Learning How to Shop Second-Hand
A Few Tips on Used-Clothes Shopping will Boost Your Vintage Style
Jun 3, 2009
Vintage shopping is like modern-day treasure hunting. Set aside a day with your friends to trawl through consignment shops, opportunity shops, and yard sales, and you’ll be rewarded with a uniquely ‘you’ collection of clothes. It isn’t always easy to make someone else’s clothes fit your style, but with a few tips, you can make it happen.
'Shop Around' for a Good Second-Hand Shop
Don’t give up if you’ve wandered into one dud of a shop. Second-hand shops vary on the types of clothes they sell, and their quality.
Used goods shops (such as the Salvation Army) require a bit of searching before finding something good. Consignment shops, however, sell consistently high-quality clothing because they’re much pickier about what they’ll put on the shop floor.
Once you’ve found a shop or two that you really love, you can check back often so that you don’t miss a single bargain.
Find Clothes that Match Your Style – Don’t Change Your Style to Match Your Clothes
A common mistake of second-hand neophytes is buying something that doesn’t quite suit them – just because it fits or it’s cheap. Practice discretion in your op-shopping. Don’t feel guilted into buying anything that you’re not completely crazy about.
The beauty about second-hand shopping is that you have a limitless number of options as long as you’re willing to wait long enough. If you can’t find anything today, chances are likely that you’ll find something to fall in love with tomorrow.
Make Friends with Your Neighborhood Tailor
It’s hard to find perfectly fitting clothes at the best of times; finding perfectly fitting second-hand clothes is even more of a challenge.
With the money you’re saving by not buying brand-new, you can pay a tailor to make them perfect. Especially when you find a beautiful dress, or trendy skirt, that’s just a tad bit too big. You can even try to tailor your own clothes if you’re feeling adventurous!
That being said, never, ever buy something without trying it on first.
Check Garments for Unusual Details
It’s the little things, like fancy buttons or unusual stitching, that make people look twice. Finding clothes with eye-catching details will more likely happen among the racks of vintage clothing stores than in your everyday, mass-produced shop.
Adding an unusual item or two to your wardrobe will automatically give your style-factor some extra oomph.
Splurge on a High-Quality Consignment Item (or Two!)
To make your vintage outfits look classy and timeless, rather than thrown-together and tacky, invest in at least one high-quality item. It could be a pair of label shoes, or a suit jacket made out of amazing fabric.
Try to buy something striking, but not over-the-top. You want to be able to wear it with a great many outfits.
Shop Often to Spot Your Next Wearable Masterpiece
Believe it or not, even shopping takes practice! When you are a second-hand shopping newbie, you’ll probably be overwhelmed at the seemingly endless amount of racks containing clothes. You may even get frustrated when you can’t seem to find anything other than oversized t-shirts.
However, the more you shop, the better you’ll be able to spot great pieces of clothing. After a while you’ll be able to ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ an item of clothing without even having to try it on first. If you know what to look for – unusual details, quality material, tight seams – you’ll save yourself a lot of time.
Shop smart - shop often. As if you needed another excuse to shop!
