April 17, 2023

Buying Preloved Clothing Online: My Top Picks & Tips

Let’s keep it in rotation…

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The preloved market is booming – but where to start? Hopefully this post will set you up with what you need to know to get fully onboard the secondhand train. Keep an eye on my TikTok and Instagram too for more tips coming this week. But today I thought I’d arm you up with my favourite places to shop (and what to buy from where), and things to take into consideration before you press purchase…

WHERE TO SHOP

Curate & Rotate – The jacket above the boiler suit in the photos above? It’s Curate & Rotate baby!! Mel gets in THE BEST pieces – most preloved, but some vintage too. The palette is neutral, the brief is mostly oversized and I usually want about 95% of each drop. Drops go live on their site at 8pm every Sunday, so if there’s something you’re after it’s best to set an alarm and get in quick.

Retold Vintage – Oofffff it’s just so dreamy. The EYE!! The taste levels!! Through the roof. If you’re looking for some stunning minimal style vintage designer pieces, then Retold know what’s up. One time I managed to grab myself a vintage Loewe dress and I’m still patting myself on the back for it. If you see a piece you love from their previews on IG, then sign yourself up to their newsletter to gain early access to the weekly drops.

Cheeky’s Online – If you’ve ever tried to source yourself a pair of vintage Levi’s 501’s then you know what a drag it is. This place makes it easy. Lots of vintage denim, all the sizes uploaded onto the site, so have a measure of yourself before to see what sort of waist and leg length you’d want but know that you can always alter them. I LIVE in my pair from here.

*Vestiaire Collective – If you’re looking for high-end designer preloved goods – this is your app. I went through a phase of buying basically anything Toteme in a size medium uploaded to the site and it served my knitwear collection very well indeed. Aside from secondhand Toteme, I’d say this is where to head for designer bags and shoes. I’ve got all my Celine Hobo Bags from here – check out today’s TikTok for my top buying advice on that. Although The Real Real* has just launched in the U.K and they have some pretty good options on there too.

Vinted – This app is just so good. It’s so easy to use and it’s got EVERYTHING on there – from high-end to designers to kid’s toys – you could easily spend hours on here. For that I reason I find it’s best to go in knowing what you’re looking for. The way I like to use it is to save particular searches – for example ‘DISSH‘. I search ‘DISSH‘, then I select the little bookmark in the corner and then next time I go to the search tab it comes up and tells me if anything new has been added in that search category. This is the app to find your everyday wardrobe basics – COS vest tops, Whistles boots, sold-out Birkenstocks – you get the gist.

Depop – I’ve had the most success on here browsing the ‘Suggested For You‘ tab at the top of the app and finding sellers I like from there, so it’s a good place to find mid-designer and vintage buys. Give a few things a favourite so the app gets to know your taste and then it suggests some pretty good things. The Secondhand Wardrobe, The Clean Edit, Hannah May and Eleven Vintage (I just got a gorgeous jumper and denim shirt from there!), are some of my favourite sellers.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Lots of pics – Pictures and videos are always the best indicator of how a piece fits, moves and sits on the body. Zoom in, digest and take the model’s size and measurements into consideration as this is usually provided too. The height of the model is always a good one to check too.

Measurements – If the pictures don’t give you a clear enough indication of sizing, a lot of sellers – especially those specialising in vintage – will provide measurements. So get your tape measure out if you’re ever unsure.

Fabric composition – This is a huge one – and most reputable sellers will include this in the product information. Andrea Cheong’s Instagram is a wealth of knowledge in this area and will arm you in the knowledge of what it’s worth spending money on, and what has the legs to last. Personally I try to find pieces composed of more natural fibres, mainly because synthetics make me SWEAT.

Signs of wear and tear – I wouldn’t say that signs of wear and tear mean the deal is off necessarily. Quite often it’s expected, especially for shoes and bags to be lightly used and not pristine. However it is good to have a read of the small print to see if there is anything you might need to personally mend or get professionally fixed and just make sure that’s reflected in the price.