Having lost a fair bit of weight, I’ve been having to buy new clothes. I’ve always shopped second hand a lot for both how cheap it tends to be and because I enjoy finding unique pieces that not everyone has, an as I’ve learnt more about fast fashion I just don’t see the point in buying new anymore. So I thought I’d take today to show you a few items I’ve recently picked up in charity shops and car boot sales to show that not only is it totally possible to find cool pieces that are second hand but you can also alter and style things to completely change them up.
This entire outfit is thrifted/second hand, but it’s the pants I got recently! They’re a really think corduroy and they’re lined, they’re a perfect fit and they were only £3.50. This outfit cost less than £10, and if you wanted to count my Docs too it’s under £30. They’re men’s pants but the waist was a perfect fit right off the bat so I just couldn’t pass them up and I think they look really vintage and chill with the cuff at the bottom.
These dungarees are originally from Primark but I picked them up in a charity shop for £4 while they were still stocked in primark. That how fast fast fashion really is, but at least the original owner donated them rather than binning them! They’re also surprisingly good quality from Primark. Again, the whole outfit is thrifted and the shirt is one of my all time favourite purchases, and it was only 99p!
An upside to charity shops is also, although rare, sometimes the same person must have donated multiple things and you get a sort of miracle while shopping where you find item after item that’s the same size, style or brand and get to just buy almost a new wardrobe. That was what happened with the turtle neck in this pic. I’d been wanting a few different coloured turtle necks to layer under things for winter and wasn’t about to pay £6+ per jumper, then I found 4 different coloured turtle necks all from the same brand in the same size (my size!) and paid less than a fiver for the lot.
This skirt man. I love the 90’s riot grrrl aesthetic that plaid pleated skirts give off but they’re usually quite expensive and I struggled to find plus size ones in any stores. When I found this skirt it was ankle length and my mum laughed at me for trying it on, but once I cut it down to the length I like it was exactly what I had been looking for and I love it. The jumper in this pic was a hand me down from my mum and the coat used to belong to my dad.
I’m wearing a sick shirt in this picture but you can’t really see it so I won’t go on about it. These Winnie the Pooh vintage dungarees are one of my all time favourite items of clothing. I love wearing it with band T-shirts and plaid shirts to have a sort of immature grunge look going on, but for this look I threw it on over a black turtle neck and a cool shirt, with this jacket from 1984 that I got for a fiver!
I wanted to throw in a picture from while I was on holiday because I feel like every summer we have a big push to start buying summer and holiday clothes that won’t be in style anymore by next summer and I’ve fallen into that so many times. The outfit above is a dress with a matching sheer-ish shirt, very 80’s and a little bit ugly in the best way. I wore so many outfits on holiday that I loved and were thrifted, you just have to start looking for stuff a bit earlier than you would if you were just going to pop into town and buy everything new.
I hope this post has inspired you to try out shopping second hand more often or, if you already do, to alter and style your thrifted items to fit them more to you!
-Dana
Carry on Beautiful! 