PART 1: CLASSROOM/WORKSHOP PLAY-SPACE 

Approx. 15 mins. 

LET’S PLAY!

1. Begin the recipe by sitting in a circle as a group. Introduce this recipe to all the players. You could say:

“Today we’re going to play ‘Searching for Stor(i)es’! Together, we will be exploring our local neighbourhood to discover stories behind the clothing stores on our high streets. We’re going to be fashion detectives today! 

As fashion detectives, we will use our discoveries to imagine what the future of our shopping habits and clothing stores could be.” 

2. Establish an understanding of the difference between the types of clothing stores and services. Ask players if they know what each of these clothing-related stores and services are, before providing a definition/explanation. 

You can then say: 

“Clothing stores are not just for buying new clothes, but also: buying secondhand clothes and repairing, mending, altering, customising, upcycling, washing, cleaning and more.”

Clothing Store Info Cards

Read the Clothing Store Info Cards provided together to learn more about these shops and services. 

Activity Sheet 1: Personal Investigation  + Group Discussion

3. Facilitate a group discussion. Discuss as a group everyone’s personal shopping practices and habits.

It’s important to keep following up answers with questions such as ‘why/why not?’ to encourage the players to critically think about their own practices. 

The aim is to connect the players’ personal experiences to their local clothing community. 

Use the questions in ‘Activity Sheet 1: Personal Investigation’ to facilitate this discussion. 

Afterwards, players complete ‘Activity Sheet 1: Personal Investigation’ to reflect on where they usually shop and their shopping habits. 

PART 2: LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAY-SPACE

Approx. 1 hour +

You will need the ‘Activity 1: Fashion Detectives Clothing Store’ activity sheet. Ask all players to take a notebook and pen with them. 

Gather the players together as a group and begin your adventure in your local community. 

Depending on the age of the players and how many of you there are, you will either stay together as a group or split up. 

You can choose whether to go to a shopping mall/centre and/or stay on the high street. 

Choose a selected physical area to work with, such as one level of a shopping centre or one part of a street, to give all players the same parameters. 

Task 1: Observation 

Players need to write down all the different clothing-related stores and services that they can find in this area. They need to write down:

-Name of the store

-Type of store 

-Interesting details/observations. 

Encourage players to observe and note down:

-What the stores look like

-How many people are in the stores

-What type of clothing they sell or what service they provide

-How they display the clothing or service

-Any other details they find interesting. 

FOR EXAMPLE:

What: British Heart Foundation 

Type: Charity Store 

Observations/notes: This store sells secondhand clothing. I counted ten people inside. The window has three mannequins on display with each mannequin wearing a different striped outfit. I like how the customers are smiling at each other, it looks like an enjoyable place to shop. 

Activity Sheet 2: Fashion Detectives - Clothing Stores

Complete the ‘Task 1: Observation’ section of this activity sheet. 

1. Once everyone has recorded all the different clothing-related stores in the area, regroup together. 

2. Players count how many different types of clothing stores and services there are. 

3. Players tally them and write their total count of each store. 

4. Players answer the questions related to their discoveries. 

5. As a group, discuss and compare the players’ findings.

Task 2: Investigation 

This task asks players to interact with people who work at these various services. 

This should be completed in pairs, with or without an adult, whatever is best suited to the age group. Each pair needs to choose one clothing-related store or service. 

In each store, the players need to ask one of the staff members some questions and write down their findings. 

The aim is for the players to gain an understanding of the store, the people who work in the store and any stories they might have. 

1. Players choose one of these stores that they find interesting. 

1. Players go into their chosen store. 

2. Players find a staff member and ask if they can ask them some questions about the store. Players ask them if they are happy for them to write down their answers. 

Players can tell the staff that they’re being fashion detectives, exploring fashion in their community. 

Players could say:

“Hi! My name is X/we are X and today we are being fashion detectives because we are researching clothing stores in our local neighbourhood/community. Would you mind if we ask you a few questions?”

If they say no, that is ok! Players can ask someone else or go into a new store. 

Some staff members may not want to answer any questions, so let the players know that this is ok. Emphasise the importance of asking for consent. 

3. If the staff member says yes, you could ask questions such as those exhibited on the following page. 

POTENTIAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

-“What is the purpose of this store? What kind of items does this store sell?/What kind of services does this store provide?”

-“How long has this store been open for?”

-“Who founded this store? Do you know why it was founded?”

-“What do you like about working in this store?”  

Let their answers guide your questions and ask follow-up questions!

Once everyone has completed their investigations, gather everyone in a group and return to your classroom/workshop play-space.  

Activity Sheet 2: Fashion Detectives - Clothing Stores

Players complete the ‘Task 2: Investigation’ section to write your findings and their answers.  

PART 3: CLASSROOM/WORKSHOP PLAY-SPACE 

Approx 1 hour +

Task 1: Group Discussion & Reflection

1. Players first answer the questions in ‘Activity Sheet 2: Fashion Detectives - Clothing Store’ to reflect on their adventures. 

2. Gather everyone around in a seated circle. Ask each pair to reveal their findings to the group and ask each pair what they thought of their findings – were they surprised or unsurprised? 

Use the questions in the activity sheet to guide the discussion. 

Once everyone has revealed their findings, ask everyone what they think of the usefulness of these clothing-related stores/services. 

Task 2: Imaginary Clothing Stores 

In this task, the players in pairs, need to imagine a new kind of clothing store or service in the future. They need to use the information they have gathered and consider how our current clothing habits might change or develop in the future. 

They need to describe what this clothing-related store does and draw what this store would look like. Encourage players to be imaginative and think about what we would like the future of fashion to look like.  

For example:

A Compost Clothing Store: What if there is an entire store dedicated to composting clothing? All-natural fibre clothing can be composted in soil. Customers could give the store the clothing they no longer want to wear. The store would look like a greenhouse garden. 

A Clothing Library: What if we all had a subscription to a local clothing library where we could rent all the clothing we needed for free as we do with books?

Activity Sheet 3: Create an Imaginary Clothing Store

Players use this activity sheet to:

-Describe what this clothing-related store does. 

-Draw what this store would look like.  

Task 3: Clothing Fashion Detectives  

In this task, players are on a mission to uncover:

-Where our clothes have come from. 

-What our clothes are made of. 

-Who made our clothes. 

Players choose their chosen favourite item of clothing, to explore and complete: ‘Activity Sheet 4: Fashion Detectives - Clothing’