Your Clothes Deserve a Second Chance, Not Your Ex.

Let’s stop giving second chances to people who think emotional maturity means knowing their star sign—give them to the clothes at the back of your wardrobe instead.

Let’s get one thing straight: we are no longer in the era of giving mediocre men second chances. The only thing getting a redemption arc in this house is the blazer I almost gave to Depop before realising it still kind of slays.

Welcome to Worn Out—a soft place to land when you’re somewhere between your fifth quarter-life crisis and deciding whether you’re healing or just tired. The name says it all: we’re worn out emotionally, mentally, and sometimes physically... but so are our clothes.

Stop Recycling Men. Start Recycling Outfits.

They’ve been with us through bad dates, late-night walks, awkward job interviews, and the one time we went out with hope in our eyes and glitter on our eyelids. We’ve worn them to death—and yet, somehow, we’re still wearing them out. But that’s the thing about a good outfit: it shows up. And so do we.

Which is exactly why this post isn’t about letting go—it’s about giving things a second chance. Just not the emotionally unavailable man who once texted, “u up?” on your birthday.

NEWLESS

Enter: Newless—a brand dedicated to making upcycling feel as exciting and luxurious as buying something new (without the guilt or polyester rash). Their mission is to help you rediscover what’s already in your closet—and make it look like it just walked off a runway, not out of your 2022 “maybe I’ll wear this again” pile.

We love them not just because their work is stunning (it is), but because they understand something deeper:

Your clothes hold memories. They deserve attention, love, and maybe a little tailoring.

Not landfill.

I chatted with Anita Shannon, the Founder of Newless about how they’re redefining upcycling, what makes sustainable fashion actually wearable, and why your wardrobe deserves loyalty—even if your ex didn’t. Their answers are below and spoiler: they're more thoughtful than most of the voice notes in your Hinge inbox.

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Q&A WITH ANITA SHANNON

FOUNDER OF NEWLESS

ANITA SHANNON - FOUNDER OF NEWLESS

Erin: Can you introduce yourself and give us the backstory of Newless?

Anita: Absolutely! I started Newless officially at the beginning of 2024, but the idea had been with me for years. I’ve always been passionate about circular fashion – back in New York I was really into rental, especially when Rent the Runway blew up. Then during COVID, I was living in Germany, shopping mostly secondhand and vintage. I’d find great pieces that were just a bit off – not something tailoring could fix, but pieces that could be transformed. I thought, “If I could just sew, I could turn this grandma dress into a chic party dress.” That’s when the idea clicked. I didn’t want to sell clothes I’d made – I wanted to help people do that with what they already own. So Newless became about shopping your own closet through upcycling.

My background is in hospitality, and I’ve always seen fashion as something connective. Shopping used to be social – going to malls, to high streets – and now it’s mostly online. I think there’s this special feminine community within fashion and I had a vision for Newless to bring that back, with people bringing clothes and designers upcycling live. We still do events, but in the past year we’ve evolved. Now, we’re more focused on online and mail-in – thinking about scale, impact, and operating like a normal fashion brand.

Erin: I think it’s amazing that you have created a space where you’ve breathed new life into up-cycling and shown people your next favourite piece is already hanging in your closet.

Anita: We already have such great pieces in our closets, whether it’s yours, your mums, your grandmas, your dads, and it’s just about optimising that in a way that is still feels stylish and modern.

Erin: Which brings me perfectly onto my first question - Newless proves that upcycling doesn’t have to mean compromising on style. How do you approach transforming preloved garments into something that feels fresh, modern, and elevated—like, something you’d proudly wear to run into your ex?

Anita: That’s kind of the whole thesis of the brand. Some up-cycling can be very patch-worky and it looks awesome and a lot of people like that, but my goal is just like you bought it new, like you wouldn't know it's not from the latest collection of xyz designer. The research and development we do, coming up with our designs are things that we love and are modern. We take inspiration from the same places that any high street brand does - runway shows, celebrities, Pinterest. Then we have the eye of like that could be up-cycled because not everything can so it's just finding a balance.

Sneak peak - you know the long kind of shorts are really big right now? I’m texting my designer right now and we're thinking about what we have to do to up-cycle trousers to look like that, so I think it's almost like we're more trend first and then backwards figuring out if it can be up-cycled so that way we're staying modern.

Erin: Up-cycling is more than your grandma's dress that you fixed the buttons on. You’ve completely modernised the game. What would you say to someone who loves fashion but feels overwhelmed by the idea of turning old clothes into something new?

Anita: I think sustainable fashion sits on a kind of bell curve. On one end, you have people who aren’t thinking about it at all, and on the other, there’s a strong community who only shop secondhand, rent, or upcycle. But I'm most interested in the majority—the people in the middle.

That’s who our brand is for. We’ve designed the Newless website to feel like a regular online shopping experience, because we want it to be familiar and inspiring. We do have a long list of items we can upcycle, but we focus on just a few styles to help customers get excited about the end result. They see a look they love - say, an amazing blazer - and realize it came from something they already own. Then it’s just a few extra steps: find something similar in your wardrobe, measure yourself, and mail it in.

The checkout process looks just like any other clothing site, but after purchase, customers get a kit with instructions, a QR code, and support. We’ve tried to make it as simple and branded as possible so we don’t lose people in confusion. Of course, it’s still new, so education is a challenge but when people take the time, they say, “Whoa, this is so cool.” So I think it’s just a journey.

Erin: I feel like Newless really bridges the gap between people who are fully committed to sustainability and those who are just starting out—maybe still buying fast fashion and dealing with the guilt. It’s like saying, “You don’t have to buy something new to feel like you have something new.” That’s such a powerful concept. So in your eyes, how can reimagining our own wardrobes actually help shift the culture around fast fashion?

Anita: We’re trying to make it as easy as possible – not just in terms of accessibility, but also in terms of style. We try to create designs that feel like a modern brand. It’s like you’re scrolling Instagram and seeing one of our pieces right next to a hot new label that just launched. We're aiming for that same aspirational vibe in terms of branding and style.

Cost is a big part of that, too. Our average price point is around £90, which isn’t super cheap, but it’s also not designer-level. It sits in that middle space – a bit of an investment, but one people are generally comfortable with, especially because it’s bespoke and made for you using something you already own.

Because you’re upcycling from scratch, there’s room to take in more of the customer’s creative input. We still have to be scalable, so it’s not fully custom, which would be more expensive, but we offer options like adjusting the length, slit height, rise, and things like that. If someone includes extra fabric they want us to use, they can pop that in the bag too.

Individuality and creativity are huge benefits of reimagining your wardrobe. No one else will have the same piece. It’s similar to the appeal of secondhand shopping, but with more control. It’s a way to tap into a new trend without going to Zara and ending up wearing the same thing as 100 other girls in London.

Plus, it fits you better. When something is custom or bespoke-made, you’re not choosing between small, medium, large – you’re putting in your own dimensions, so it should actually fit your body properly.

Erin: Money is a big factor for a lot of people, and I think one of the biggest draws of fast fashion is the price point. But like you said, when something fits perfectly and is made to last, it becomes more of an investment piece. That ties into the emotional weight clothes can carry–when you've loved and worn something for a long time, there's real value in giving it a second life.

So, is that something you’ve seen in your work? Do you think clothes hold emotional weight, and what have you learned about people’s attachment to their garments and how upcycling can honour that?

Anita: Totally. I mean, I think it depends on the story of the garment – like it’s the whole narrative. The cycle right now is people buy a bunch of low-quality, low-cost items, so they’re not as emotionally attached to them, and then they get rid of them quicker. That’s where you get this huge waste problem.

I just did a closet clean-out because I moved, and anything I bought secondhand, I really struggled to throw away. Even though I didn’t upcycle it, I found it secondhand, and no one else has it. So I think up-cycling is very similar – it lets you hold onto these things that are more unique finds. Maybe they have a story from your family, or you’ve just had them for a long time and have great memories attached.

But instead of just sitting in your closet because it’s sentimental, it actually evolves and serves a new purpose.

We love the nostalgia aspect—like maybe you have your grandma’s favourite trousers from work. And instead of them just sitting there, what a cool way to honour her memory and her style by modernising them and actually wearing them.

So yeah, I think it’s a way to deepen that emotional attachment to certain pieces in a way that’s also practical – because you’re actually going to use it.

Erin: If you could give one piece of advice to someone trying to dress more sustainably without losing their personal style, what would it be?

Anita: It’s a great question, because I think another big reason we started Newless is that we really believe in the creative expression that fashion and style give people. Especially women—I think women dominate fashion more than men, and it’s a space we’ve really claimed.

So the idea that, in order to be sustainable, you can’t use fashion as a vehicle for self-expression is something I’ve struggled with. I fully understand that this industry has to change for environmental reasons, but I think it’s about finding other circular models and getting comfortable using those to express your individuality and creativity.

Obviously, our focus is upcycling, so that’s one way to do it. With Newless, you have more creative agency compared to buying something off the rack—whether it’s choosing colours, the fit, adding embellishments, etc.

And honestly, I think there’s something much more impressive about styling yourself in things you can’t buy off the rack. Anyone can go into a department store, spend a lot of money, and get the latest collection. But is that really your personal style—or are you just buying what’s trending?

Erin: Do you have an item you’ll forever be obsessed with?

Anita: My favourite secondhand vintage store in London is called Serotonin—it's on Brick Lane. Before I even lived in London, I’d always stop in when I visited. One time, I was there and they had these Chanel trousers—these gold ones—and they fit me like a glove. Of course, one size only, and they were under £100, which for Chanel is wild. They were really unique looking, so I bought them and waited for the right time to wear them.

A few months later, I was coming back to Europe and took the train from Amsterdam to Paris. I had this huge suitcase since I was travelling for a few weeks—and the Chanel pants were in there, along with a lot of other things. I got to Paris and realised my suitcase was gone. I was running up and down the train, almost in tears. The suitcase wasn’t anywhere.

I got off and started talking to the French police—who weren’t very helpful—and I was heartbroken. I hadn’t even worn the Chanel pants yet, and they were gone. I started the insurance process and tried to claim everything back.

Then, three days later, I got an email from the Rotterdam police saying they’d found the luggage. I asked if anything was still in it and they said yes, so I went to Rotterdam the next day, fingers crossed. I opened the suitcase—it had been completely ransacked. Designer purses and a ton of stuff were gone.

But the Chanel pants were still there. They were already special—but I almost lost them.

Erin: Yay! That just proves you should never wait to wear a piece you love!

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So next time you're tempted to click “add to cart” after a bad day, or buy something new just to feel something, take a second look at what’s already hanging in your closet. It might just need a little love. Or a little Newless.

Because second chances belong to the clothes that made you feel something, not the man who didn’t.

And if you’re going to be worn out, you might as well look fabulous doing it.