Teen Ecofashion

Refashioned clothing is certainly not a new trend. Teens in the '60s slit the legs of their jeans and added gussets in wild prints to turn their straight-leg jeans into bell bottoms. In the '70s, punk fashion dictated ripped and grafittied black t-shirts and jeans and lots of safety pins. In the '80s, fashion-conscious girls (and some fashion-challenged girls who shall remain nameless but might or might not be me; thankfully all photographic evidence has been destroyed) sported ripped sweatshirts just like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance.

Ripping and combining t-shirts and previously worn clothing of all kinds still holds the same appeal today that it did in previous decades. But it seems that today's fashion-forward teens who embrace altered clothing are doing so for environmentally conscious reasons as much as for fashion.

SewGreen's Earth Day Fashion Show this past weekend showcased some great refashioned styles for teens, some of them designed and sewn by teens themselves.

This group of three refashioned tees features empire waists and lovely flared bottoms. I love how the silhouettes are fairly similar but the varied combination of colors gives each shirt a unique look.

The ever-cool hoodie showed up in some fun colors with stripes and quirky graphics. (Didn't my model do a great job showing off the orange bug hoodie?) And it was inspiring to see some young men rocking the eco-conscious look.

This group of skirts shows the versatility of combining t-shirts in a patchwork style. Denim adds an additional element of fun.

These beautiful dresses higlight how skillfully pieced t-shirts can create lovely shapes and silhouettes. (The expert seamstress who pieced the colorful diamond dress on the right is 12 years old!)
A naturally-dyed batik print gives this t-shirt ensemble an ecofriendly and organic vibe.

I can't wait to see what the next wave of refashioning brings!