Second Chances
In uncertain times there are always a few constants – eating cake all day makes you feel great, grey hair re-growth makes you feel crap and family time is equal parts euphoric and soul destroying. Children, like sharks, can smell blood in the water, and any sign of weakness is sniffed out a mile away. And believe me, with no-where to run there are lots of weaknesses going on – sugar smugar, my kids seem to be guzzling more chocolate biscuits than I can drink tea, and that’s saying something.
Anyway, one surety is that when we come out from our homes the world of fashion will be undergoing serious recalibration for obvious reasons. What will surge though, will be our interest in second hand, vintage and up-cycled clothing. Now sifting through other people’s cast offs is not everyone’s idea of a good time, and there is definitely a technique to this.
Firstly, I would suggest you play to your strengths. If you can’t bear the thought of riffling, then give charity shops a miss. This is your basic secondhand experience where it is up to you to find the diamond in the rough – now this can be exhilarating, but time consuming.
If you have a great vintage/up-cycled clothing store close to hand, then pay it a visit. You have to expect to pay more than you would if you had sourced the item yourself, but you must consider that these are not charity stores, these are boutiques where someone has carefully curated, washed (hopefully) and presented the stock.
If you are happy to take your foraging skills online then there are a multitude of options, from specific clothing stores to generic websites such as eBay or Trade Me; and here you can find some real treasures without having to leave your couch. If you are looking through these sites, it’s worth bearing in mind your best buys are going to be if you get ahead of the fashion game. So rather than shopping for what may currently be in the stores, look at what has come out on the catwalks for the coming seasons, or if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere take a look at what’s happening in Europe and start searching. There’s definitely more of a risk with online; firstly the fit and generally the inability to return the item, but secondly you have to take into account that one person’s idea of ‘hardly used’ may not be the same as yours. I have learnt from first- hand experience an ‘as new’ item may not have been well worn, but alterations - in this case arms that had been shortened so far they barely covered my elbows, for some reason weren’t mentioned by the seller - hmmm, I wonder why. Equally the fact that an item exuded the heady smell of mothballs (offending article was the leather trench-coat pictured) didn’t even warrant a mention on the online listing. And this smell never leaves. EVER. But hey, you win some, you lose some.