It is a positive sign that the stigmas that have been attached to shopping pre-owned hand are steadily being turned on their head. No longer is it ‘weird’ to be wearing something that someone else has worn a couple of times and cared for before you. No longer is it a sign of limited financial resources or desperation. Perfectly respectable, and in fact admired woman from all ages and demographic profiles are doing it. And wearing it.
In a previous blog I made a statement that we are all motivated by different things, but the fact is that how we shop and how often we shop for fashion is a bold statement about who we are, what our values are and what example we are setting for the next generation.
So, what does it say about us when we choose to buy pre-owned or second hand?
'I AM TOO SMART TO PAY THROUGH MY NOSE FOR HIGHLY PRICED LABELS'
Why would I pay $850 for a genuine Marc Jacobs cocktail dress when I can but the same one for $150 and it still has its tags on, never having been worn? By being thrifty and shopping second hand your hard-earned dollars will go much faster and you don’t have to compromise on quality and style even though you have a limited budget.
'I WILL NOT BE DICTATED TO BY FASHION MEDIA AND MARKETING AS TO WHAT MY PERSONAL STYLE SHOUD BE. I AM MYSELF.'
Clever marketing by fashion brands and stores have three objectives. They want you to buy LOTS and they want you to buy ALL THE TIME and they want you buy what EVERYONE ELSE wears. So, they need you to believe that anything older than a few weeks is definitely not on trend and certainly not stylish.
This is just crazy. If you looked good in something when you bought it, you will look good in it every time you wear it. Unless it falls apart after two of course, or you bought it even though you were not sure whether you liked it.
It takes only a bit of imagination and practise to find the style that is uniquely you, the style that allows you to express who you are and that sys to the world “I am not a carbon copy of every girl out there”.
'I CARE'
Buying second hand reduces consumption and production. It takes up to 200 years for a polyester shirt to break down in landfill and it takes more water than you can drink a year to produce a pair of jeans. On average, every year the average Australian throws away 27 kilograms of clothes, the equivalent of 85 pairs of jeans. This trend is simply not sustainable.
Clothing is not meant to be fast food. It is meant to last, to be taken care of and worn over and over. Therefore, buying second hand and recycling the clothes you no longer want says to the world that you care about our planet and future generations.
BE BRAVE, BE BOLD, SHOP THRIFTY BECAUSE YOU WEAR WHAT YOU ARE!
