JOANNE Watkinson
ANYONE FOR SECONDS?
I have long extolled the virtues of shopping second hand.
My latest hobby is scrolling resale website Vinted for treasure.
It’s less about vintage clothing, more pre-loved, and features lots of sellers who missed the Zara return deadline.
Sad for them, win win for the buyer.
I have considered if buying “new” clothes second hand is still helping to fuel fast consumption, but my inner pragmatist tells me if a seller doesn’t want it, it’s better that I help the garment fulfil its potential rather than it languish in the back of a wardrobe unloved.
Of course, the longer the owner waits to sell, the less the item will be worth at re-sale and more than likely it will head to landfill.
I’m fascinated about the concept of “worth”. How do we determine value?
When it comes to new clothes the value of a garment is calculated using production cost and then a retailer’s margin on top. But when something is no longer new, how do you determine what it is worth?
There are factors – rarity, condition and cost of materials, but there is also a less tangible barometer of worth which is where it gets interesting.
Take two 10-year-old lambskin quilted handbags, both with chain hardware and both impeccably made.
One is Chanel, the other made by artisans in Paris.
The Chanel bag will always be worth more, even if the bags are identical in craftsmanship and quality.
Chanel is a desirable brand, internationally renowned with heavyweight kudos hanging from its interlocked Cs logo.
But why do some brands retain their value at resale while others deplete so much they become worthless, no matter how big the original price tag?
I recently picked up a skirt on Vinted. It was £8, “new with tags”. Some 18 years ago I was holding the same skirt in a showroom in New York, it was the hottest new brand to hit the east coast and the skirt retailed for $500. So why is it now in the bargain basket?
The reason is worth, the value you place on it. It’s the same skirt, same sequins, same cost of production minus the kudos and demand.
If the brand was still popular, the skirt would be considered almost vintage and could even be worth more than its original selling price.
The moral of this story is to be savvy when shopping second hand, there are some major bargains to be had as long as you are not led by labels.
Shopping second hand is worth every penny.