Crafty and creative wardrobe tips for the greenie fashionistas

Greenie fashionistas needn't feel guilty about shopping as long as they extend the lives of their must-haves with some crafty wardrobe tips, designer Pauline Chan Po-ling (pictured) said yesterday.

'I don't think eco-fashion is a conflicting concept,' the 29-year-old University of the Arts London graduate said. 'I love fashion and shop for trendy pieces. It's most important to think twice before dumping old clothes.'

Chan is showing Hong Kong shopaholics how to remake their old clothes into new garments and accessories in a series of Saturday and Sunday afternoon workshops at the K11 mall this month. Part of the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centre's series of green events over the next two months, the workshops are open to shoppers spending more than HK$100 at the mall's outlets and offer some handy and fun tips, Chan said.

For example, you can cut away the sleeves of an old jacket, sew up the bottom of it and, voila, you have a tote bag,' she said. 'You can also cover a wood bangle with strips of your old jeans and make it a unique accessory.'

There are plenty of ways to be creative as long as you give it a try, said Chan, who held similar workshops with the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation and also exhibits 18 eco-costume projects by her pupils in a project at the K11 mall.

'People haven't been as supportive of eco-fashion as much as they were with organic food and cosmetics,' she said. 'I hope the workshops can arouse more awareness.'