Good threads come to those who wait...

“It’s really hard to get rid of clothes,” sighs Amma Aburam, AKA @styleand.sustain. Then the twist: “Because these days, I like everything in my closet.” 

We like everything in her closet too, as it happens – from minimalist tailoring and chunky knits to bold, African heritage prints and a healthy dose of 90s nostalgia (“Moesha was a big one for me. Even today, when I’m getting braids, she’s the person I think of”). Her artfully styled, thoughtfully captioned Instagram feed makes her one of the most relatable and least judgemental voices in conscious fashion, with a blog, a podcast, modelling and public speaking gigs all under the (incredibly chic) Style & Sustain umbrella.

Her sartorial serenity is the holy grail for anyone who has ever spent a morning yelling ‘I hate all my clothes!!!’ from the middle of a heap of crumpled polyester, but it wasn’t always this way. “I used to have so many things that were like, on-a-whim purchases, so many things that were carelessly bought. I could have clothed a village with all the stuff I wasn’t wearing,” she says. Hard relate. 

By day, Amma works in digital marketing for a mainstream clothing brand – which perhaps makes her an unlikely spokesperson for sustainability, but an important one too. “I have a foot in both worlds,” she says. “I’m not perfect; it’s a learning process.”

“Having time to think really makes a difference”

Straddling two worlds is a familiar feeling for the fashion-lover, whose style has long been a carefully curated mash-up of cultures, passions and influences. Growing up in Ghana, her childhood wardrobe was “a really great mix of traditional print outfits that my aunt would sew at home, and stuff that my other aunt who lived in Europe would send to us. One of my favourite ‘Sunday best’ looks for church was a blue satin dress with puffy sleeves made from Ghanaian kente cloth.”   

Aged eight she moved to a tiny town in France, and continued the pursuit of that je ne sais quois. “I was always dabbling. As a little black girl, I sometimes felt that culturally you’re put into a box and expected to dress a certain way,” she says. “For a long time in my teens I knew I liked Avril Lavigne and the whole skater girl thing but I was like, ‘is that black enough? Is that something I should do?’” Eventually, she quit caring and embraced life in a star-print hoodie. “I got a longboard and everything,” she laughs. “Tried to be authentic.”

Speaking of authentic – how about the elusive ‘French girl style’ I’ve spent four seasons of Call My Agent trying to master? “The whole effortless chic thing is an art form,” Amma confirms. “The idea that you’re confident enough to just walk out with scruffy hair and a simple coat, maybe a bit of red lipstick. It works! I can vouch for it.”

But while Gallic insouciance is in her style DNA, it was visiting her aunt who lived in London that gave Aburam her first taste of something more addictive: fast fashion. “I still vividly remember walking into Primark for the first time and going, ‘this is so cheap, I can afford everything.’ I was just blown away.” 

“As a little black girl, I sometimes felt that culturally you’re put into a box and expected to dress a certain way”

Fast forward to 2016 and she’d followed her career dreams to London when, like so many of us, she stumbled across seminal documentary The True Cost on Netflix and had a harsh awakening. “I couldn’t imagine that something I loved so much, that I thought was just fun and cool, could have such heavy stories attached to it. It was a lot to process.”

As a result Amma stopped shopping for three months (“which was a feat for me”) and then started her blog, Style & Sustain, to chart her progress and keep herself accountable. “I struggled [with sustainable dressing] at first, because I thought ‘wait, does this mean I have to have just one of everything? Do I have to look the same all the time?’” she says. “I don’t like looking the same! Like, I hate wearing the same coat all winter. But then I started to understand that I don’t – I just have to choose pieces really well and circulate them.”  

These days she’s nailed her own four-part audition process for new purchases. “Before I buy anything, I always go back to my closet first. Often I already have something like it that I’d just forgotten about. If not, second is trying to find a way to rent it, or asking family and friends if they have something similar I can borrow. If I can’t get it that way, then the third stop is secondhand, whether that’s vintage, charity shops or clothes swaps (like Nuw!). Then if that’s a dead end, I start looking at sustainable and ethical brands,” she says. 

“But most of the time, before I get to that point, I’ve either found what I need... or I’ve got sick of the item and I don’t need it anymore. Having time to think really makes a difference.”

Patience is a virtue, kids. Here’s the proof.

Amma’s Wardrobe Stories... 

What's the oldest thing in your wardrobe? 

A simple gold chain necklace, which I’ve had since I was about two or three. Made from Ghanaian gold, it always feels like a treasure from home – especially being far away living in Europe – and it reminds me of my mom, who I lost when I was really young. It’s a connection to her and it’s always been there. I don’t wear it very often, but I keep it in my treasure box and take it out for special occasions.  

What's your most recent acquisition? 

It just arrived today actually! It’s a burnt orange knitted co-ord, a skirt and a matching turtleneck, secondhand from Depop. I have this new thing about turtlenecks. I was always more of a scarf person, I have loads of different scarves – then recently I had this epiphany where I was like: ‘wait, a turtleneck is a scarf built into a top. Perfect!’ It makes life so much easier. 

What's the item of clothing closest to your heart, and why? 

An old pair of vintage Calvin Klein jeans. My boyfriend bought them for me on a trip to London, around the time we were having our first conversations about moving here together. I found them in the huge underground vintage market on Brick Lane, and they were so perfect when I tried them on. I absolutely adored them and they still have such sentimental value. They’re too small now, but I can’t seem to get rid of them – physically, I can’t! I’ve attempted to give them to a friend. I’ve listed them on my Depop page and my Vinted page and they get a lot of likes, but weirdly nobody’s bought them. It must be destiny – maybe I’m meant to keep them and pass them onto my kids as an heirloom or something. 

Which garment has the best origin story? 

My white Veja sneakers. They’re the first item that I really saved up for, and they’re symbolic of the point on my journey with sustainable fashion where I started investing in my clothes. The prices often feel shocking at first compared to fast fashion, but once I’d educated myself and gained a better understanding of why things need to cost a certain amount, it made sense. I needed a new pair of trainers so I found Veja and I spent a few months putting a little bit of money aside, going back to stare at them online, thinking “almost there… nearly payday…”. When I finally got my classic white pair, I felt really proud. And they’re still going strong. At the beginning I obsessively made sure they were clean and perfect… but I’ve given up on that now. They look worn and loved! 

“recently I had this epiphany where I was like: ‘wait, a turtleneck is a scarf built into a top. Perfect!’ It makes life so much easier.”

Which piece have you worn again and again and again? 

It’s these really simple black dungarees that I got from a really small brand called Franklin Tree. They’re really simple – loose, wide-legged cropped dungarees with big pockets at the front. I’m consistently going to them because they’re so easy to put on and dress up or down. I’ve worn them with heels and a nice top underneath and gone to a party, and I’ve worn them at home to paint in. They fit in any situation and with everything, they’re easy to wash, they’re perfect. I can’t even count how many times I’ve worn them. 

Is there anything in your wardrobe that other people hate/don't understand but you LOVE it all the same? 

Trainers again! It’s this really old pair of Reebok running shoes that are more than 10 years old. They’re black with bright pink lining and my boyfriend really doesn’t appreciate them. He’s into sneakers, and for him they’re the lowest of the low. But I’ve had them for so long – they remind me of when I was a student and lived in Hawaii for nine months. I was super active while I was there and I needed hiking shoes, but I was really broke, so I walked into the store and grabbed the simplest pair I could find. And I still wear them! I ran in them last week! They’re actually still quite solid. Though to be fair, that is a testament to how little sport I do these days...   

Be honest – which garment do you wish you wore more? 

Right now, it’s all my dresses. But one in particular, which is this velvet dress with a Chinese-style neckline and a shimmery rose print. I absolutely love it, it’s so gorgeous. I got it three or four years ago on ASOS Marketplace, all the way from a vintage boutique in New York. I’ve worn it to a wedding and a couple of dress-up events, and I wish I could wear it more often but it’s quite fragile. And also, where do I wear it? It’s too precious. It deserves the best moments, not me hunched over my laptop typing away for seven hours.

Let’s imagine they're making a statue of you for Madame Tussauds. What's she wearing? 

It would have to be that dress, the velvet one with the roses, and then on top of it a vintage jacket – another Brick Lane purchase! – which is gold-coloured velvet with the most gorgeous silk lining embroidered with dragons and feathers. It’s reversible, so you can wear it inside out too. The day I bought it I was walking in the market and I saw the glimmer of a gold velvet shoulder poking out from one of the rails. I just walked straight to it, thinking ‘I don’t know what this is, but I need it.’ Velvet on velvet, I’m obsessed. Then I love to style the outfit with open-toed heels and gold sparkly socks. It’s my favourite look of all time.

Follow Amma @styleand.sustain, check out her blog here and listen to Style & Sustain wherever you get your podcasts.