Vintage shops, charity shops, consignment stores or good old fashioned second hand stores. Buying previously owned clothing can be great for many reasons: it can save money, keeps wearable clothing out of the landfills, supports local businesses and charities and most exciting to me, it gives a chance to make something new out of another person's discards. Shopping in them though, can be a bit of an adventure, especially if you are new to it, and while they can be treasure troves, they can also be disappointments.
Stores that sell second hand clothing and accessories range as much as the products they sell. Sometimes they are large, crowded places with a hundred racks and sometimes they are small and intimate. The prices can be very cheap and affordable or seemingly excessive for a second hand item, and the quality or cleanliness of the clothing can also range widely. What you will find when you go into your local shop may be a mystery every time, but I do have a few tips that can hopefully help make your first few trips more enjoyable.
1) Try things on: Often vintage clothing will be sized differently, sometimes used clothing will hang differently and clothing that has been washed will often fit differently. If there are fitting rooms available, take advantage of them and while many stores will have an item limit, you can always try on a few items at a time. If there are no fitting rooms, try on what you can over your clothing and pay more attention to what size things LOOK than what size their tags say they SHOULD be.
2) Know your own mending or adjusting skills: For some people, a broken zipper or slightly misfitting shirt is an easy fix, for others it is a lot of tears and wasted time waiting to happen. Buying something just because it is SUPPOSED to be an easy mend doesn't do you any good if you don't have the ability to actually mend it.
3) Visit your local stores often: Usually having only one of each item, and relying on either wholesale or individual donations/ purchases, vintage and second hand stores tend to have a large turn over of stock, and great items may not be around long. Set aside some time every couple of weeks to peruse the racks and you're more likely to get your hands on the good things before they are snatched up.
4) Don't feel like you HAVE to buy anything: Sometimes you will go through a store and just find nothing that fits you either in size, style or budget. Know that that's fine. In smaller shops, especially if the shop assistants are specifically helpful, it can be hard, but let them know why you're leaving empty handed, and be sure to come back hopeful some point in the near future and there should be no hard feelings.
5) Trust your instincts: If you do not think you are going to wear a piece, don't buy it (however cheap it might be!). If you do not think it fits right, it probably doesn't. If you think you love something, you probably do. When you're shopping for what may be one of a kind pieces, there's no room to doubt yourself. Make the experience your own and enjoy your new adventures.
So, I love the second hand adventure but know that it is different for each person. What have been your experiences? Do you have any tips I may have missed? What has been your best pre-used clothing find? Leave your comment and let me know.
