The pre-loved clothing craze is growing in popularity as more people embrace the idea of buying second-hand pieces.
EMBRACING preowned or pre-loved clothing has never been more popular.
By purchasing items in online second-hand retailers and thrift stores, it’s one of the most sustainable ways to shop as it creates a circular economy.
According to Statista.com, in 2021, the global market value of second-hand and resale apparel was estimated to be worth Us$96bil (Rm427bil), and is projected to reach Us$218bil (Rm970bil) in 2026.
In Malaysia, the trend is gaining traction, and according to local thrift shop owners, it’s thanks to several reasons, from the desire to shop more sustainably, the thrill of discovering vintage or unique pieces, even a general disillusionment with fast fashion.
A change in perspective
When the phrases “thrift shop”, “second-hand” or “pre-loved” are mentioned, to some, the image that comes to mind is that of piles of clothing thrown into a heap, or dirty, scuffed shoes shoved into a box, laces tangled or missing, all lumped together in a dingy, stuff, messy, cramped space.
Shirts, dresses and trousers that are faded, torn, stained, missing a button or two – these are the impressions of preloved clothing that often keep people from shopping second-hand, and there’s also a misconception that the items are dirty.
“Sometimes, people are superstitious about second-hand items,” says Zamir Alif, who has been running Ok Go, a thrift store in Subang Jaya, Selangor, with his wife Shakira Idora, since 2016.
“They feel like it’s bad luck to wear someone else’s clothes, thinking that if the person was sick or passed away wearing it would be bad luck for the new wearer,” says Zamir, who started selling pre-loved clothing online and eventually opened a physical store.
Serene Lai Sze Yin, who runs the online vintage store Astlyr & Blythe with her friend Cindy Lai Ik Von, believes people are conditioned to believe that new clothes are cleaner than second-hand ones.
“In actuality, new clothes tend to contain higher levels of chemicals from dyes and manufacturing treatments in comparison to second-hand clothes which have been long rid of those chemicals,” opines Serene, who is based in Kuching,
Sarawak.
“All our garments have been disinfected, laundered and steamed before reaching our customers,” she adds.
“Another misconception would be that second-hand clothing is not fashionable and often labelled as ‘something my grandma would wear’. Fashion trends follow a loop and will most likely come back in style, and there’s an abundance of stylish and timeless pieces in local thrift stores,” says Serene.
She adds that second-hand clothes are often thought of as being poor quality, which they are the opposite of as they have stood the test of time after being through many wash cycles, and with proper care, have proven to be durable.
Another stigma when it comes to pre-loved clothing is shame.
“Albeit being an uncommon misconception, is still prevalent in today’s society when it comes to wearing second-hand clothes. We are actually saving money, preventing clothes from ending up in landfills and cutting down on sweatshop labour along with the natural resources used to produce new clothes. It’s a win-win situation!” she says.
And that image of stuffy, dingy, messy stores?
Looop, a curated second-hand store that opened two months ago in an upscale neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, is the complete opposite of this image.
Minimally furnished, the store is brightly-lit, with three changing rooms and a seating area, the rest of the room filled with racks of clothes, shelving with bags, shoes and accessories placed on the walls.
Everything is arranged neatly in categories (dresses, bottoms, tops and so on), and founders Bay Douchet, Adani Bakhtiar and Emma Khoo add a personal touch to whole operation by encouraging sellers (people who bring their items in to sell with them), to include notes on the items, detailing an anecdote or “story” behind it.
The trio started the business to rehome good quality pre-loved clothing, seeing a lack of local options for second-hand shopping.
“While there are great bundle stores and curated vintage stores, there wasn’t anything apart from online resale platforms that kept local clothing in circulation,” says Doucet.
For Adani, she was open to buying second-hand but didn’t enjoy thrifting as bundle stores don’t offer the most comfortable experience, and Emma went through a postbreak up wardrobe purge, realising in the process that it was difficult to remain anonymous when selling online, and the process of taking photos of the items and the delivery process was tedious.
Sort, price, sell, repeat
The thought of sifting through piles of clothing, doing quality checks, working out pricing and managing the entire process sounds like a monumental task, and according to these store owners, it’s not a walk in the park.
“We start off by trawling through endless rails of clothing in our local thrift stores. It’s an extremely time-consuming part of the process but it’s also our favourite pastime!” explains Serene. “Great vintage is like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s never an easy task and sometimes we leave empty-handed.”
After handpicking each piece, quality checks for stains and flaws are carried out before the items are handwashed, checked once again and if necessary, sent for restoration, which ranges from replacing buttons to lengthening or shortening garments, or embroidering over stubborn stains and holes.
Similarly, Zamir and Shakira actively keep an eye out for vintage pieces or good designs.
“For us, the quality comes second as some vintage pieces that are over 20 years old will definitely have some sort of defect. To us, branded items are just a bonus,” says Zamir.
When it comes to pricing, there’s a misconception that all second-hand items should be dirt cheap, and according to the girls at Looop, this shouldn’t be the case.
“Good quality clothing, although they are second-hand, still hold value,” says Adani. “Additionally, because Looop was founded on community, we wanted to provide a platform in which our consignors as well as our buyers all feel a sense of reward and that the cycle is beneficial to all, which we will not be able to do if we priced items very low.”
When it comes to pricing, Serene considers a few factors, including the garment’s era, quality and brand along with the price they paid for it.
“Lots of people still have a rather subjective opinion on vintage clothing because they are often viewed as being used clothing that shouldn’t cost a lot. In actuality, a lot of time and effort goes into preparing the garments for sale and making certain that every customer has the ease of shopping from our store.”
A challenging - yet fulfilling endeavour
Selling pre-loved clothing is not one’s idea of a money-making business, and for Ok Go, it has been an uphill task.
“Finances were unstable and having less time for ourselves was a mental challenge and while I still face this same problem, the only difference is that it feels worth it now,” relates Zamir.
The pandemic was the worst thing to happen to their business, but they worked through it and are doing even better now.
“Buying products sold locally seems to be the go-to option nowadays,” says Zamir.
For Looop, the response to sell has been overwhelming.
“We feel there’s just more clothes in circulation than there should be due to general over consumption. But we’re doing our best in our own capacity to tackle throwaway culture and to rehome good quality pieces that deserve a second chance. I think we can say we’re achieving that goal,” says Khoo.
When Serene and Cindy first started out, there wasn’t much of a craze for vintage clothing, and options for online stores were sparse.
However, four years later, things are going well and their sales started picking up during the pandemic.
“We believe this was when the shop local trend came into play. A lot of people began practising mindful spending habits which led them to spend money where it matters, by shopping locally. We were also able to use the challenges of the pandemic to our advantage by giving our customers something to look forward to with our monthly collection of curated vintage garment,” says Serene.
Fun for the whole family
Like people’s impressions of preloved clothing, customer demographics are also changing.
“It used to be mostly teenagers and young adults when we started,” says Zamir. “But today, our demographic ranges from teenagers to parents. It’s so cool to see entire families shopping in our store.”
This tracks with a report by Statista.com, which notes that the growth in the second-hand apparel industry can be attributed to younger consumers.
In a 2021 global survey, the generations most willing to buy second-hand apparel were Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) and millennials (born between 1981 and 1996).
“It is seen as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly way to purchase clothes, both topics which are especially relevant to younger consumers. The reduced prices of second-hand apparel also make clothes which would otherwise be too expensive more accessible,” said the report.
At Looop, their customers are made up of a range of people.
”Our demographic is mainly urban Gen Z and millennials, but we’ve discovered that we also attract a mix of older folk, parents who accompany their kids, along with older working crowds who have jobs in the area – our hope was to also be able to target an audience that had never shopped second-hand before,” says Douchet.
According to data derived from Instagram’s professional dashboard, Serene notes that the majority of their customers are from 25 to 35 years of age, with the second highest being in the 18 to 24 years range.
“Most of our customers are tertiary-educated Millennial and Gen Z Malaysians, and a handful of international customers from Singapore, Canada and China,” explains Serene.
“Additionally, we have a few affluent Gen X customers who shop with us occasionally. These customers are usually huge vintage enthusiasts looking to score gems for their collection.”
Whether your reasons for shopping second-hand are to shop more sustainably, mindfully, or consciously, or if you love the thrill of discovering a unique, vintage piece, the trend is taking off in Malaysia in a big way.