Swamped in Second-Hand? How Online Vintage Shopping turned from a Mindful Alternative to Fast Fashion into a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
By Lauren Bottrill
Let me take you back: it is 2020, the world is on lockdown due to a global pandemic, and people across the globe are stuck at home with little more than their phones. And like many others, I was left with very few options for entertainment. I could no longer see my friends, go to bars, and of course, go shopping. Now, I know this is a seemingly insignificant repercussion of the global lockdown, but for a teenage girl with a spending addiction, this was catastrophic. My saving grace? Online shopping. And it was in my desperate search for cheap dopamine that I discovered Vinted.
It was love-at-first-retro-handbag; I was aghast to find my favorite brands and designers for less than half price, as well as old label pieces that would finally see my wardrobe reflecting my inner 90’s Kate Moss (emphasis on inner - I am certainly no runway model). We swiftly embarked on a full fledged love affair (both my mother and postman bore witness) in which my near-daily indulgences came flooding through my letterbox. It was heaven for me and hell for my bank account. But I couldn’t stop. Any item that I considered a bargain, I just had to have. It was not until I began the arduous task of packing up my life to move to University that I realised: I have too many clothes.
I could no longer justify my shopping behaviors as ethical or mindful just because I was buying second hand. The excess in which I was shopping meant that many pieces lay dormant in the back of my wardrobe, or were such low quality that they would end up in landfill after one wear. Therefore, I was still part of the fast fashion problem, so I knew something had to change.
So, what changes can we make to our shopping habits? Firstly, consider an item's wearability. I know it can be tempting to buy an item because it is labeled as ‘vintage’ or ‘90’s vibes’, but it is important to consider how much you would actually wear the piece. How many outfits could you incorporate into using your current wardrobe? Do you already own something similar? Could you see yourself still wearing it in a year's time? These are a few examples of questions I like to ask myself before clicking ‘checkout’.
