Zawe Ashton is engaged to Tom Hiddleston and there are rumors that they’re expecting, although if that’s the case they’re keeping it under wraps. She’s currently working with eBay UK to help promote their new verified designer handbag program. eBay Authenticate, first launched in the US in 2017, sells designer handbags which have been inspected by their experts. They also inspect sneakers and watches. (Not an ad, I’m just giving background.) Zawe has an interview with Harper’s Bazaar for that where she talks about her love of vintage fashion and secondhand clothing. This is a genuine passion for her and it’s one I share. You probably know this if you read us regularly, but I just love thrift and Goodwill shopping. Here’s some of what she told Harpers Bazaar about that:
“As a young drama-school student, I was really beginning to experiment with roles and started to find characters in the vintage I was buying,” she recalls. “I was finding some really precious stuff that I still have today – a vintage Eighties cheerleading outfit that would probably take me a while to wriggle into now,” she laughs. “Another special find is my Jimmy Choo clutch bag. At the time, I’d been nominated for a British Independent Film Award and back then loaning clothes was so new to me and I didn’t have a stylist, so I just relied on the kindness of fashion houses and designers that I formed personal relationships with.” Having borrowed a dress and shoes from a brand, she needed the perfect bag to go with it: she found the dream Jimmy Choo clutch on eBay and picked it up en route to the red carpet. “That was a special pre-loved moment,” she recalls. “It made me realise you’re ultimately in charge of dressing yourself for these events, so you can be more imaginative.”
Being an early champion of secondhand designer fashion made the actress the perfect fit to front eBay’s campaign for its new authentication process, which ensures any bag over £500 will now go through rigorous checking in a bid to build consumer confidence.
“I’ve definitely bought a few dud designer pieces [in the past] and I wish I’d had some kind of guarantee to help with that, especially when shopping secondhand online or for the first time,” says Ashton of the partnership…
“Trends turn over so quickly now,” she says. “You can start to get carried away with it, rather than taking the time to explore what your own sense of style and expression might be.
“The younger generation are really targeted by these fast trends. So if there’s anything I would love to say to that generation, it’s to take a moment to find your authentic expression through how you dress and, while you’re doing that, you could also really be helping the planet that you’re about to inherit.”
“Pre-loved doesn’t have to be a chore or a slog – it just means you’re authenticating your own journey of consumerism,” says the actress. “You can become more authentically yourself when you think more consciously about our planet, which goes a lot further outside of just shopping.”
“Finding inspiration is a really great start,” advises Ashton, who takes her own inspiration from a variety of sources – from stars whose style she admires, like Alexa Chung and Grace Jones, to the Punk Era or French cinema. “There are so many apps and sites to browse images of different styles and eras and see how people have put together different pieces.”
I love that story about how she merged her interests in acting and clothing to find characters in the outfits! As a teenager I loved to go to Salvation Army and it was like I was building a persona through fashion. I still do that although I rarely think of it that way. Zawe also spoke about sustainability and about buying pieces and having them tailored. That is key to looking put together – fit. It makes me want to learn how to sew.
Zawe is in the upcoming regency romcom, Mr. Malcolm’s List, with Freida Pinto and Sope Dirisu. It looks like Bridgerton meets Dangerous Liaisons and I am here for it! The trailer made me lol
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- – London, UK -20220313- British Academy Film Awards 2022 Arrivals -PICTURED: Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton -PHOTO by: Cover Images/INSTARimages.com -51277014.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
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- Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton at arrivals for BETRAYAL: A Conversation with the Broadway Cast, 92nd Street Y, New York, NY November 23, 2019. Photo By: RCF/
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- Opening night for Sea Wall / A Life at the Hudson Theatre – Arrivals. Featuring: Charlie Cox, Zawe Ashton, Tom Hiddleston Where: New York, New York, United States When: 09 Aug 2019 Credit: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com
Photos credit: Avalon.red, Instar, WENN and via Instagram
I love clothes swapping with friends and Poshmark. I grew out of some very special items and couldn’t throw them away. I’m happy they live on with others. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with it and the quality is not usually seen anymore. Nothing bad about pre loved clothes!
Same, I don’t like going on Poshmark too much but going on once a month or two is perfect, and I often find things that I get compliments on and ppl are always surprised it’s thrift. The only thing I had to get over was the pot pourri smell that some vendors have but that usually washes out with one wash. Highly recommend. Tip: go on and like things and then wait a few hours to see if you get coupons from sellers in your email. I would get coupons on probably 75% of things.
Online consignment shopping is my superpower. I can often piece together outfits featured here! I love my Carolina Herrera dress I saw on queen Letizia that I bought for $80. I often think I should figure out a way to make it my full time gig.
She looks pretty happy with old Hiddles there, good for them.
Just stopped by to say that 😃
Yes on learning to sew! A great person to follow/learn from is Cal Patch. She was a designer for Anthropologie and other brands, then struck off on her own to teach people to do their own pattern drafting and clothes making. I live in New England and have been lucky enough to do workshops with her, but she has a book out and a bunch of classes on Creativebug. (Creativebug is always offering discounts and free trial memberships.)
It seems backwards, but it’s easier in a way to construct clothes from scratch, even if imperfectly, and then move on to adjusting existing clothes to fit your body.
And yeah on Zane for encouraging people to make fashion serve them, rather than settling for whatever fast fashion has on the racks.
I love pre-loved clothes/items. I think 40% of my closet is pre-loved and my aim is to make it to 80-90%.
Another fan of pre-loved here. My current obsession is cashmere jumpers. Just picked up a Ralph Lauren 100% cashmere baby pink one for £25. It’s in perfect condition. I always check EBay for anything special rather than buy new.
My God, they are just stunning together. Beauty for beauty. I hope they have a joyous life together.
ebay authenticate definitely works! I purchased a St. Laurent handbag on ebay. The pictures on ebay showed the bag to be in flawless condition. I verified with the buyer that the pictures posted were actually pics of the bag. He said yes, his boss was a professional photographer. A day later, I saw the exact pics of the bag on the St. Laurent website. Sucker. Before I even discovered the sellers lies, ebay had already cancelled the transaction because the actual handbag they inspected was not in the same excellent condition as the posting had stated.