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Cat Deeley considered the mindset and environmental awareness for her sartorial choice at this year’s National Television Awards.
ITVs co-presenter In the morning she wore a vintage Saint Laurent wrap dress, which is the red twin of the one she wore to her bridal party in 2012.
“I saw it coming up on the Instagram site and it’s almost like wearing a nightie,” she said The Telegraph before Wednesday night’s ceremony. “The dress does all the work.
“I knew it would work because I had already worn it for my wedding…it’s done and done, I’ll love it forever.” In the morning they may not have come home with an award, but Deeley’s appearance was undoubtedly one of the standouts of the night.
Although she often wears streetwear and designer pieces on TV, Deeley still loves finding the perfect vintage “diamond in the rough” to add to her growing second-hand collection.
The presenter usually finds the best vintage items when she shops in person, rather than online, and she insisted that it happens when she isn’t looking for anything in particular.
“It’s hard if you go looking for something and I think that’s the problem a lot of people have,” Deeley explained.
“If you go looking for something it’s very rare that you find it. My technique is always a bit like, go, be a mooch, see what treasures you can find and if you see find something… If all the stars are aligned and luck is on your side you will find something exquisite.”
This year, the presenter is fronting Oxfam’s September Second Hand campaign, which encouraged people to shop for pre-loved clothes to help reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry from 2019.
Deeley said she recently “opened her eyes” as far as the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, especially fashion.
“Because I style myself, I tend to buy things that I keep and recycle again… or I get something second-hand, something vintage and second-hand,” she said.
“Sometimes I buy it and I’m like, ‘OK, this is from the 1920s so I don’t know if I’ll get two wears out of it, it’s hanging on by a hope and a prayer'”.
One of her favorite items in her wardrobe is a pair of years-old ballet flats from River Island, which she suspects would cost no more than £20.
“I’ll have them forever, there wasn’t much money, but I’ll stay with them. “That doesn’t mean I don’t pay a lot for something, whether I like it or not,” she argued.
Former star of the hit US talent show So you think you can dance She revealed that her love of thrift came from childhood visits to antique fairs with her mother.
“We loved having a little potter around and it was everything from old perfume bottles, pieces of jewelery to plates and cups and pictures. I loved it as a little girl,” she said.
Deeley also revealed that she will pick some things she loves to wear In the morning and he insisted that any clothes thrown away in boxes after the show are not disposable items.
“It’s definitely not disposable in any way, shape or form,” she said, adding: “I only pick pieces that I love.”
This attitude to fashion “transcends the seasons,” Deeley explained, and at 47, the star said she finally knows “what suits me and I know what works for my body.”
Her style is now “more about being comfortable in my own skin” rather than following the latest fad.
“What you wear for a day is like your suit of armor that you put on to go and face your day,” she said.
The presenter also joked that she can “never buy shoes” because of her larger foot size, crying: “I can’t buy shoes because my feet are so big! I’m always jealous of my little walking friends because I can never buy shoes.”
Lately, Deeley’s love of thrift has translated into being more environmentally conscious with her sartorial choices.
“Like everyone else, I think we’ve all become much more aware of the environment… it’s a slow thing but I feel like we’re slowly educating ourselves. I just learned as I went really,” she said.
“We no longer operate in these individual bubbles. We are much more aware of the world around us and doing the right thing and how we affect the world around us for generations to come.”
New analysis by Oxfam has found that buying just one pair of used jumpers and T-shirts instead of new could save 20,000 standard bottles of water.
Lorna Fallon, the charity’s retail director, said: “It’s clear from these statistics that we are drowning in fashion. As the world is running out of fresh water due to climate change, the cost of producing water-intensive clothing could be greatly reduced if we mix our wardrobes with second-hand purchases.
“By recycling our clothes – buying, wearing and donating second-hand clothes – we can help reduce the demand for new clothes.”
Deeley said: “I love everything from car sales to Oxfam to Christie’s – I love the gamut of vintage.
“You never know, it’s the thrill of the chase.”
To take part in the Oxfam Second Hand September campaign or find out more, please visit: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/second-hand-september/
