Second Hand September

If you used to read my old blog then you will know that I edited down my wardrobe and changed my shopping and making habits in order to maintain a sustainable wardrobe where I wear and love everything in it! Perhaps I’ll write a separate Journal about that process is you’re interested…?

It’s been over two years since I last bought any clothes for myself from a high street/fast fashion brand and for a number of years before that I had dramatically reduced what I was buying.

I say “for myself” because I did recently succumb to the temptation of some super cute baby clothes from a high street shop… but I’ve nipped that habit in the bud and have been buying bundles of second hand clothes (they grow out of things so quickly anyway!)

I’m sure that many of you join me in wishing your wardrobes were entirely (or at least mostly) handmade. But making is slow and life is busy - so we also have to find ways to fill our wardrobe gaps without feeding the unsustainable monster that is fast fashion. Buying second-hand can be a great way to do that.

And as it’s Second Hand September I thought I would share my favourite pre-loved items!

I recently bought this dress from Vinted - an app that my friend Steph recommended. I’m loving it! It’s a lot easier than ebay in terms of the search filters and I also bought some baby clothes and some t-shirts for Beardie’s birthday.

I bought this black and white spotty dress from someone I follow on Instagram. It’s so comfortable - I love it! And the coat on the right was purchased last year from a local charity shop for £9.99 and had a huge amount of wear on long walks throughout the lockdowns.

I’m really lucky that we have lots of great charity shops locally and I’m also aware that being a standard size makes it a lot easier to shop second-hand.

Because I’m personally in a position to be able to shop with ethical/sustainable brands and can easily find my size available second-hand - it’s really important to me that I do this… but you definitely won’t be seeing any ‘shopping hauls’ from me because the most sustainable thing we can all do is wear what we’ve already got in our wardrobes.

Enjoy Second Hand September!