5 THINGS WHICH ARE EVEN BETTER BOUGHT SECOND-HAND
If you’ve been around me for a while then you’ll know I love second-hand bits and bobs and have long been a second-hand shopper. It’s how I was brought up, with hand-me-downs from endless cousins and family friends, very little was new, and while I backlashed against this with fast fashion in my late teens and early twenties, I still always liked the treasure hunt. From the jumble sales, junk shops, flea markets and fetes with bric-a-brac stalls of my youth through to car boots, charity shops, antique shops and now eBay, online vintage sites and resale apps like Depop and Vinted, shopping second-hand has always felt like the natural option. This was even before the sustainable nature of it occurred to me and became promoted in the mainstream. It’s also a way of shopping I find far more enjoyable than traipsing around a mall or department store. The thrill of the hunt and never knowing what you are going to come away with make it a hobby, as well as a form of acquiring anything ‘new’ you might need.
Shopping second-hand doesn’t just offer great (and I mean great!) savings, it also means you’re more than likely to end up with something unique and totally different to anyone else, and with way less packaging to dispose of. You’re also giving an item a greater opportunity to live a longer life, keeping it out of landfill. If you’re squeamish about someone else’s things check out this post about ways to energetically cleanse the items. So, in the spirit of helping to remove the taboo from preloaded items and make circular shopping more covetable, read on for five things that are even better when bought second-hand than new.
Coats and Jackets
After an on-and-off summer, Autumn is just around the corner. Coats and jackets are usually some of the pricier, as well as bulkier, items in your wardrobe. Finding them second-hand (I’m sure a few of my best finds have been third and even 4th hand) is an affordable way to totally transform your existing wardrobe and even try something a little less sensible, or even take a risk - my best second-hand pieces are loud and proud in yellow! The long trench was £100 from Vestiaire Collective and the oversized puffer was £1 from the car boot.
Vases and flower pots
For an easy interior update go preloved for the best vases and flower pots at a fraction of the price. If you want to shop for something fancy online then beware the shipping might be pricey. My best finds have been junk shops and car boots - though it’s sometimes sad to find a few delicate items such as china, ceramic and pottery a little chipped from the journey and the upheaval of people rummaging through boxes at a boot fair. That being said, I have found pieces on their side and upside down in perfect condition. Expect to pay £20 - £25 in an antique/junk shop (unless we’re talking Ming dynasty!) and 50p to £1 at a car boot unless it’s West German pottery which will more likely be £5 - £10. Picking up some supermarket flowers for friends or family and presenting them in one of your second-hand vases elevates your gift.
Children’s toys and clothes
Some of Mahi’s most treasured toys have been found at car boots and charity shops. Her doll-babies have often come dressed to the nines in hand-knitted get-ups and we’ve even found a few bits that hark back to Nick and my childhoods. Now Mahi enjoys the hunt as much as we do and the fact that items have a bit of wear and tear doesn’t matter to her and is inevitable in her own play. Recent purchases have included; magnetic alphabet letters, board games, a balance bike and a vintage xylophone. Plus Sylvanian Families figures and Barbie bits, all of which I coveted in my youth, can be picked up for anything from 10p to £2 even with the resurgence of their popularity. And talk about the doll babies being dressed to the nines, you wouldn’t believe what you can pick up when it comes to baby, toddler and kid’s clothes. From preloved highstreet to handmade and designer, I’ve bought basic baby grows at almost brand new (since they’re in them for such a short period of time) to fancier outfits, great for parties and family gatherings, which are almost guaranteed to be unique. And when I’m done with them I pass them on again - saving a few that I’d like to keep for the next generation to wear - if they agree with my taste!
Mirrors and art
Even ‘affordable’ art comes at quite a hefty cost these days and while I’m all for investing in a piece from an artist you admire (Nick and I have bought two paintings in the last decade direct from artists - hello Charlotte Keates for a bespoke piece!), there’s something to be said for a fun piece of art at a few quid. In our home, we’ve got everything from 70’s prints and posters through to watercolours, acrylic and oils by unknown artists - including my beloved tiger who was painted on a piece of slate, spotted propped up on the floor at a car boot in Devon about 8 years ago. My best friend Sjaniel who also loves the picking up secondhand art, especially botanical drawings, has a thing for Victorian mirrors and has built up quite a collection which are displayed across various walls in her home.
Books
Call me a romantic but there’s something very special about buying second-hand books - who knows how many times they’ve been read or where in the world they have travelled? I totally got this from my dad who could browse a second-hand bookstore for half a day given half a chance. In fact, he once did this on a family outing to the Southbank. While the rest of the family queued for lunch, he spotted an outdoor stall with boxes and boxes of books which he perused for hours while we watched all the live acts up and down the Thames. Over time, Nick and I have picked up good-looking vintage coffee table books as well as a multitude of cookbooks from different eras and from around the world. And don’t even get me started on kid’s books. We’ve inherited so many from friends and collected so many from charity shops (sometimes 5 for £1) that we only need the local library for social time or something specific! My favourite finds so far are antique books of classic stories such as The Water Babies and Swiss Family Robinson that I picked up several years ago. I’ve also got a thick, red hardback called The Dangerous Book for Boys and a huge Richard Scarry picture book, a little worse for wear on the spine but a bit of sticky tape has it in working order again, with no less of an experience within the fantastical interior from being secondhand.
FOR MORE TIPS THIS SECOND-HAND SEPTEMBER: