Buying secondhand is typically better than buying new to reduce our environmental impact, as it does not fuel demand for further production (more extraction of natural resources, from the resources for the fabric to the incredible amounts of water and energy needed to produce those garments) and allows those pieces to continue their “life” in a new wardrobe. This also means those pieces are not going to waste, which is a major problem for the fashion industry with a dumpster truck full of clothing to landfill every second.
It is important to be thinking about our consumption and the future we want, for ourselves and the next generation, so buying new garments isn’t helping reduce our reliance on natural resources that continue to be depleted (and will in turn raise prices on clothes in the future even more as they continue becoming more scarce).
Now, secondhand is everywhere, with even the ultra fast fashion brands offering resale. So, I don’t find all secondhand created equal. But I believe it is still important for us to consider the quality of the garment when buying secondhand, just as we should when buying a new garment, so that it will last us a long time (or last long enough for the next owner). I also honestly wonder if those companies are using secondhand as bandaid to still make it OK for them to produce very large quantities.
That’s why I often turn to vintage, over buying from secondhand shops that may have a huge range of things and can quite honestly, in my opinion, be sometimes overwhelming and sometimes full of “cheap” clothes. Even if we find something we love, it may not last. Like a black corduroy skirt I got a couple years ago at a secondhand shop and wore ALL the time, but started quite literally falling apart in 3 different places. There was nothing I could do to fix it.
Vintage clothing, this being considered as garments at least 15 years old and may be more “rare,” is often better because clothes were made with nicer fabrics back then and have already been shown to stand the test of time.
Additionally, since they are often times harder to find, I am buying something that feels like it was there for me to find, and won’t be worn by anyone else. Of course, there are some things that you can search and suddenly find a ton of now that aren’t as original as they used to be, like the Hermes garden totes. Otherwise, it’s not trend-driven. With vintage, I search for special pieces that I love and will want to keep.
Vintage may be more expensive, but that also promotes less consumption since I can’t buy it all the time. Plus it promotes the idea that it should be worn, and often!
So, with that, I am sharing my favorite “go-to” vintage shops in cities I know well, including Paris, New York, Copenhagen and more.
Paris
There are SO many vintage shops now in Paris, especially in the Marais. But I feel like many of them have no real vision and just get any designer piece they find and put a big price on it. So these are the ones that have an actually nice curation (in my opinion).
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