OP-ED: Why Every Month Should be #SecondHandSeptember
Age 7 my dream job was to own a shop which sold Victoria sponge cakes and antique clothes. I can remember deciding this during a visit to Wimborne Model Village (which I highly recommend for any staycations in the New Forest!). I fell in love with vintage clothing before it was called that (then called second-hand) for the quality of clothes, loving the detail of a jet button on a Victorian widow’s mourning wear, or a piece of smocking on an Art Deco blouse. I would feel the stories in these clothes and there began a love (my husband might call it an addiction) to vintage, and I’d often feel the pull of jumble sale, car boot sale. Similarly now as a grown up, I’m drawn to eBay, Portobello Market and vintage dealers alike. It’s like being part sleuth, part vintage mothership.
Clearly I was onto something as charity shops made £703m last year and threadUP reports that, over the past three years, resale has grown 21 times faster in the US than ‘apparel retail’. The value of the second-hand market, which is currently worth $24bn (£18bn) is expected to reach $51 billion (£39bn) in five years. Second-hand September, an initiative led by Oxfam is the perfect way to shift our thinking about throwaway fashion and to support longer life solutions to how we consume clothing.
Every week 13 million items of clothing ends up in UK landfill. And did you know it would take 13 years for one person to drink the water needed to make one cotton t-shirt and a pair of jeans? Choosing to shop second hand can help. My relationship with vintage collecting has been as emotional as it’s been encyclopaedic, often the quality and the fabrics are of a level you would only find used in couture, but with the bonus of being at high street - or cheaper - prices. One of a kinds, which never really date as they are already out of date! Styling trips, strike that, any trip always involved checking out the local vintage shops and markets, sourcing reference pieces for designers I worked with, as well as treasures for me. I have vide-greniers (the French brocante calendar) downloaded as an app and could update you on the merits of many markets and shops across 3 continents.
Here are my rules (there are no rules, but some ideas) for being a “second-handista”:
1. Buy to wear - there is no point spending money (even if it’s a bargain) if you’re never going to wear it or it doesn’t fit - unless you want to have it altered and there is fabric and time spare to do so. Donating to charity shops is not the solution to our consumption. Something we have covered a lot at Fashion Roundtable. If you know you will wear it, buy it, enjoy it. If you won’t, leave it for someone else to find and love.
2. Are there - I don’t really like the word trends, let’s call it “moods” - which you would like to have in your wardrobe? Denim jumpsuits, an oversized pastel blazer, slouchy trousers or bias cut dresses, all of these you can source online or in second-hand stores. It’s such an all encompassing industry that there is going to be something somewhere to fit any number of who we want to be- often at a fraction of the price of most designer clothes.
3. Some vintage doesn’t lose its value. An Ossie Clark dress is not going to get any cheaper as they become rarer and older. Arguably, it’s a better investment than buying something from this season (can you see how I have justified some of my spending to myself!).
4. Leaving vintage to hang outside and spritzing with lavender water (I have started making this, it’s actually very easy to do) is a good way to lose any musty smells and cheaper (plus better for the environment) than dry cleaning.
5. Don’t get hung up on sizing. A size 12 in the 1970s is like a size 8-10 now. If it fits, go on that and don’t get caught in feeling anything other than the sheer pleasure of the piece.
6. Mix it up. You don’t need to look like you just stepped out of a rockabilly festival, or Woodstock for that matter. Mixing a piece of vintage with something contemporary makes both look better and more original.
For more information on Oxfam’s Second-hand September visit here. Will you take the pledge?