Shop second-handshe for ethical bargains
I LOVE shopping in second-hand shops, it’s been a passion since I was a young teenager.
The musty smell of the auld leather in the Crown Alley vintage shops in Temple Bar was far more appealing to me than the glitzy lure of the high street.
I’d be eying up the cool dudes wearing docs selling the shabby chic second-hand clobber, the kind you’d meet at the old Grove grunge disco in Dublin.
I moved from wearing suede second-hand jackets to trawling through the SVP and Barnardo’s shops near my Aungier Street college.
I was being sustainable without even knowing it, and as a Communications student it was trendy to go around smelling a bit musty.
I’ll never forget my mam’s horror when I brought back a dirty old coat I nabbed at NCBI for a fiver. She was like, “Get that thing dry cleaned”.
It was still the most stunning coat I’ve ever worn.
I was dating the manager of the Kitchen nightclub at the time.
We used to see U2 in the club frequently as they owned the place and the Edge admired my coat one night asking me where I got it and I proudly said, “Second-hand, a fiver”.
Now charity shops have exploded and even the posh folk who would never set foot in one are realising that buying second-hand helps so many and is great for the environment. From the charity that profits to the fact we are reusing clothes that would
otherwise add to the landfill disaster, buying second-hand is a win win.
This week online charity shop Thriftify rebranded and is aiming to generate €3million for charities selling on the site this year.
Economists are predicting a massive boom in the second-hand fashion economy, expecting it to triple in value within the next 10 years.
If you go on thriftify. ie you’ll see gems – I mean pure designer bargains.
My kids don’t know high street shops, they love the buzz of Oxfam or SVP and now that you can buy their stuff online it means you can manage your budget too.
I stumbled across shocking stats this week by kids brand FIVE OF US.
It found that every 16 seconds the equivalent of the height of the Eiffel Tower is thrown in landfill (324 metres), and the height of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (830 metres) in 42 seconds.
It’s gross to think someone would buy a top and throw it away a week later after wearing it once. That is just toxic behaviour and I cannot abide it.
I have normalised second-hand shopping with my kids, and they now know no different.
There used to be a real stigma about it and I hope that second-hand shopping is shedding its ill-justified label as retail for the great unwashed.
I also believe great energy emanates from second-hand finds, and as spiritual teacher Deepak Chopra always says, “If you give you shall receive”.
I gave my wedding dress away to Lorraine Keane’s Fashion Relief, my marriage didn’t work out and there was no point hanging on to my stunning Jen Doherty gown. I paid 3,400 quid for it! Since giving it away every time I walk into a charity shop I find a gem.
Like this Marchesa Notte dress I was wearing for my birthday pictured with my bestie Ciara.
These dresses retail at about 800 quid and I got it for €15 in a charity shop in Kilbarrack, Dublin. Find!!