Not every day will be a great day

Well I’ve certainly had a bit of a dry couple of days in the shops. Lots of nice items from my lovely private clients but not much I’ve found myself. If this happens to you, don’t get disheartened – you’ll suddenly have an amazing day and you’ll be back in love with thrifting.

On quiet days it’s a good idea to go through your own wardrobe to see what you can sell. I never wear my Veja trainers because they hurt my feet! They seem more popular than ever so I’ll try to sell them for a decent price (UK 7 if anyone’s interested!).

The advantage of buying secondhand designer clothes is that you can nearly always find something in your own wardrobe to sell.

Today I did find a gorgeous Zadig & Voltaire foil top, an Icebreaker hiking top, and a Mint Velvet Lips print jumper. Not bad but I’ve become spoilt!

Stay seasonal

Although it’s tempting to buy unseasonal items, do so with caution. Some brands will always sell but in winter you’ll find it hard to shift vests, tees and shorts no made what the label is. If you have the space and the cash flow, keep items until the weather makes them more appealing.

Today I found a good range of items:

Hartford coat and Hansel from Basel jumper

Luisa Spagnoli jumper
Icebreaker jumper
Hansel from Basel jumper
Hartford coat
Peruvian Connection cardigans x 2
Carven skirt
Elisa Cavaletti dress
Hanne Bloch tunic
La Bottega di Brunella top

Should you buy vintage?

By vintage I mean true vintage, not just secondhand. It’s a difficult question to answer but I generally find that items still need to be designer, even if they are vintage. You may have more luck on platforms such as Depop with high street vintage but I don’t think there’s that much money to be made.

With some care, you can do well from vintage Laura Ashley (the real ’80s stuff), and some Benetton styles are sought after too. Outdoor brands like Patagonia, Karrimor etc. can fetch a good price for their vintage items. As always, check sold prices on eBay before buying. I’ll try to write a longer piece on this topic at a later date.

Today I did pretty well and bought the following:

Eskandar dress (particularly thrilled with this, a bit of a secondhand holy grail!)
Joie jumper
OSKA jacket
Jaeger coat
Vintage Laura Ashley jumper
Vintage Macy’s cardigan
Zadig & Voltaire top
Max Mara skirt
Cath Kidston dress

Another first time find

Really pleased to find this &Daughter jumper on an otherwise not very successful day.

In addition I found a Nicole Farhi belt, a Gudrun Sjoden shirt and some ISCHIKO knitted trousers.

Note that it’s always worth making time to have a rummage among the belts and scarves in charity shops because you can find some real treasures there, usually for just a couple of pounds.

Found something fantastic? Let me know!

High street finds

Some lovely high end high street finds today, nearly all from a single shop. Some of these things can fetch just as much as a designer garment so they’re worth buying. If you don’t want to sell them they can be great additions to your own wardrobe.

Anna Sui Anthropologie top, Mint Velvet sweater, Whistles blouse

Today I found:

Whistles floral blouse
Anna Sui Anthropologie blouse
Mint Velvet sweater
& Other Stories dress
Whistles wool jacket
Mango suede jacket
Oliver Bonas top
Cafe du Cycliste t-shirts x 2
Orlebar Brown t-shirt
Desigual Christian Lacroix cardigan
Hush star jumper

Nothing really designer but but still really nice things and nearly all under £5 each.

More menswear (and know your labels!)

Not many finds today but I did discover a couple of great menswear items: This Missoni cardigan and a butter soft leather Farhi Harrington jacket.

I also found a The White Company long merino cardigan and a lovely vintage Ghost embroidered black blouse.

It’s worth familiarising yourself for the different tags used by brands through the years. Most will be more valuable the more recent the tag is.

There are some exceptions such as Ghost, where the brand used to be much more exclusive, and Issa. The older, original Issa dresses were nearly always silk and are still highly sought after. The newer versions that can be bought in House of Fraser are usually polyester and virtually worthless secondhand.

A great mix of high value items

I thoroughly enjoyed shopping today and came away with a really nice selection of high end items.

Baum und Pferdgarten trousers, Harmont & Blaine trainers, Rochas top

Today I found:

Harmont & Blaine trainers
Baum und Pferdgarten trousers
Band of Outsiders trousers
Icebreaker jacket
Finisterre jumper
ISCHIKO dress
Akris cardigan
Rochas top
AllSaints jumper (new)
Onjenu top

Really exciting to find the Rochas top as it’s a brand that I’ve never found in a charity shop before, however I expect the Icebreaker jacket will sell for more than any of the others – it’s hugely popular and it’s a great time of year to sell it. I’ll let you know if I’m right!

I did spot a Belstaff reefer jacket today and at £20 it looked like a bargain, but for me the lining was a bit tatty so I gave it a miss this time.

Early spring florals

I’ve found that patterns and prints nearly always sell better than plain garments. I think this is because they identify the brand subtly and to the knowing eye.

Florals show no sign of going out of favour – I picked up this Boden linen shirt and Paul Smith contrast cuff shirt today. There were no ‘Big hitter’ finds but I did get the following:

Boden floral shirt
Paul Smith floral shirt
Jack Murphy tweed skirt
Vintage leather jacket
Modern Rarity dress
Merrell plaid shirt

For any one who is interested, as well as their Ted Baker stock, Oxfam stores now also have some new Burberry items. Mainly black jeans, black trousers and plain shirts. All around the £20 mark.

‘Of the brand…..’

Not much bought today but I did find a super cute Cath Kidston London bus cardigan.

It’s easy to snap up items just because of the label, but often things don’t sell for much unless they’re very ‘Of the brand’ – like this Cath Kidston cardigan. A Cath Kidston garment without a cutesy floral print or retro pattern won’t interest many buyers.

Likewise, when people search for Moschino they usually want something brash and bold. A plain pencil skirt won’t sell for much despite its high original price tag.

On the other hand, a buyer looking for Margaret Howell or Jil Sander will be after understated elegance, or something more utilitarian. This theory applies to lots of high end brands. Bear this in mind before purchasing and you’ll minimise losses.

Gym Wear?

Would you buy secondhand gym clothes? Having been in the secondhand clothes market for so long I personally have no problem with it – give it a wash and it’s good to go. However I know plenty of people who wouldn’t touch it! What’s your view?

Today I bought very little but I did pick up a gorgeous little MM6 tunic dress and a Gymshark jacket, along with a classic The White Company merino sweater.