Thread by @NewGreenHeart

Here's what Declan, our content and social media wizard, had to say about one year of shopping #secondhand fashion... ♻️👕

Hey! 👋 Here's a thread 🧵 on the things I learnt about shopping only #preloved fashion for a year!

1. Patience is Key 🗝

I've always been curious about owning a pair of Doc Martens but I could never justify splashing out on a new pair. So I kept an eye on second hand pairs on eBay. There were loads to bid on but also loads of other bidders.

Either way I stuck to my guns and didn't go above £55. Long story short, I snapped up a pair for £50 plus postage. They were sold as having a small scuff on them. But when they arrived I could barely see the scuff and the shoes were otherwise nearly new. #drmartens

So the takeaways here would be:

Embrace the imperfect
Set up search alerts
Browse at off peak times
Be prepared to bid and lose many times.

2. #SecondHand Shopping can be a Nice Surprise
It's even great when you go into a shop and find something cool. I did just that a couple of weekends ago on a trip out to Hexham. It was the first thing I found on the rack...

...a blue suit jacket that would be ideal for scrubbing up. Brand new with tags. Guess the price. Nope, guess again. It was just £8! 😲 #bargain

3. You can keep your clothes moving

By buying fairly low priced second hand shirts and trousers, I never feel like I have to be stuck wearing them for years to come. I recently picked up two pretty decent shirts (River Island and Dockers branded) for less than £5 each.

Great quality and looks like they'll last. Now I deliberately chose these because my wardrobe was lacking a bit of variety. If I fall out of love with them I can either resell them or donate them and find a cheap new-to-me replacement. #secondhand #buynothingnew

4. BUT you can get things wrong

Ah, that pair of jeans really didn't fit. And to be honest, when they arrived, they weren't quite what I had expected. Sadly the seller I got them from didn't do returns....

...so I relisted them myself on eBay. In the end I managed to sell them for about half of the price I bought them for, which was fine since I wanted to just move them on... #jeans

I got it wrong! But unlike #fastfashion where you order 20 sizes and keep one garment, it's back to the drawing board. In this case I managed to find a great pair of #Wranglers that fit much better.

5. Don't be Afraid to Get Alterations Done

Sometimes things don't just quite fit. I've been lucky that most of my second hand finds have fit just about ok. Two pairs of trousers needed a belt, both being just a half size too big...

But admittedly I could take them down the street to Launder and Press to get them altered.

6. You Might Need to Do a Bit of Work

Oops! Sometimes you take something home that needs a bit of TLC. One of the shirts I got did somehow have a stain that wasn't in the photos....

Again you'd be in your rights to send it back. That said, I treated it and stuck it in the wash and it came out good as new.

7. Your Money Goes Further and Means More to People

I don't find spending money therapeutic in any way. But when I shop in charity shops or when I buy from small businesses online, I know that it means a lot more than throwing my money to a huge brand.

Did you find this vaguely useful? Read More about finding amazing preloved clothes online

greenheartcollective.uk/blogs/news/8-w…