I tried to kick my fast-fashion habit — here's what I did

Can you pick up a new wardrobe for just €30? We sent Maeve Lee to a pre-loved sale with a strict budget

Sun, 26 May, 2024 - 12:00

Maeve Lee

Some people might call me a shopaholic – I think my love for buying clothes can be better described as an addiction to newness.

After so much as a whisper of an event or a night out, I can convince myself that I need to head to the shops and get something new to wear.

To give myself some credit, I do try to get the most out of my purchases but with a couple of years of this routine now under my belt, I have accumulated a lot of clothes – and I am not alone in this.

According to statistics, we now own 60% more clothes than we did 15 years ago, but wear them only 50% as often as we used to.

Between 80 and 100 billion new clothing garments are produced globally every year and it is estimated that by 2050, global clothing sales could reach 160 million tonnes if the current rate continues.*

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

I realised it was time for change while packing for a holiday. I had managed to create a Jenga-style clothing pile on the top shelf of my wardrobe and one wrong move led to an avalanche.

That’s when it hit me – literally – I have too much, often poor quality, clothing that I will likely never wear again.

After taking some bags of unwanted garments to a charity shop, I decided to shift my focus to high-quality items, and started to investigate more sustainable options.

While I dabbled in the popular marketplace Depop in the past, my experience with shopping second-hand was limited. What I needed was a baptism of fire into the world of vintage clothing and so, I headed to a local kilo sale.

For those who aren’t familiar, a kilo sale does exactly what it says on the tin. You can pick up whatever you like from an array of second-hand items and are charged at the till per kilo.

The event I attended in Cork was a €30 kilo sale, meaning you could get a whole kilo of clothing for that price.

It was the perfect opportunity to familiarize myself with shopping second hand and I was curious to see what I could get for €30.

Someone who is no stranger to the world of second-hand clothing is Ennistymon-based Emily Ryan. She opened her vintage clothing store, Alfie’s, in 2021, but has always had an interest in shopping vintage.

“I lived in France for a while and vintage and second-hand shops were just everywhere. I’ll never forget I found a YSL scarf for €3 at the time. It was more of a treasure hunt. Then into my early 20s, it became a lot more about wear, sustainability, fast fashion — how harmful it is for the planet,” she says.

Maeve Lee: "What I needed was a baptism of fire into the world of vintage clothing and so, I headed to a local kilo sale." Picture: Miki Barlok

Since opening Alfie’s, Emily has noticed an increase in the number of people opting to shop vintage. “I think we’re at that point now where we have enough. We actually have too much clothing items, and we need to reuse,” she explains.

At the Saturday morning kilo sale, I was greeted with rail after rail of clothes, from ski suits to winter coats and sequin dresses, it was almost overwhelming.

I started by browsing the huge selection of jeans — Levis, Wrangler, Lee and more. This is too good to be true, I thought, and perhaps it was because finding the right size was a challenge.

While there was a makeshift changing room in the form of what looked like a spray tanning tent, it was far too small for squirming my way into much-too-tight jeans. I decided to take a gamble on the only pair of Levis that appeared to be in my usual size.

No matter the season, coats and jackets are my weakness, and this was a great opportunity to seek out some unique, long-lasting finds that could add some value to my wardrobe.

After plenty of thought, I added my choices to my now growing pile:A black leather jacket and a checkered oversize blazer. In a section of knits, I also picked up a white crochet cardigan.

It was around this time that I learned my first valuable lesson in kilo sale shopping. It’s easy to get overexcited, so I took a minute to reassess and asked myself what I really needed.

With the €30 per kilo rule, I had to put more thought than usual into what I was picking up and ensure each item was worth adding to the weight of my purchases. I returned two items and got back to browsing.

Maeve Lee: "I did pick up one casual oversized grey sweatshirt and a black half-zip fleece that I knew would get plenty of wear." Picture: Miki Barlok

Next, it was onto the racks of tops and T-shirts. There were mostly basic T–shirts from sports brands like Nike and Adidas, but I did pick up one casual oversized grey sweatshirt and a black half-zip fleece that I knew would get plenty of wear.

As I brought my picks to the till, I realised – despite my best efforts and a pep talk or two – I had accumulated more than one kilo. In fact, I had two kilos. I hummed and hawed but I really could not whittle it down.

So, I headed home with my two kilos of clothing for €60 consisting of:

A Vera Pelle jacket
an unbranded oversized blazer
a pair of Levi jeans, two jumpers (one unbranded, one from Fila)
a crochet cardigan

That’s probably the price of a single blazer in Zara, I thought.

When I got home to try on my finds, I learned another lesson in kilo sale shopping.

The pair of cream Levi jeans I picked up, failed to go past my knees and were swiftly sent to a charity shop where they hopefully found a loving new home.

In hindsight, if there was a pair available in a larger size, it would have been worth taking them home and asking a seamstress to work their magic.

After all, a pair of high-quality denim jeans for under €30 is quite the bargain.

The good news is I was much more successful with the rest of my finds.

Over the years, I had tried and returned so many oversized blazers and failed to find one that worked for me.

Somehow, despite there being only one, the unbranded blazer I found at the kilo sale was the perfect fit.

I typically avoid buying anything new that is made with real leather so a secondhand 100% leather jacket from the Italian brand Vera Pelle was quite the find too.

Similar jackets currently retail for about €189 so I was very pleased indeed.

I must admit, I was disappointed with myself for not sticking to buying just one kilo as intended.

I felt I had let my impulsive shopping habits take over but my mixed bag (or should I say, bags) of items have quickly become everyday staples.

To say they are now among my most-worn items of clothing would not be an understatement.

While the sustainability aspect is the main draw to shopping second-hand, Emily Ryan notes another bonus is whatever you buy will likely be “completely unique”.

“And then you treasure the item more and you wear it more,” she adds. “That kind of mindset is where we need to get. We need to mind and value our clothes a lot more and get out of the whole fast fashion mentality.”

The next time you’re tempted to purchase something new or hop on a new trend, Emily advises asking yourself if you can get it second hand by looking in charity shops and vintage stores.

“It will take longer but in turn, you will cherish a garment more and you will wear it a lot more,” she says.

I can’t explain the exact science around my extremely successful kilo sale experiment, but it has been the perfect gateway to more sustainable and secondhand shopping.

Ever since, I have been using a similar formula and putting more thought into my purchases.

I’ve resisted the urge to ‘add to cart’ the second an item comes back in stock, and I am much more interested in looking at vintage or secondhand alternatives, considering my amazing finds.

While it is still only a small step towards a more sustainable wardrobe, I have successfully cut my craving for newness and discovered a love for taking the time to find a piece that I know will get plenty of outings.

As Emily says: “The most sustainable piece of clothing is one you’ll wear over and over again.”

5 places to shop second-hand

Kilo sale

If you want to check out a kilo sale for yourself, keep an eye on Eventbrite for any upcoming events in your area.

Tickets are typically cheap and there are often early bird options to ensure you get in first to grab the best finds.

https://www.eventbrite.ie/d/ireland/events/

Depop

Depop is an online marketplace that describes itself as the home of circular fashion.

You can purchase second-hand items including clothing, accessories and shoes from individual sellers and small businesses across Ireland and the world.

The search option makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for and it’s also a great place to get rid of some of your own unwanted garments.

For more, see https://www.depop.com/ie/

Thriftify

Founded by Rónán Ó Dálaigh, Thriftify is used by dozens of charity retailers in Ireland and the UK.

It is an online platform where used clothes from charity shops are available to purchase, making it more accessible for shoppers while also allowing the shops to reach a lot more customers.

If you prefer to do your shopping online, this is a great way to get your hands on some second-hand finds.

See https://www.thriftify.ie/

Charity shops

Of course, you can go down the traditional route of going to your local charity shops.

From Oxfam to Enable Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society and more – there are plenty of great causes to give back to while also picking up some second-hand items.

Charity shops are known for brilliant bargains, so check out one near you.

Vintage stores

For more curated second-hand clothing and accessories, vintage stores are a great option.

Typically, pieces are carefully picked and may be a little more expensive than what you might find in a charity shop.

Nonetheless, it is a sustainable way of shopping where you are likely to find some truly unique pieces that you can’t get anywhere else.

If you’re interested in a certain era of fashion, vintage stores are the place for you.