Reclaim, Refashion, Rejoice

I have frequented second-hand stores my entire life. They’re fun offering unique items that are inexpensive. You need several things to shop vintage/secondhand. The desire to hunt, a great pair of eyes, to source out tears and holes from previously dining moths, a knowledge of brands, including those that are high end, and a great dry cleaner. Having a nose that will ignore the waft of history that can emanate from these stores while packing patience alongside hand sanitizer is highly recommended. Lastly, you need to be within arm’s length of your cart. Rummaging through an unattended buggy is not unusual.

It is an excursion, and these stores have been part of my professional career for decades. It’s how I was able to meet budget restrictions for wardrobe costs on photo shoots. My biggest gems have come through secondhand stores. Escada, Armani, Gianfranco Ferré, all scores but they are rare. These stores are about one of a kind items. You’re looking for one thing and voila some unbelievable Ralph Lauren evening trousers show up that are divine for a fraction of their original price. Bingo! Your body tingles as your hunting and gathering DNA is stimulated. You’ve scored. It’s a retail orgasm.

I have noticed a compelling trend surface over the years. A type of social commentary is revealing itself in second-hand stores. With clothing labels identifying now exclusively as Brands, one controversial move and voila, their apparel is dumped faster than a kid on cake. Suddenly adorning the racks of second-hand stores attracting a new audience to its line. You need not look further than some high-end designers whose inventory was littered throughout these types of retail outlets following their controversial position on IVF. The aftermath had their clothing, accessories, and shoes everywhere. Another case was a famous pop star while misbehaving on tour, had racks of his concert swag dumped at these stores. Ten minutes of fame, his promotional merchandise now hanging for pennies on the dollar next to a slew of t-shirts with bright yellow arrows pointing sideways reading ‘I’m with stupid.’ The kind of stockpile that would make any promotional manager cringe.

At one time I believed it was a random thing, but no more. It shows up routinely in different brands at various locations in uniquely large numbers of items that defy coincidence. It’s uncanny and even predictable as to whose inventory will be walking the so-called ‘walk of shame’ in the second-hand store. I suppose it could be considered hell for the high-end designers to find their clothing squished between vintage flammable garments made of floral crimplene. Or purgatory for the swag of celebs who have messed up. For the consumers, it’s neither. It is a garment that is now financially accessible. Who will be the next person to come along, pick it up and legitimize it from its fall from Grace.

The shoppers that frequent these stores are a culture all unto themselves. The spectrum stretches from Hipsters to newly arrived immigrants, from cross dressers to seniors putzing around for a new toaster or books and of course wardrobe and prop stylists. Sourcing out what clothing for the next motion picture or television series. They aren’t serving champagne in these stores, but they are delivering deals.

Recently washrooms surfaced at some of these places when at one time there were none. If there were, you would think twice about using them. Nothing worse than being in a change room, waiting to try on your gorgeous navy blue designer trousers when suddenly you’re bladder is screaming to the point you have fluid in your eyes. If you lay the pants down, someone else might grab them. If you think you have time to try them on with an exploding bladder, then you’re throwing dice on that decision. At our age, the point of evacuation is short and abrupt. Like a hemline on a petite sized pant.

There is a difference between one item popping up, and an entire inventory. Most recently a brand of ladies clothing, belonging to a public figure who licensed her name, had her full line of blouses, blazers, and pants routinely showing up at the second-hand shops. Every fashion category in these stores had a slew of her apparel. It started about a year ago and hadn’t let up since.

Finding numerous items under a particular label in second-hand stores speaks to where the trademark is amongst the collective consciousness. The designer/licensor are believing in one thing and having it turn up outside of that intention. All due to people electing to boycott it.

My mantra around all of this remains tried and true. There is always something else. Knowing that makes it easy to pass on items and become discriminating when it comes to a garment. Easily rationalizing whether it’s a score. It’s only ever a retail orgasm if its fabulous in its design and fit, from a colour palette that is exclusively for you, in perfect condition and costs less than a couple of venti Starbuck’s lattes.  On an exceptional day with a muffin. When it’s a personal acquisition, it’s about price per wear. A $25 blazer worn only once is more expensive than one costing $400 that is worn up to 40 times. It sounds like a lot, but a wardrobe staple that is versatile offers you exactly that. We only ever wear twenty percent of our wardrobe anyway. So one needs to do the math before they dive on what appears to be a deal.

I love that the clothes are donated and not dumped in landfills.  On average, we consume 80 billion pieces of clothing, and typically 26 billion pounds find their way to a landfill.  Further, by shopping in some of these second-hand stores, a portion of the profits are directed to help other charitable organizations. The labels, the people, and the store all supporting not only the planet but others as well as themselves. That’s not just a score, that’s a deal!