Sometimes, there is nothing nicer (for us shopaholics) then going shopping, and coming back with something fresh and new, in a crisp clean bag, fresh from the stores warehouse. But sometimes, we prefer a bargain that has a history and story behind it. I recently wrote an article all around sustainable fashion and how we, as nation all support and shop the fast fashion in some way or another. But, i think its fair to say that if you are buying something cheap from a charity shop, vintage shop, a car boot sale even, you can be forgiven as you are reusing these products and essentially giving them a new lease of life.
We have all seen a dramatic increase in the amount of vintage shops around, especially here in London. You’ve only got to stroll down Brick Lane or Portabello Road and be spoiled for choice. We love rummaging around these clothing gold mines and finding a gem at a decent price. But they can only go so far. Firstly, brands like Beyond Retro are out their competing against vintage stores with their own online platform, but now second hand shopping app’s are taking not only the UK, but the world by storm. A study in the US by Thredup, an online second hand sales platform, suggested there was a 25% rise in the number of women prepared to buy secondhand in 2017 compared with the year before. It predicted 15% annual growth in the market over the next few years, compared with just 2% for the overall fashion sales. Thredup estimates that secondhand clothes now make up 6% of respondents’ wardrobes, double that of 10 years ago, and that proportion could almost double again to 11% by 2027. These numbers show how much we now buy and sell vintag and secondhand online, and its only going to get stronger.
“Allowing people to just list an item, getting the community to dictate whether it’s cool or not — that’s what works.”
We can all easily remember using and shopping/bidding on Ebay, Gumtree and even Facebook Marketplace. But for millennial’s, these are by far their first choice when it comes to finding second hand clothing. App’s like Depop have expanded and grown dramatically over the last couple of years, giving customers the options of having that one to one connection and simple easy, ways of shopping.
Depop was founded in 2011 when it saw a gap in the market, where no other apps were offering simple and easy ways of buying second hand clothing. One of the main features that Depop offers unlike other apps is how they are trying to judge new trends and get you thinking about what could become fashionable rather than what already is on trend. CEO Maria Raga quoted,“On our explore section, we don’t show the things which we think are trendy, but the things which we think could be.” This a prime example that proves why Depop have been so successful. They aren’t catering to people who are only trying to find fashion pieces that are in style now for a cheaper price, but challenging people who want to experiment and set a new fashion trend, or ultimately, be unique and individual combining vintage and new pieces.
Depop doesn’t only serve as a selling platform though. It’s an a app in which the likes of Pinterest, Instagram and Ebay are rolled into one. Not only are you their to buy, you are they to get inspiration on old and new trends, how to become your own style, but also meet like minded people. Fiona Short, who runs Fifi’s Closet on Depop (an account with more than 161,000 followers), says Depop is more than about making money.
“It’s a community of Creatives. I’ve met some of my friends through Depop, I’ve been able to support my studies, and travel and do things I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.”
Depop is easily accessible. People will longer wait for an item to arrive or pay £5 for postage — not when we are used to services like Amazon Prime and even same day delivery. With Depop connecting people so close together or just even within the same city, its so much easier for people to communicate and sell. Long gone are the days of posting items 2nd class, now you can see when you are both in the same area, or meet half way and hand deliver an item and create those more personal relationships to build your brand online.
Charity shops are also now making use online shopping. Charity’s such as Oxfam now have their own Ecommerce platform to sell their donated clothing. Not only do they give you the option to buy clothes online, it has its own vintage clothing selection online. So now, you can shop your favourite vintage styles, as well as helping a cause without the need to rummage through racks and racks of clothes. One seller that is very successful on Depop quoted, ‘Young people are more conscious about the future of the planet. Recycling and buying vintage clothing is contributing to to consuming clothes in a better way.” There probably isnt a much better way to do this that shopping through charities, and now that been made 10 times easier with them starting to sell their vintage pieces online and moving with the time, i can see this becoming increasingly popular
Second hand clothing app’s are going to continue to grow and thrive in this industry, with not online the vintage clothes marketing growing, but because people are a lot more conscious about the environment. With the direction the second hand market is going in, we are going to start seeing a lot more even divide between new pieces and second hand pieces in our wardrobes. But how will this effect the Fast Fashion industry? Will it effect the survival of brands in an already struggling day of age? Time will tell..
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