7th July – Are there actually disadvantages to pre-loved fashion?
There are actually downsides to pre-loved clothes? We love second-hand clothes, but sadly, yes. There are loads of ways to avoid the disadvantages, and many brands helping you along the way! This also makes the whole experience of getting “new-to-you” clothes even more interesting and enjoyable.
Quality and Wear and Tear
Pre-loved clothes are exactly what it says on the tin.
Loved.
They have already been worn and given a life, so it is normal to sometimes expect some wear and tear on second-hand items.
How to make this disadvantage an advantage? There is a history to the garment, and you can learn simple repair skills to bring it back to life. Faded? Re-dye it or dye it a different colour. Missing a button or two? Add a similar button, or swap out all the buttons for some unique ones! Small damage? Learn how to darn, or repair it by adding some embroidery elements to the item.
*not my image xxx thanks http://www.pocketfulofjoules.com/4-ways-to-personalize-your-clothes/
Trends
Trends come and go so quickly, and if you want to jump on a trend, sometimes it can be much harder to find exact pieces when shopping second-hand.
Personally, this isn’t a complete disadvantage, but I know it will be to some people! I remember when the brown clothing trend appeared strongly at the end of 2021/start of 2022, and I really wanted to try it! No second-hand stores were selling brown items yet (no one had rotated them out of their wardrobe yet) so I dyed an old top brown, to see if I liked it on me and if I wore it. Couple of months later, I purchased a second-hand pair of brown trousers and that was enough brown items for me. I liked it and I love wearing the trousers, but I did not love it enough to buy into the trend straight away. Instead of trying to find an item that is second-hand that is a current trend, consider altering something you already own or can find pre-loved! This makes it more special and is a great story to tell.
Availability
Finally, availability. Many pre-loved stores and sites have limited items in larger and much smaller sizes. The lack of availability of these items cause people who rely on pre-loved clothes to either have to wait until something they love becomes available, or they have to buy new fashion items.
1000s of brands are selling a larger range of sizes, and consciously sourcing them to appeal to a wider audience. There is no way of flipping this around. It sucks that availability is one of the largest reasons as to why people do not consistently buy pre-loved. One thing to remember when shopping, if you come across an item that is larger that you are planning on altering to fit you, consider altering it in a way that when you want to pass it along to someone else, it can be put back to its original size!
So, check item quality and learn simple repairs, think how you can get involved with a trend by changing something you already own or finding something second-hand that can be altered, and share pre-loved stores and sites that do a range of sizes to make pre-loved fashion available to all.