Secondhand September: How to grab a celeb's preloved clothes

Sarah Macken celebrates Second Hand September with a look at fashion resale sites

Lily Allen Performs during the Chanel Pret a Porter show as part of the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 at the Grand Palais on October 6, 2009 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage)

Did you know that Lily Allen has a Depop? That’s right, the pop starlet lists dispatches from her wardrobe including trainers, tracksuits and faux fur coats to an audience of 51,000 followers. Anyone can nab a piece of celebrity wardrobe for as little as €30.

I have a confession. I’ve never really tuned into Depop. As a 34-year-old who spent much of my twenties with my head buried in a vintage bin, sifting through a mound of costume jewellery and well-worn chinoiserie, I have slightly surprised myself with this statement.

It’s not that I wrote it off. I’d logged it on my mental list of things to explore but perhaps I thought were “too young”, or “not for me” or, rather, that old chestnut of “a bit of effort”.

Have we sidelined secondhand? You could say fashion’s been a little distracted of late. Preoccupied, maybe. There are luxury fashion rental sites (The Rag Revolution and Greens Are Good For You are two Irish endeavours) that make hiring the dress of your dreams a reality for under €100. There are a host of brands like Ganni, Reformation and Veja merging ethical practices with affordable price points. We’ve (rightly) been waxing lyrical about the importance of buying local.

Those in the know will tell me that Depop is anything but sidelined. The resale platform, loved by Gen Z, was bought by Etsy this year for an estimated $1.6 billion. It’s good timing. Investing in the circular economy is not only essential for the environment, it eliminates any doubt of greenwashing; a mounting concern amongst consumers. While initiatives like Oxfam’s Secondhand September highlight the need for slower, more conscious consumption.

Enter: the secondhand upswing. According to US online consignment giant ThredUp, thrifting is a pandemic habit that’s set to stick. 33 million consumers bought secondhand apparel for the first time in 2020 and 76 per cent of those plan to increase their spend on secondhand clothing during the next five years.

According to US online consignment giant ThredUp, thrifting is a pandemic habit that’s set to stick. 33 million consumers bought secondhand apparel for the first time in 2020 and 76 percent of those plan to increase their spend on secondhand clothing during the next five years.

Not only will the resale market double in the next five years, with a projected value of 77 billion dollars by 2025, it’s also estimated to be double the size of the fast fashion market by 2030.

Much like trawling through a charity shop or a thrift store, shopping for secondhand clothes on the internet requires patience. We’d love it to be a curated edit of a few products, but it’s not always so straightforward. Although, technology does help. My tip? Set up alerts. Sites like Vestiaire Collective, the French luxury resale site with 9 million users in 90 countries, allow you to set alerts for multiple brands at a time. The moment the handbag you’ve been coveting lists onsite you’ll know about it.

Love a good wardrobe clear out? Berlin-based etailer Zalando, which launched in Ireland in 2018, is making waves with a new resale section. You don't need to have purchased on Zalando to resell a piece through the site, once it meets brand requirements. There are some bargains to be had if you’re willing to do a bit of digging, too. Currently, a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress sits on-site for €66.

The adage of trawling one man’s trash to find your treasure is slowly becoming modernised. Platforms like Depop are going one step further — collaborating with brands at the source. Labels like Anna Sui, Rodarte and Richard Quinn have shops on the platform where they sell offcuts, deadstock and secondhand (or, as the Reformation account calls it, “gently loved”) pieces.

One Irish favourite is I Can Tell by The Moon (Instagram @bythemoonvintage), a stalwart for antique lace dresses and vintage Laura Ashley blouses. While, for the interiors obsessed, Saturday Morning Vintage (Instagram @sat.morn.vtg) is a real treat. A hashtag is released, via Instagram, each Saturday at 9am which allows you to access deals from vintage sellers nationwide. It’s a dream for anyone looking to add some playful chintz or retro touches to their home.

In the making of this article, I started a Depop account. I’m already considering a Ganni T-shirt, a pair of La Veste trousers and a nifty pair of velvet Mary Janes by Spanish footwear brand Lobo. Consider my obsession with ‘new-to-you’ clothing reignited. What about yours?

The Rules of Preloved Shopping Intro: A few tips for shopping secondhand online.

Much like bagging a bargain in real life, the same rules apply. With smaller dealers, it can help to get to know them. 

Build a relationship and you may get access to the loot everyone is clambering for, they may put pieces aside for you or give you a heads up on when they’ll do a restock. 

It also helps to have your sizes to hand: note your measurements across bust, hips and waist in your phone for ease. This can be handy if a seller releases pieces on the fastest finger first (ie. first come, first served) basis. 

Remember that vintage clothing nearly always falls on the smaller end of the sizing scale — a vintage size 12 could be closer to a modern size 8 or 10.