When I first joined Instagram around seven or eight years ago, I quickly fell down the rabbit hole of hankering after items that were popping up on my feed – quite literally being influenced into making spur-of-the-moment purchases. I was consuming fashion at an increasingly rapid rate, feeling that I needed to constantly play catch up. The only trend I never got on board with was quiet luxury – far too pared-back for my liking.
That all changed in 2019 when I decided to participate in Oxfam’s Second Hand September challenge, which encourages people to avoid buying new clothes for the entire month. I’ve always loved vintage, so I decided to wear only the second-hand clothes that I already had in my wardrobe. By the end of the month, I was surprised to find that I didn’t actually miss new clothes at all.
The following January, I thought: That’s it, I’m not buying any more new clothes – forever. It wasn’t just going to be for a month or even a year. I don’t need new clothes; there’s so much out there already in circulation, in need of rehoming. A lot of my friends thought I was being drastic, but it just felt like the right thing to do.
To avoid any temptation, I came off all the mailing lists and newsletters I was previously signed up to, and unfollowed all my favourite brands on Instagram. Back in the day, I would just buy things that I saw other people wearing, so I started asking myself, Who was I actually dressing for? Shopping second-hand has allowed me to discover how I actually want to dress.
Looking back, my personal style has changed so much over the years. I can see that from my Instagram account, where I’ve been documenting my outfits since the get-go. I don’t really recognise myself in those early posts. Nowadays, I gravitate towards novelty prints, statement, quirky and one-off pieces. Coming off that trend cycle has helped my style evolve. Second-hand is the best way to play dress up.
I usually shop second-hand across all the resale sites: eBay, Vinted, Depop… there’s always another platform cropping up, and amazing independent re-sellers out there. There are more obscure places where people would never think of looking, too, like Facebook Marketplace, where I’ve found the most amazing, museum-worthy Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell piece for £30. I buy a mix of high-end designer, heritage brands and unlabelled items – some recent favourites have included old, pre-Phoebe Philo Céline blouses, a ’70s YSL towelling kaftan that I’d been looking for for years, and a couple of Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique and Galanos dresses from the 1960s.
I rarely get tempted to buy anything new: I do still keep up to date with the latest looks on the runways , but if I see anything I like, I’ll put it on my Pinterest board so I can go back and find it later pre-loved. It stops me impulse buying: if there’s something that you can’t get your hands on straight away (this goes for those still shopping new), put it on a board. In a couple of years’ time, you might not even like it. That’s how I avoid the trap of buying too much second-hand, and falling back into old consumption habits – I’m very intentional about what I purchase.