Strutting through the doors to her girls lunch, drenched in Australian designer labels, Emma feels on top of the world. Not only does she look good, she FEELS good.
Her outfit was purchased second-hand (brand new with tags mind you) from one of Australia's new pre-loved fashion start-ups, and in just a short morning she's managed to get dressed-up, help save the planet and allocate a substantial amount more to her wine budget for the day. She’s pretty much your modern day super-hero.
It's not long ago that when someone said "second-hand" we used to think of a scrunched up, cupboard-smelling top from Supre circa 2002.
Now? Its something totally different. New names like "pre-loved" or "previously-owned" are circulating in hopes of removing the "ick" stigma. Brand new items with the tags still attached are rolling through the door and being sold on websites like Restitched, TheRealReal, DePop, Vestair Collective (I've only listed the good ones..obviously) and the scrunched up Supre tops are being resigned to donations.
Second hand doesn't mean used anymore. It just means it’s been owned before you. And if you think about it, what hasn't?
People buy "previously owned" tickets to shows, furniture, cars, appointments (if you don’t believe me look up Appointment Trader), HELL if you think about it, realestate.com sells us "previously owned" houses. And when we buy that damn-beautiful house, our friends don’t say “EW, someone else has owned that before” do they?
Side note: If they do, they’re a terrible friend and you should ditch them immediately.
In todays more-sustainable-conscious environment, we are being taught (at a rapid pace no-doubt) that "second hand" is better. It’s cool to care about where it came from and it’s even cooler if it came from a good place.
First comes the environment, then comes fashion.
“Searches including sustainability related keywords increase by 75% year on year and there are an average of 27,000 searches for sustainable fashion every month” – Grazia Magazine
What these socially-conscious fashion start-ups are teaching us is that we’re not alone in wanting to care for our world as well as care for ourselves. We shouldn’t shy away from it, we should embrace it. The old notion of having to sacrifice our somewhat-vain urge to look chic, in place of wearing green and brown coloured hemp, is gone. We can help preserve the planet AND look fabulous.
“Pre -loved fashion has moved from the fringes of society to become mainstream. It’s in high-street shopping centres as well as vintage boutiques, bought and sold by parents, influencers and celebrities alike” – The Guardian
By end of this decade, second hand fashion is predicted to OVERTAKE fast fashion in total market size. Sorry, what?
“Earlier this year, a US report said the second-hand clothing market was worth $US24 billion ($35.5 billion) in the US in 2018, versus $US35 billion for fast fashion. By 2028 used clothing is set to grow to $US64 billion in the US, while fast fashion will only reach $US44 billion, with the trend mainly driven by Millennials and Generation Z” - The Sydney Morning Herald
And let’s not forget, what’s actually happening here is we (us mere mortals) are being given exclusive access to some of Australia’s best wardrobes.
Think of it as your uber-cool, heaps-more-trendy-than-you friend inviting you over for a wine and saying “take anything from my closet you want for a verrrrrry reasonable price”.
Would you go? I know I would.