All my life I’ve lived in, studied at, or even travelled to only countries with tropical climates. Whenever I buy a piece of clothing, one of the first things I look at is whether it’s light and breathable without it being too hot and stuffy. Coming to the UK, I have had to change my whole wardrobe and my mindset along with it. Working from the bottom up, I thought I would share with you how I built a sustainable capsule wardrobe for the winter.

First off, you need a good pair of thermals. I really like the ones from Uniqlo and Marks and Spencer. Layering is your best friend. Even if it’s freezing outside, when you get to your classes, it’s going to be nice and warm indoors. So you’ll need to wear a good weatherproof coat, but something beneath it that’ll keep you cool and comfortable indoors. My advice is to get a sturdy weather-proof and water-proof puffer coat which will keep you warm but will not be too heavy or bulky while being out and about. I prefer one with a hoodie because rain is always a possibility, but I find it difficult to carry an umbrella with me at all times. Speaking of rain, you’ll need a good pair of water-proof shoes, especially if you’re planning on walking a lot. Nobody loves the feeling of damp feet when you’re just trying to go about your day and trust me it rains a lot.

You might feel overwhelmed by the amount of clothes you need to buy, any the price tags on them. Don’t worry though, there is a great culture of thrifting here, and you’ll be able to find great items at a fraction of the retail price. Fast fashion is such a massively polluting industry in terms of energy and resources. Thrifting and shopping second-hand is a wonderful way of preventing clothes from going to landfill, and you can sleep better knowing you made an environmentally conscious decision.

There are multiple charity shops such as in the town centre, where you can find great little bits. Oxfam, British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK are just some of them. I also love shopping online on Vinted. If there’s a specific item of clothing that I want from a specific brand but I don’t want to pay the retail price for it, I can almost always find someone selling the same exact item on Vinted for a fraction of the price. You just need to learn how to adjust the search settings to find the exact brands and sizes you need.

Another fun way to shop second-hand is the Preloved Kilo sales, which are held every 2-3 months or so at the Guildford cathedral. I came across this event on Eventbrite, and I always find it fun to go and have a look, and end up coming across great finds. Zero Carbon and Solar Sisters also run second-hand clothing and clothing swaps events. So, keep an eye out on their socials for more info about these events.

I hope this has been helpful, feel free to comment any second-hand shop sources I may have missed out. Happy shopping!