Only buying clothes from charity shops or second hand this year. Anyone else?

[Onlyyou2468]

I dont have a lot of money, but I do love Primark and other cheap clothes shops as well as charity shops.This year, however I have set a resolution to only buy clothes secondhand. Anybody else follow this rule?

I pretty much stick to this as love a bargain!

Yep, we only buy second hand as a family. Birthdays and Christmas are the only times we get new clothes and shoes, apart from undies. We have been doing this for years, i started when i was 13 (33 years ago) and earning a bit of pocket money, i learned to sew so that i could alter the second hand clothes that i bought. It is deeply satisfying when we get a good bargain!

I've been doing this for years. I mainly buy on ebay as the charity shops near me don't have great stuff in them. One local charity puts the best clothes in their eBay shop so I find it easier to just use ebay. Have had some great bargains over the years. Bra, pants and socks are bought new.

I’m doing this too. I’ve been charity shop shopping since I started buying my own clothes, I’d say around 75% of my wardrobe is second hand. I used to buy the majority of DD’s clothes from charity shops too, but she’s 12 now and while she’s not particularly fashion conscious she’s a difficult size to find, especially in trousers. In fact even in regular shops there seems to be fewer clothes to fit her age than either child or adult sizes. She’s on an inset day today so we’re off the the charity shops to look for bits for her book day costume, and hope some other bargains too.

I’m trying to do this as well except for underwear and footwear though I don’t intend to buy any footwear.

I’ve looked in charity shops for years and never found anything. Then back in November I realised I must be doing it wrong somehow as there’s a thread in style and beauty where people were posting photos of their outfits and they had all this amazing stuff from charity shops. I always thought our charity shops were rubbish.

I had a lightbulb moment when I realised that I had to make a concerted effort to look properly by pulling out the hangers and examining each piece and the label. I’ve bought lots of lovely things since 😃

I have a set of 'rules' if you like. I never buy primark or similar, I’m seeking either brands or fibres (wool, linen, cotton), only look at colours I like which is a fairly neutral palette.

I have a look through all sizes on the racks not just my own size as I found a great jumper in the size 18 section but it is labelled large so I wear it oversized. I also got an amazing John Lewis cashmere v neck in teal in the men's section for £6.

I might post photos later as no one irl shares my enthusiasm.

Deux I'm sure you know this but if you choose to visit the charity shops in mixed and well off areas you can get amazing bargains. I've bought beautiful designer sweaters from a shop in Kensington. My dentist is nearby so I visit quite regularly.

Great to find this thread, I am trying to do this too. I have gotten a few bargains so far, online because I live in a rural area with few options. At the end of last year I bought a beautiful merino wool dress for €20, perfect condition. Have been wearing it constantly. Just bought a replacement for my worn-to-death pair of Jean's (bought about 5 years ago and now too holey for decent society), got a pair from depop for €15, perfect fit. Also picked up a pair of black casual pants, great condition from depop too for €18.

beeg Have you noticed that some people are STILL wearing jeans with huge holes in them ? (they don't seem poor people) You could probably sell yours on ebay for a fortune!!

I've been buying second hand through eBay and charity shops for a long time, with a mixture of success. It can be tricky if you need something specific.

We are lucky in that we have a few children-specific charity shops nearby with loads of equipment, clothes, books and toys. A lot of the kids stuff comes from there, as well as a local monthly Jack n Jill sale. My children are the younger of a long line of cousins so they have lots of hand-me-downs too which helps.

The other thing I've started to try to do if possible is buy fewer, better quality, or ethically made things (ie one pair of Allbirds instead of 3 pairs of high street trainers).

With the kids I'm trying to buy my older child good quality neutral stuff if possible, so that it can be passed on to his (female) younger sibling or cousins.

It's admirable to try this for a year OP. Good luck!

I don't have much time, but when I find myself in upmarket areas I look in the charity shops there. There's a large Traid in Clapham Junction that is amazing.

It tends to be jumpers and casual tops I can get, as I need size 18 and can't do buttons, so other clothes are harder. I did get some jeans at a bring+take event and they seem to be lasting forever - M&S!

There's some excellent Fat Clothes Swap events in London but I haven't got to one yet.

My kids are now 8-12 so not much stuff in charity shops but I do look on ebay.
Fara are a charity that have specialist shops for children's stuff - they and St Christopher's Hospice shops kept my kids well dressed for years!

Most school uniform is second hand either from stalls or when staff are trying to reduce their lost property unlabelled mountain and say 'please, just take some spare sweatshirts home!' There's so much practically unworn for nursery/reception kids. I wonder if we could offer complete packs to parents on induction day?

I do this for no other reason that I love the thrill of finding a bargain vs run of the mills stuff. I have picked up some awseome finds inc a $899 dress (tags attached) for $1 (Australian) and regularly get awesome clothes for s fraction of the price.

I would love to do this but I really struggle to find things secondhand because my figure is a bit out of proportion. Plus charity shops local to me are awful - full of bobbly/faded/baggy shit . A few years back I vowed to buy fewer, better-quality, classic items that will last a long time. I have a Boden coat I bought 10 years ago that is still going strong and have finally waved goodbye to 2 pairs of Boden leggings that have seen almost 7 years of continuous service. I now view clothes shopping as an investment, rather than something I did as a leisure activity.

I do buy of my accessories are from charity shops though. Big lover of old scarves and vintage bags. You're never too saggy/wobbly/out of proportion for a decent handbag 😁

I wonder if we could offer complete packs to parents on induction day

This is a brilliant idea, I wish DD’s primary had had second hand uniforms for sale before she actually started. There’s always far more of the smaller sizes floating around second hand sales as it is.

DD started secondary in September and I was a bit when I found the second hand uniform went for £5 an item, having been used to £1-£2 an item previously. I did find a school skirt for her for 50p in a charity shop though which was an absolute bargain, as they’re £30 new!

Deux I have the same rules- natural fibres, decent brands. Also check all sizes as despite being a size 14 I can find things right across the spectrum.

Nice Coast skirt for £3 yesterday.

ppeatfruit, have you heard of those new online services where you buy budles of kids clothes (2nd hand, but all nice) for a certain age (e.g 6-9 months) and then you return it all and they sort through what can be used again) I have read about these services on MN I think but can't recall their names. They sound like a great idea as trawlling charity shops can be time-consuming.
I am totally on board with the whole second hand clothes thing; have rarely ever bought new, and I am in my mid 40's now. I will admit that I consider TK Max acceptable for the odd treat, since that stuff is already 2nd hand in the retail supply chain sense...

Iwill admit that I consider TK Max acceptable for the odd treat, since that stuff is already 2nd hand in the retail supply chain sense...
Unfortunately that's not true for quite a large proportion of what they sell. There was a C4 documentary years ago about how a lot of what they sell are 'own brands' made for them. Easy to spot once you start looking for them. Also, all those 'Pringle' socks they used to sell...
I do think it's a great idea having somewhere to sell off the last season stock, and it's still there amongst the other stuff.

Slightly off topic but with a dislike of buying new, the thing which would help most is someone to show me how to use my own sewing machine.( For a decent fee, of course)

Not possible with lockdown, but even before that, not possible.
There are so many things where a skilled experienced seamstress would instantly spot the problem on a particular project, or give the advice to avert disaster.
I used to do some basic machine sewing, with an old fashioned self explanatory machine, and constantly altered clothes by hand.

There's a story in Times today about unwanted clothes being shipped to Africa where it is causing horrific pollution, with. u.k. being the worst offender after u.s.a

Primark, like poundland and 'cheap' flights, should never have existed, if the polluter pays . The polluter, not the planet.

I've read about that before 20mum and IIRC it used to be a lucrative business, sorting and reselling 'western' clothes. But now there's so much and it's such poor quality that it's just dumping rubbish.

Thanks for answer, it is heartening when others are thinking along the same lines.
Once, rich women wore animal fur, expecting public admiration. . Then, it became reprehensible, attracting public condemnation.
Perhaps after covid there will be at last be similar justifiable public revulsion about the empty brained consumers and journalists who keep the entirely non essential fashion industry polluting the planet.

People have valid need to wear clothes, but through history and till pretty recent times, everyone , even fairly rich people, accepted having only a small number of items. There has never been any such thing as 'cheap' clothes. The cost has recently appeared cheap, because it is hidden away. Mass globalised industries put the true cost onto the planet, instead of the customer.

There was a time when people loved every kind of displays of wealth and conspicuous consumption. It looks wierd now, like Benny Hill chasing bikini clad teenage girls.

I have moved more of my buys to second hand (mainly eBay) because it’s so hard to find good stuff new these days - it gives me more choice and I can save money whilst keeping things out of landfill. I only buy from brands I know fit me well.

I was just thinking about this yesterday and I've decided that, with the exception of my ridiculously large —and very expensive — lingerie collection, and socks, I'm going to 'reclaim' all my future stuff.

I've pretty much been doing it anyway but it's made me happy to commit to doing it for good.

This strange situation we're in is creating lots of food for thought

I am doing it too this year, apart from underwear and trousers. I love buying Hobbs, Jaeger etc from Ebay.

I buy a lot of second hand clothing, footwear, bags - it's such a buzz to find something really expensive for next to nothing! Will certainly continue to do so - the only new clothes I buy most of the time are from Etsy sellers. I've almost forgotten how to behave in a normal shop!

@eaglejulesk

What kind of things do you buy from Etsy? I like the idea but have never really bought anything from there.