This Irish woman is dressing as a household item every day for a month
Taryn de Vere says that with the right fashion, even trash bin liners and canned beans can be ‘glamorous’
Taryn de Vere only wears clothes that make her feel fabulous — even when she's dressed as a can of beans.
The fashion accessories designer has challenged herself to dress up as an ordinary item from her house in Ramelton, Ireland, every day in January, and document it on Instagram. Some of her outfits so far have included a tube of toothpaste, a carton of milk and a tin of Quality Street chocolates.
While those objects may seem mundane, de Vere's ensembles are anything but. Each outfit is colourful and bold, the kind of thing you might see on a Paris runway or a New York street fashion blog.
"If I have to wear something, why not wear something that makes you feel fabulous?" De Vere told As It Happens host Carol Off.
"I just went through my wardrobe about a decade ago and I actually just got rid of everything that didn't make me feel fabulous."
In fact, her exclusively fabulous wardrobe is what makes this project possible. She says she's committed herself to following one rule when creating her ensembles: "I have to use things I already have in my house, which has kind of forced me to be very creative."
Fortunately, she has plenty to work with.
"I've been charity shopping and vintage clothes shopping since I was a teenager," she said.
"I remember my daughter once saying to me, 'You know, when you leave us all that money when you die.' And I said, 'What money?' And she said, 'You know, the money that people leave when they die.' I said, 'There's no money. The only thing I'll be leaving you kids is a really extensive vintage clothing collection.'"
Her outfits are loosely inspired by household items, but they aren't exactly costumes. For example, if you saw her on the streets in her bright blue and green ensemble from Friday, you probably wouldn't know she was dressed as a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner bottle.
"The idea behind the project is that I try to recreate the colours and the lines and the design as much as possible," she said.
"It's sort of transformed the way that I grocery shop as well because I think now I'm paying a lot more attention to the colours and the designs of the different products. And while I haven't bought anything specifically that I'd say I didn't need, I have kind of bought products because they look prettier or because I thought, 'Well, that'll be fun to dress up as.'"
While speaking to As It Happens, de Vere was already plotting her next outfit: a pack of garbage-bin liners.
"I think it's going to be very glamorous," she said.
Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Katie Geleff.
