justice shopper. Like, Justice was like, I ate, slept, and breathed Justice.
Do you know that store? It’s the kids’ store and it had sparkly clothing all the time and stuff like that. And they were always up for trends for young kids, and I was a huge Justice shopper.
And I didn’t realize, but I was like, “Oh my God, now looking back, I’m like that was like a fast fashion store but for kids.”
And then in middle school, I only shopped at Urban Outfitters all the time, and I loved Princess Polly and stuff like that. And I just loved fashion so much, and I just didn’t even know. No one told me about the harmful impact that the fashion industry has on our planet and the people working in the industry. And it was literally never talked about. Like, it wasn’t even a thought in my head.
And then when I learned more about it, when I think, I don’t even remember exactly what got me into it, but I just started learning the term sustainable fashion and kind of what it was. And I was like, “Oh my God, like I was a big part of the problem.”
And I think it was probably near the end of middle school when thrifting became a really big trend among like me and my friends, and I would always go thrifting. And I think that’s when I started to learn more about sustainability and stuff like that. And then I was like, “Oh my God, like I was a big part of the problem, and now I want to fix that.”
And so I had this platform where I was just kind of talking about, “Oh, what celebrities are wearing,” and “What trends are currently happening?” And I was like, “You know, now that I have this platform and it’s already set up there for fashion, like now I want to start educating people as I’m being educated and just use my platform to inform other people.”
And I completely felt the same way where it’s like, I kind of felt lied to because I was like, “Oh my God, like I’m just shopping and buying like what I like and not thinking anything of it.” And then it’s like, “Oh, just kidding. That’s not something that we should be, you know, at least thinking about our purchases, seeing what we’re going to wear them with, how long we’re going to wear them, if we’re going to wash them that often, if they’re going to last a very long time,” and stuff like that.
And before, I was just like impulse buying. I was like, “Oh my God, like it’s fine. Doesn’t matter.” And then it’s just like crazy to hear more about it, and you’re like, “Oh my God, like my whole fashion life has been a lie.”
And like what you said, like I’ve talked to people that went to fashion design school or whatever school like five, ten years ago and sustainability wasn’t mentioned whatsoever. And I go now, and it’s like the only thing that’s mentioned. I feel like in every single class, it’s like, “Oh, there’s this, this, and that, and then there’s sustainability.”
I’m like, “I’m really glad that I’m kind of growing up in a time where this is something that’s really being focused on.”
Sophia Marie: Yeah
Lexy Silverstein: We need to be focusing on it right now. We only have one planet and it needs help. So, I feel like I definitely kind of had a similar experience.
Sophia Marie: No, definitely, definitely. I was stuck. I was not like a good consumer before I found out, but like it just leaves room that a lot of people are still at that stage that we were, you know? So, this is why doing what we’re doing and keep promoting it and keep educating is the best thing that we could do.
Lexy Silverstein: Definitely, I think that a lot of it starts with, or for the most part, it starts with getting yourself educated, and that’s not just with sustainability but with everything that’s going on in the world.
Sophia Marie: Start a conversation.
Lexy Silverstein: Yeah, starting a conversation and then next, it starts with changing your ways, changing habits, and stuff like that.
What are some tips you have for making more sustainable choices?
Lexy Silverstein: But, so what are some tips? I feel like a lot of people, the reason why they don’t maybe start getting into sustainability is because either they don’t know how to, or they think it’s a super hard transition. So, what tips do you think that you could give to our listeners about how to start making more sustainable choices and making the transition more like an easy, smooth transition?
Sophia Marie: I would say, don’t get too down on yourself because if you really focus on the problem, then you’re not going to focus on the solution. Some solutions can be really, really small, such as, instead of shopping at a retail store, you know, go thrifting.
The next step would be, “Okay, I have these clothes, and you know, they’re still good quality. Swap with your friends. It’s super fun to organize, you know, twice a year, once a quarter, a clothing swap, and just invite some people over and just trade clothes.”
And then, from there, if you’re like, “Okay, I want to take it a step further,” you could commit to Remake’s “No New Clothes,” which is not buying anything new. They’re doing it during the summer for 90 days, but I would say start small, like don’t buy anything new for two weeks, then a month. And honestly, it’s easier than it sounds.
So, those are just simple steps to take towards sustainability in terms of clothing and fashion.
But yeah, I took the No New Clothes pledge in summer, and I’m still on it, and it feels good because it’s just like, okay, when Christmas rolled around or like birthdays, I’m like, “Alright, what do I have around me?”
Lexy Silverstein: One of the things I love doing is I’ll make a YouTube video or something. It’ll be going through my closet and making outfits out of things that are already there or going through my closet and finding things that I don’t want anymore and selling them on Depop or taking them to Goodwill, or just random stuff like that. And I’m like, “Yeah, it’s great for content, but then it gives me a reason to re-go through my closet, look at all the things that I have, look at how I can style them in a new way or use what I already have because there’s so much out there. There’s literally so, so, so much out there already and they’re just kind of going to landfills. And so, we could, if you just go to a thrift store and buy something and extend its end life instead of buying something new. Then, you know, that’s like such an easy way of saving a garment from going to a landfill and making more sustainable choices.
Lexy Silverstein: Even if it’s in your everyday life, rather than just fashion, like taking shorter showers and carpooling places and using public transportation. But also, I feel like a common misconception is that, like if you have shampoo that’s in a plastic bottle, rather than throwing out the bottle because it’s in a plastic bottle, use the shampoo that you already have before going and buying a more sustainable option. Use what you already have because there is so much already out there that we can use, and just don’t waste anything that doesn’t need to be wasted.
Sophia Marie: I think in order to make those changes, that requires a lot of awareness, right? Because like a go-go-go society where we’re just like either we don’t have time, we’re not thinking when we’re doing things, or you know what have you.
And like I think sustainability definitely stems from self-sustainability, meaning like taking care of self because if you take care of yourself and your environment, then that translates and transmits into the world too.
So like yeah, doing steps of awareness or well-being, and then you’ll create more awareness for those things that are around you, and you would want to take more care and really invest in and look at like… a good exercise actually, I think I read somewhere was like, you know, like look at your room or the environment or room that you’re in, and just look at your things and just think of like where it was made, like okay that’s, you know, some bedding is it cotton, like where was that cotton grown, like who sewed that?
It starts this whole kind of mind-boggling thing that there are so many things in your own environment that are sourced from all over the world, and it’s just it puts things into context because like I also feel like a huge reason why I’m such a sustainable advocate is because being a fashion designer, I know how long things, I know how long it takes to make a shirt, it’s like it’s a long time from like mood board to sourcing fabric to like sewing to sample to then sewing an actual fabric, and I don’t think any of that should amount to like five dollars, so it’s just like yeah, really looking at things and understanding you know that was made by another human and like where and like I don’t know, I feel like that kind of leads you down the path of realization and self-awareness.
Lexy Silverstein: Definitely, I remember seeing this TikTok on my For You page a really long time ago, and it was a great TikTok. It was this woman, and she was like, “Keep this in mind every time you buy from SHEIN or some fast fashion brand or something like that,” and it was just basically showcasing photos of sweatshops and children working in making clothing and being in terrible conditions. And then I remember looking at the captions, and everyone was like, “Yeah, but like their stuff is cheap and cute, so like those kids can keep working on stuff.”
I was shocked. I was shocked by how people were reacting. I was like, “that is the most terrible thing that you could ever say. Ever say.” I was like, “are you kidding me right now?” And I feel like they were taking it as a joke.
Sophia Marie: Yeah.
Lexy Silverstein: Like literally put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Like, imagine if you were born and eight years into your life, you’re working in a sweatshop and getting no money and working under terrible conditions as like an eight-year-old child. And it’s just like you have to literally put yourself in someone else’s shoes and be like, “okay, would you want to be doing that?”
Even me seeing that, without even thinking if that was me, I feel terrible. That’s why I care so much about sustainable fashion, because it’s not only the planet, but it’s the people working on it too. And so, like, even seeing someone else being put through those conditions makes me feel terrible.
But if people on TikTok can’t see that, or at least that one TikTok, I’m not saying all TikTokers, but then you have to put yourself in that position and be like, “okay, would you want to be under those circumstances?” And I’m gonna probably say almost 100% of the time, no, you would not. And then you have to reevaluate and think and just educate yourself on the conditions that these fast fashion brands that you’re buying from are putting other people in, and then reevaluate the shopping decisions that you make.
Sophia Marie: For sure, yeah. It’s living in a bubble.
Lexy Silverstein: Literally, I’m like, I just can’t. I cannot imagine, I couldn’t imagine ever commenting that, even thinking that, let alone commenting on TikTok. But that was just shocking. And so, then I was like, “oh my god, imagine if that was you. Would you really be saying that?” I feel like you would be wishing that people were advocating for you.
Sophia Marie: yeah, exactly.
When did you find Remake and how did you join it?
Lexy Silverstein: So let’s get more into Remake. We’re both a part of Remake. When did you find Remake? How did you join it? And tell us where you are now.
Sophia Marie: I’ve been a Remake ambassador since last year, February 2021. I found Remake through, I believe, Fashion Revolution. I think True Cost mentioned Fashion Revolution. I’m not quite sure, but I think there’s a link there. And I just remember I’ve just been heavily following Fashion Revolution, and I kept seeing Remake pop up.
And then I remember going to the site, and it’s like, “apply to become an ambassador, be part of the community.” I was like, “oh, this sounds cool.” And then, so like literally, I remember once I got, like, “oh, you’ve been accepted,” I’m like, “wow.” It felt like I’ve been accepted to a job. But like once I really understood what it was, it was way better because it was just like, “no, you’ve been accepted into a community of like-minded individuals who speak the same language as you.”
When did you join?
Lexy Silverstein: I feel like I joined a little over a year ago, and I remember finding it because on Saturdays, I did Shout Out Saturdays of other eco-friendly content creators. And I remember looking and seeing like a common theme that a bunch of them in their bio had like a Remake ambassador, and I was like, “What’s Remake?”
So I looked at it, and immediately, I literally think I looked at their Instagram for like half a second, saw this amazing community of like-minded people, and immediately applied to join, and I was like, “Oh my god, I’m so excited.” Um, and so then I’ve been an ambassador ever since, and I love talking and like having other Remake ambassadors on my podcast because it’s like we are such a great little community of people, and we’re all working for the same thing, and I feel like it’s so hard, not so hard, but I feel like like I’ve been able to connect with a lot of people that have the same ideals as me, and in the whole content creator industry, I feel like sometimes that is a little hard to find because it is, you know, an industry that is very heavily promoting fast fashion.
And so I just love being able to join meetings once a month and meet other people that are like in my same state and stuff like that, that also have the same values, so yeah, I love them. I feel like that’s a great way of like, if you’re getting started and you want to take steps to really advocate, start really advocating for sustainable fashion, like join Remake, there are so many people that are a part of it, and I’m pretty sure they’re just like always looking for obviously more people to advocate.
Sophia Marie: And it’s not about fashion either. Yeah, it’s about sustainability, like it’s like a sustainable fashion, but it’s also like a human rights issue, like a woman’s rights issue. It goes deep.
Lexy Silverstein: It does, it really, really, does. I feel like that’s also a misconception with sustainability, and I feel like I mention this all the time, but that it’s just like, “Oh, you’re wearing hemp, or you’re wearing something made out of whatever,” and I’m like, “Yes, that’s it, but it’s like it’s so much more.” It’s about inclusivity, and it’s about the people, as I’ve mentioned a billion times this one episode, and obviously the planet as well, and it’s about just like, you know, fighting for everyone’s rights and making sure everyone’s getting paid what they should be and working correct conditions, but then also that you know, we’re upcycling things and reusing things and wearing sustainable fabrics and biodegradable fabrics and stuff like that, so it’s a little bit of everything, but yeah, definitely suggest joining Remake for all of our listeners.
It’s also just a great way to be able to learn more if you’re trying to get more educated on the subject because we do have you know monthly meetings, and they’ll talk about what’s going on currently and what we’re aiming to do.
Sophia Marie: There’s different hubs too, so like you’re part of an international network. I’m in the Bay Area Remake team, and so individually as we make the area, we have our own events for the Bay Area city. The same thing happens in other cities around the world. What’s super cool is like when I was in Mexico, I was like, “I wonder if there’s any Remake ambassadors here,” so I looked that up and yeah, I just contacted them, they were like happy to talk to me and I was like, “Oh cool.” So like you could travel the world and just meet up with another sustainable fashion advocate. It’s like you’re part of this whole international family, and it’s super cool.
Lexy Silverstein: Yeah, it’s really, it’s so cool. I’m going to Paris over the summer, and I want to reach out to people and say, “Hey.”
Sophia Marie: Okay, I’ll be in Italy.
Lexy Silverstein: Oh my God, I’m like, “Okay girl.”
Sophia Marie: There’s a Remake ambassador there who’s going to be the community organizer for Italy, so I’m running one. Yeah, so you should see if there’s one in Paris.
Lexy Silverstein: Yeah, I’m going to. I’m going with my school, but we have a free weekend and then a few free days, and I’m like, “I would love to meet up with like other sustainable Remake ambassadors and just like meet people in person. I feel like it’s such a great way of meeting people. So I’m really excited to be able to do that, and I’m going to reach out to everyone in Paris and be like, “Hey guys, who’s here? Let’s hang out, let’s talk about sustainability.”
Sophia Marie: For sure, it’s different over there too.
Can you tell us about what Remake is currently doing?
Lexy Silverstein: So, can you tell us a little bit about what Remake is currently doing or what, because before I heard about Remake, I didn’t know what it was, so can you tell my listeners what it is, and then also what they’re currently doing now?
Sophia Marie: Yeah, so Remake is a non-profit that focuses on sustainability. Their tagline is “making fashion a force for good,” and they do that through education, through transparency, through leadership development, through events, through an ambassador network, just an abundance of resources, and as you mentioned, our monthly ambassador calls, which fills us in on all things sustainable fashion, we have our next call on Monday, which is going to be exciting, and that’s actually open to the public, so this is in March.
For example, one of our most recent wins, and when I say wins, this is mainly towards avid advocacy work because that is where the majority of the changes happen, is through the law system. But the most recent win was there was the largest wage… it was the biggest wages owed to garment workers in India. So it’s the largest wage theft that’s the word I was working for. And Remake just blasted all these brands, like, “pay your garment workers, pay your garment workers.”
And we had a call yesterday, and supposedly H&M accidentally sent one of their emails to Remake, saying like, “Oh yeah, we are gonna pay back our workers.” Supposedly, there’s this organization called Remake, and we’ve received, you know, 100,000, like so many emails, and we’re just going to pay our workers.
So, like cool, all these garment workers got paid, and now they could pay for general living, because what they pay them right now is not even that much. But I think because these big brands know how much control they have towards garment workers, the garment workers have less of a voice, so they’re kind of caught. They’re caught with like, okay, like this is the only way I’m gonna get paid. So big brands take advantage of that.
That was a big win because there was a lot of money owed and a lot of brands decided to pay back their workers.
Lexy Silverstein: Yeah, that was huge. I remember seeing that all over Remake’s Instagram and then listening about it and like meetings and stuff. And then it’s just so crazy to me that like it takes people emailing over and over and over again and trying to reach out as much as we can to be like, you need to pay people what people deserve. Like, I feel like it’s, it blows my mind that people don’t just like, I don’t know, care about other people enough to like, especially big brands like H&M and other fast fashion brands. Like you have the money to do so.
Even as a content creator, I’ll want to work with a brand and they’re like, yeah, but like we can’t pay you. And obviously, if it’s like a startup sustainable, just now starting small business like that, I get. But if it’s like a huge fast fashion brand, not that I work with fast fashion brands, but I’ve had other friends that have told me they’re like, yeah, they just don’t want to pay me. And I’m like, that’s so crazy because it’s like you’re also doing your job and they’re not wanting to pay you. But they’re like a huge organization that obviously has the money to do so.
So like it just blows my mind that it takes us emailing them and being like, this isn’t right for them to change their ways, and then not even them wanting to change their ways because they like care, they’re just changing their ways because they’re like, well, this is gonna be a problem because all these people are gonna retaliate against us and we’re gonna lose money. So like let’s just do it to please them, you know, rather than like them doing it for good moral reasons. It’s just blows my mind.
Sophia Marie: I mean, this is kind of like why we’re in this like where we are right now because a lot of people just don’t care. They don’t, they just care about money that they’re gonna make and then that’s it. It’s sad. It’s awful.
Lexy Silverstein: It’s truly so sad. But with that, again, definitely we both suggest joining Remake. It’s great if you want to get more educated on the topic or meet other people who have the same values as you do. Check out Remake on Instagram or join as an ambassador and then I believe once you’re an ambassador, you can reach out and become a community organizer, do even more things with Remake. It depends, you know, how much time you have and what you want to do.
What are some sustainable brands that you love to shop at? Or are you a thrift person?
Lexy Silverstein: But now talking more about brands themselves, what are some like sustainable brands that you love to shop at or are you more of just like a, you know, thrift or die person?
Lexy Silverstein: When this question arises, it’s hard because it’s just like, ah, there’s like, I mean, I’m all for sustainable for brands, but it’s just, I personally don’t have a favorite where I’m just like, oh yeah, like I love doing every single time because like, I did have one, they were so big a while ago, Gypsy Sport.
Yeah, they’re super cool! I love what they were doing, they’re all about inclusivity and like raising BIPOC and kind of breaking the norm of what beauty looks like, and I loved it. Then they just kind of dropped off, and I was like no, like you guys are so cool. But then they were also getting into other ways of designing, which I didn’t really agree with.
It’s hard; I’m totally a thrifter. Yeah, if I need something, I go to the thrift shop or I trade with my friends or I make it. That’s kind of where I’m at. There are a lot of brands I admire for aesthetics and just like inspiration, but in terms of brands doing big things, no. What about you?
Lexy Silverstein: I am a huge thrifter. I would probably say like 90% of my closet is thrifted or off Depop or bought off a friend. I do love Nuuly. I work with them, and I actually started by having just a subscription to them. I was like, “Oh, I already have the clothes.”
So basically, Nuuly is a way to rent clothing for a month. And then once you’re done with it, you kind of just send it back to them, and then someone else has the option to rent it from them. So it’s basically just like extending the end life of a garment. And if you really like something and you want to buy it, it gives you the chance to try out new aesthetics, new clothing that maybe you wouldn’t necessarily wear a lot or don’t know if you would like how it fits on you, but then you’re able to have it for a month. And if you really, really love it, then you can actually buy it. And Nuuly gives it to you for like a discounted price because you do have the subscription with them already.
And you can get, I think it’s like six to eight things per month. I think if you get seven or eight things, you have to pay just like $15 more. And then they, it’s kind of like a sustainable way of wearing some fast fashion sites, because they get whatever is left over from old fast fashioned places that they’re going to throw out or take it to a landfill or whatever. So instead, Nuuly just gives it the chance to not just be taken to a landfill and to actually be worn over and over and over again.
And then if you mess up something or stain something or tear it or whatever, they have professionals to fix it. And if it’s beyond repair, if you do something really bad to it, they actually take it and upcycle it, and then they put it on their Nuuly thrift section. Yeah, so there’s literally no waste that just goes into making other garments. And yeah, they have sustainable, reusable packaging, so everything’s just really great with them.
So I started working with them first just by having a membership and renting from them. And then I was like, well, I already have the clothes. Like, might as well make content because I do really support them. And then I reached out, and I was like, hey guys, I’m a huge sustainable person, and you guys are very sustainable. Do you guys want to work together? So this isn’t just like, I work with them, try them out thing. It’s like I genuinely really support them thing.
Sophia Marie: Yeah.
Lexy Silverstein: Renting is like I think gonna be really huge. If you have big events or even if you just want to try something out that you wouldn’t wear that often, it’s a great way of just wearing something once and then never wearing it again and not causing harm to the environment.
Other than that, I’m a huge thrifter. I love thrifting. I literally find it so therapeutic. If I’m stressed and have a bunch of schoolwork, I’m just gonna go thrifting and I’ll be fine.
I think it’s just a great way of using what we already have. I say this almost in every podcast, and my cousin who edits my podcast is going to be like, “Lexy, shut up.” But I’m pretty sure, I can never remember the statistic, but in the 1950s or something like that, we could have basically stopped making clothes and we would have been 100% fine because we had so many clothes back then. But then we kept making them, and not only that, we kept making them at a faster rate. So, there is literally so much out there already. Use what’s already out there, go to a thrift store, buy what’s already there and what’s going to go to a landfill, and save something.
I have found some of my coolest pieces all at a thrift store, and it makes it so much cooler because it’s probably one of a kind. If it’s not, only a few people in the world are going to have it, which makes it that much more special. Since a thrift store doesn’t have one specific aesthetic, when you walk into Zara, you know it’s one specific aesthetic or style of clothing, and it’s all trendy and stuff like that. But when you walk into a thrift store, it’s just all these random things. I really think that it helps you to find your own personal style and walk in there and be like, “You know what? I genuinely like this, so I’m going to buy it,” not because it’s on trend, but because it’s something that means something to me.
So, I love thrifting. Just go thrifting. It’s like three dollars for a lot of things. I am a college student, and a lot of people say that, in order to be sustainable, you have to spend more money on quality stuff. While that might be true, thrifting is my way of staying sustainable in the fashion industry, and I’m a broke college student. If I can do it, you can do it.
Sophia Marie: Goodwill has been getting expensive.
Lexy Silverstein: Certain sections, like depending on where it is, like I feel like in California it is, because thrifting is huge here. It’s like a bunch of Gen Z millennials who find thrifting is one of the biggest trends. But I feel like if you go in the middle of nowhere or to not a Goodwill, go to a random thrift store, like a family owned thrift store like that. That’s going to be pretty cheap.
Sophia Marie: I’ve also noticed that – I’m saying Goodwill because it’s the one closest to me – I found a new one in Berkeley called Second Street. If you live in Berkeley, they also have one on Haight Street. I highly recommend the one on Second Street. I’ve been noticing a lot of fast fashion brands are creeping in thrift shops. I’m like, “Oh, I don’t want no SHEIN second hand,” you know what I mean?
It’s cool. Yes, it’s secondhand. You can still get it, but I’m just like, “Oh, the quality of fabrics they use in fast fashion is horrible,” and it’s pretty sure it’s gonna fall apart in a year or so. Yeah, feeling the quality, and like I did, it’s just you know even like thrifting is therapeutic, right?
We still have that need of feeling like we’re getting something new, and it does feel better that it is secondhand, but I think what has really helped divert my need of getting something new all the time as well was like clothing swaps. So great because I organize them with some friends twice a year, and when they happen, I literally get a whole new closet. It’s like I’m giving away some of the clothes that I no longer identify with, so it helps me too, because I do change my style or get over clothes soon. I’m still trying to grow into that minimalist wardrobe, but I don’t know, I’m still finding that within myself, and I feel like clothing swaps, you know, when I don’t spend any money and it’s super cool to see a piece that you love on a friend, you’re like, “Okay, sure, go live your life with your next friend,” you know what I mean? Like it’s pretty cool seeing that cycle happen in front of you.
Lexy Silverstein: Definitely. I want to do that with my friends because I have so many clothes that they’ll be like, “Oh my god, that’s so cute,” or like, I know that every time we go out, my one friend, she always says that she doesn’t have going-out clothes, and I don’t really specifically organize my clothes as, like, “Oh, this is what I’ll wear going out.” Like, I don’t really have a different aesthetic for when I go out and when I don’t go out, or if I’m going to a club or going to dinner. Like, I feel like I just wear whatever. So, I guess I do have a lot of going-out clothes, but I don’t necessarily qualify them as going-out clothes. I just wear them. And so, I was like, “We should host a clothing swap because then you can get more of these going-out clothes that I have that I don’t really wear anymore or I just don’t qualify them as going-out.” Like, I just kind of qualify them as clothes. I don’t know. And then we can, like, we won’t have to… And I know that I’ll go over to her, and there’s this jumpsuit that she has that I’m literally obsessed with, and I’m like, “We could do a clothing swap, and I could get that jumpsuit.”
Sophia Marie: That and you can always get it back too.
Lexy Silverstein: Yeah, I just love borrowing my friend’s clothes. I, for a photo shoot one time, my friend has this very distinct pervasion style, and that was kind of like the vibe of the shoot that we were doing. And I remember one of my Instagram captions was literally like, “Just so everyone knows, this entire wardrobe and all of these pictures are all my friend’s closet.” And I was like, but I loved it because it’s like, “Yeah, I don’t necessarily stick to one style.” Like, I just wear whatever. And I was like, so I liked being able to try out this style that I hadn’t really gotten a chance to wear that much.
Just by borrowing her clothes, I didn’t even need to keep them in my closet because it’s probably not something I’m going to wear all the time. Yeah, they’re really easy ways of being sustainable.
Sophia Marie: Yeah, it’s true.
Lexy Silverstein: And I do think because we were talking about sustainable brands and sustainable brands are great, especially ones that take what’s already out there and then just upcycle it. But even buying something that’s like, even if it is a sustainable fabric and they’re making something completely new out of it, and yes, while that fabric is either biodegradable or sustainable or whatever, while that is sustainable, honestly, buying something that’s already out there and secondhand buying something is probably more sustainable than buying something that’s new made out of a biodegradable fabric.
So just something to think about because I know that a lot of complaints about the sustainable industry is that it is more expensive because you’re buying quality and like the people that are making it are getting paid what they should be making. And so that is a common theme amongst sustainable brands. But you know, like secondhand shopping is also very sustainable and it honestly could be seen as more sustainable than buying a biodegradable fabric anyways.
Can you tell us about how you got into upcycling and repurposing?
Lexy Silverstein: Now a little bit back to you, we’re talking about repurposing and upcycling, and so you do a lot of that which is amazing. So can you tell us about how you first got into that?
Sophia Marie: I think it started in high school, growing up in San Francisco, there were just all these events and festivals, and I was just like, I need costumes for everyone, so I take the clothes that I have and glue some craft supplies on there. I’m like, cool costume done and made, and like so that’s kind of how it started. I just needed costumes and I just accessorized them.
And I think it’s also like, I’m a shorter person, so there are a lot of shirts and pants that are too long for me, and so cut them at the hem and I’m like, cool fits me now. And then that would just keep transforming into cutting collars and then sleeves too, then seeing a shirt that has a stain on it and then dyeing it because I’m like, cool, I wanted to dye it anyways. And you know, I often buy white shirts because like this is probably going to stay white for like, I don’t know, maybe like my third wear because like I’m not to say I’m messy, but it’s cool. It’s like I’ll just dye after, you know what I mean? Yeah. So yeah, I think it was just, it just kept evolving.
Lexy Silverstein: Super super cool. When you’re talking about dyeing things, is there a sustainable way that you know, maybe if I have a white shirt that I stained, which is not unlikely, I’m I whenever I, oh god, I talk about this with my boss all the time because we’ll go like get Starbucks or coffee or whatever, and every single time I get a chai, and I’m like walking and somehow I look down and there’s just chai all over my cup, and I’m like, what did I do, when did I do that, how would I do that, and then I’ll look down and I’m like there’s chai all over my white shirt, how did that happen?
Sophia Marie: Story of my life.
What is the sustainable way of dyeing a shirt a different color?
Lexy Silverstein: So asking for a friend, what is the sustainable way of dyeing my shirt a different color if it’s white, or whatever, and if I want to dye it a different color?
Sophia Marie: So totally, I’m glad we are doing or you’ve asked that because I’m actually hosting a natural dye workshop virtually. You can learn and we’ll be dying with our kitchen scraps. So everything that you’ll be dying with you’ll probably have in your kitchen and on the Eventbrite, you know, I kind of list some other areas where you could possibly look and in pull together like your little dye materials. Yeah, so it’s on March 19 from 10 to 11:30 Pacific Standard Time, but it’s pretty simple and it’s a lot about trying and testing and seeing what works and what doesn’t. But yeah, I would say definitely hold on to all your white clothes because you could for sure dye them with like coffee beans, avocado skins, onion skins, flowers.
Lexy Silverstein: That’s so cool. I saw this TikTok of this lady and she was using what was it, it was like a beet or something, and she cut it up and she was using it as makeup on her face…
Sophia Marie: Oh, woah.
Lexy Silverstein: She was using it as like blush and like lipstick, and I was like, that’s crazy. And she was like, it’s literally the perfect shade for like everyone because you can just keep on rubbing it on your face and it’s like you’re literally just using like a vegetable, and I was like, that’s crazy. And it’s great because like you can literally see like the pink come out of the color of the vegetable and like onto her face’s makeup and I’m like, so yes, there’s a way of doing that as a more sustainable makeup way, but also like if you can see that color just on your face as makeup, then you can definitely use that then to dye your clothes a different color.
Sophia Marie: Totally, and I feel like because it’s natural, right? The beets are natural she’s using as makeup and when you naturally dye those dyes and not like since it comes from the earth, it just looks so beautiful, it looks beautiful together, it looks beautiful on your skin because it’s just like mother nature being on you, and it’s like so it’s like no matter what comes out, it’s just so unique and very, very cool.
Lexy Silverstein: Yeah, I work for this company called Red Carpet Green Dress and they’re like a sustainable red carpet brand. They work with other brands and they use scraps and old vintage pieces and they design these clothing for like the Oscars and for different celebrities and they’re so cool and very sustainable and just absolutely amazing. I was watching some old interviews of people wearing their stuff and they were like, not only is the dress beautiful, but it’s just that much more beautiful because it’s vintage or it’s using scraps, and it’s sustainable, and it’s saving the environment. And it’s so amazing to see that big celebrities are then promoting this brand because then, you know, it’s getting the word out there. So I really completely agree because it’s like, it’s just that much more beautiful because it’s sustainable and it’s amazing.
Where do you sell your upcycled pieces and where can people buy them?
Lexy Silverstein: So where do you sell your upcycled pieces, and if so, where can our listeners buy them?
Sophia Marie: Yeah, so I have an online website. It’s my name, so Sophia Marie with a PH: sophiamarie.shop. I sell my upcycled reconstructed wares on there. I also share event notifications and blog posts for those who subscribe to my website. I send monthly emails, and just being part of Remake, there most definitely will be some sort of event happening month to month, which is exciting. This month is the natural dye workshop. Next month, we have a mending workshop. In May, we’ll have a mental health awareness workshop.
Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Lexy Silverstein: Yeah, I love that. Well, everyone, go check that out. Is there anything else that you’d like to tell our listeners before we wrap things up?
Sophia Marie: I would just say, you know, take it one day at a time, one moment at a time, and really connect with those individuals who share the same interests as you. That will just help you grow further. And yeah, I hope you can join us at Remake, and if you’re in the Bay Area, I hope I could see you at one of our events. You could follow me on social media. My handle is @sophia.marie. And yeah, that’s about it. Thank you so much for including me here.
Lexy Silverstein: Oh my gosh, of course! Well, everyone, make sure you go follow Sophia on her socials. And while you’re at it, you can follow me on mine. My TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are all at Lexy Silverstein. That’s L-E-X-Y, Silver like the color, S-T-E-I-N. And remember to make the ordinary extraordinary.
