Second-hand clothing apps have changed the way I shop for good

Depop, Vinted and Vestiaire are snapping at the ankles of fast fashion

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I’m a sucker for a trend—though my mother would call it by another word: “fad”. Rose quartz face rollers. Fancy water bottles. Cold plunges. Intermittent fasting. At-home teeth whitening (doesn’t work, go to the dentist). You name it, I’ve briefly been obsessed with it. So when I first came across second-hand clothing apps a few years ago with a kind of Christopher Columbus awe (am I the first person to discover this? Am I a genius?) somewhere in my mind, I assumed it would be short-lived and that I’d soon return to buying everything brand-new. 

After all, I was once the ultimate consumer of brand-new goods. I sometimes joke that I was probably one of the first people to use ASOS as we know it now, having bought my prom dress off the website using a fat-backed PC back in 2009. In the years that followed, I bought countless polyester garments for holidays and festivals that, after one wear, ended up sweaty and congealed at the bottom of my laundry basket, unable to be washed with anything practical. I bought things with the sole intention of sending them back - which we now know typically ends with the garments in landfill - and, as you might imagine, I ended up throwing most of it away. Not even charity shops accept complete rubbish.    

Jimmy Choo heels and Zara biker boots, both purchased from Vinted

Fast forward to now, however, and every time I get inspired by a garment, whether that’s on a friend, a stranger or a runway, I head to Vinted to scout out its alternative. At first, I used the app to source cheap designer pieces, like my gold Jimmy Choo stilettos or my beloved Gucci sunglasses. But now, I’m just as likely to buy a £3 belt from Per Una as I am to buy a designer trinket. And the fact that, aside from lingerie, hosiery and basic tees, I’m able to fill my wardrobe with near-perfect garments without buying them new, is still a giddy little thrill to me, years down the line. 

I’m not trying to pat myself on the back too hard here (after all, I’m certainly not the first to discover these apps, and I use them for cost savings as much as I do for the planet). But I do sometimes reflect on the fact that, if I were the sole demographic for the market, fast fashion would’ve gone from boom to bust in under three years. It’s unusual for consumers to do a complete 180 on their spending habits - the only good comparison I can think of is the death of the high street in the wake of online shopping - but it could signal something pretty big.  

Ballet pumps, dress and boots all purchased from Vinted

“There are already enough clothes in existence to dress everyone on the planet for the next hundred years.”

So, will apps like Vinted, Depop and Vestiaire really change the way we consume goods in the future? I certainly think so. The fact that influencers have gone from being idolised for their fast-fashion “hauls” (aka buying eye-watering amounts of clothes for pocket money) to being dragged for them certainly suggests a change in the tide. Influencers like BadKidHQ (aka Parisa) and fashion writers like Viv Chen (aka

The Molehill

) are becoming increasingly popular for their love of vintage garments and built-to-last designer clothing, as well as slow, meaningful searches to find specific pieces. 

There are already enough clothes in existence to dress everyone on the planet for the next hundred years. When we think of it this way, it doesn’t sound so ridiculous to stop buying new clothing altogether. While the art of second-hand shopping will always be somewhat imperfect (I don’t pretend to never buy anything new) the journey not only feels important, but fun, too.

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