Shopping vintage – Clothes and accessories

Some of the best shops for shopping vintage are in London. But there are many hidden gems elsewhere in the UK. Brighton is full of vintage shops as is another seaside town, Hastings. And everywhere has charity shops.

Charity shops rule for Shopping vintage

If you keep your ear to the ground you should find out about which charity shops are good. Sometimes if they are in a posh area you can find designer labels very cheaply. Other times, the posher the area the more expensive the charity shop. You will find that some are regularly good for knitwear, and others stock more suits.

Sometimes staff get to know you and they will keep items back that they think you will like. But anyway you should give charity shops a go because they contain many hidden treasures. Some vintage shops near me get all their things from charity shops in the first place.

Clothes swaps are an idea

If you envy your friend’s style, why not try a clothes swapping party? They might bring along something you have had your eye on. Or maybe something else. It’s a good idea for saving resources – after all, that jumper you are fed up of may look gorgeous to someone else!

It can be fun, just provide snacks and perhaps some wine, turn the music on and go for it! Clothes swapping parties have a long history, and were even used in war. When they didn’t have many new clothes. You might find something just as quirky as when you are shopping vintage.

Online shops

Another idea to find some old fashioned clothes is to try online. You can find cheap clothing treats here. It’s good because shopping vintage is environmentally friendly too. If you think about it, the vintage clothing you just bought is saving new clothes from being made. A cotton t shirt takes many gallons of water. When it is manufactured. Even eco friendly clothes take more energy to make than clothes that already exist.

The Ecological option

You could buy clothes that have been remade, or made from fibres such as bamboo. Bamboo is a good fabric for clothes because it grows quickly. And it makes soft textiles. You can also get clothes from fibres that are spun from old fibres. The clothes that get put into the charity collecting box that cannot be sold. Are then sorted into colours and fabric types and shredded. Then the fibre is spun into new fibre. Which is knitted into new clothing. This process is very good for sheep, since it means no sheep are involved. But it still takes energy to make this kind of knitwear.

Often instead of sorting for colour and fabric type, the clothes are all just shredded as they are. The fibres are just mashed together. This fabric, which looks ugly, is then used for moving blankets or carpet underlay. It is used for places where looks don’t matter. It is one way to re-used fabrics so it is not wasted.