Meet Robyn Elphick, the fashion and lifestyle creator behind Robyn Mia. Based in Merseyside, Robyn has built a loyal online community by sharing her love of fashion, styling and, in particular, the joy of finding and reworking preloved pieces.

Known for her colourful, confident style and passion for sustainability, Robyn proves that great outfits don’t always have to mean buying new.

6 Questions with Robyn

For those who don’t know you, how would you describe your approach to fashion and what you love about second-hand and charity-shop styling? 

To me, fashion is all about fun, and life is too short to not wear what you love. As I've gotten older I've grown in confidence and care less about what people think about my clothes, so what I love about shopping in the charity shops is I never really know what I'm going to find, and rather than following a specific trend I've been leaning into my own personal style and finding fun little items I didn't know I needed. 

You’ve built a huge community across Instagram and TikTok, what do you think people love most about discovering and styling pre-loved fashion? 

For me personally, I just love seeing what people find so I could watch videos of people rummaging around charity shops all day, but I think by people who wouldn't necessarily shop in charity shops seeing all the fun things that you can find, they want to try it out themselves. 

You often champion the idea that great style doesn’t have to mean buying something new. What does sustainable fashion mean to you personally? 

There's so much cool stuff already out there waiting to be discovered! I'm not saying I never buy new, but especially since shopping mostly second hand, you become so much more aware of just how many items are being produced all the time unnecessarily. Also, for a lot of brands I think the quality has massively decreased over the years so I get so much more excited about finding an older item. 

You found your red Healthy Back Bag in a charity shop, what caught your eye, and what made you take it home? 

All the pockets! It will always be one of my favourite finds. I can't believe somebody managed to part with it. I was on the hunt for something practical that still looked cool, and it ticked all the boxes.

Robyn with her red HBB found at a charity shop

You’ve continued to wear and feature that bag as part of your wardrobe. What do you think makes a really good fashion investment stand the test of time? 

For me, when I fall in love with an item I start to picture all the ways I can style it and how many uses it will get. 

Life has changed in a big way since becoming a mum, has motherhood changed the way you think about fashion, shopping or what you carry with you day to day? 

Definitely what I carry! I can't leave the house with a small bag anymore, but life has definitely changed in the best way possible. In terms of fashion, I'd say my day to day style has become more practical, but on the flip side when I'm going out I've probably gone a bit more out there as I appreciate being able to dress up. 

We're BIG fans of Robyn's styling and thrifting content, for more follow her on on Instagram & TikTok