Although awareness of the unethical nature of fast fashion has increased in recent years, the popularity and scope of its many retailers also continues to swell; peddling their 99p bikinis, ‘micro-trend’ pieces and outfits designed to be single-use.

With taglines promoting you to ‘shop like a billionaire’ dominating our social media feeds, it becomes more frightening how much consumerism has consumed us all.

In 2024, its nearly impossible to resist its offerings. We don’t want to be ‘behind’, undesirable and god-forbid unfashionable. Where we can, and certainly where we can afford to, we should do our bit. I too would definitely struggle to afford a wardrobe of Fairtrade clothing made from ethical organic materials, so, I choose to go secondhand.

About 90% of my wardrobe is secondhand goodies (not my underwear thankfully, but each to their own I suppose), and I can’t help but feel like they’re all my little treasures. The clothing feels more special because I’ve ‘found it’ in the depths of an overflowing charity shop rail. Also, because it’s lived a life before me. That gorgeous velvet maxi dress I scored for £3 may have been worn by a woman on the night where she fell in love, it could have been the scene of a drunken debacle, or it could’ve just been sat collecting dust in someone’s wardrobe waiting for the ‘right occasion’ before she took it to her local Cancer Research UK. I like imagining the glamorous scenes it’s witnessed or been a part of just to romanticise it all a little more (even though most of my clothing has probably not seen more than the local pub, cheap red wine stains and all).

As a preloved clothing champion, avoiding fast fashion (for the most part) is a relatively easy feat, but I understand not everyone strikes gold in their local chazza, so I thought I’d give a few tips and tricks for finding a vintage gem, and share any I’ve picked up of late too.

A few years ago (5 to be exact?!), I wrote a post dedicated to finding good bits in charity shops specifically. All of this advice has stood the test of time (as have most of the second-hand clothes I bought around that time), so I’ve tried to come up with some new hints and tricks here, a lot of which are centred around my beloved Vinted.

The only good algorithm is the Vinted algorithm.

Instagram may feel royally fucked, every other story is an ad, some completely irrelevant (I don’t need adult nappies *yet* or a Temu bumbag that looks like an old blokes beer belly, and pray I never will). But Vinted, have really smashed it with theirs. After a few searches, scrolls and offers, it gets to learn your style and likes relatively well. For me anyway,, the ‘for you’ section typically gets it right. Especially when I’ve been searching for a specific item; for a few weeks my ‘for you’ was a tsunami of white tiered maxi skirts, but did I find the perfect one from this? Yes I did.

Don’t be afraid to get super specific in your search terms, it’ll help the algorithm learn more about your preferences – to the point I sometimes search the likes of “”Stevie Nicks vibes” “70s witchy” “rockstar girlfriend” – cos why not eh? Searching for celebrities or fictional characters (my mind went straight to Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is another great way to find items that match your aesthetic and personal style.

Bundles and profiles

If you find an item or listing you really like, especially if it’s labelled quite niche to your style with a good description, the chances are the seller has similar taste to you (as well as being the same/similar size – win win.) So make sure to click through to their profile and see what else they have on sale. Most sellers offer discounts on bundles automatically, but I often like to pop an extra cheeky offer in as well. The worst they can do is reject it, so it’s always worth a try. Shy bairns get nowt.

Offers, offers, offers

Similar to the above, don’t be afraid to be a lil bit cheeky. You may get some sass back, I’ve had a few “are you taking the piss?!” messages before. But again. why not have a go haha! The largest discount you can ask for is 40% off the listed price, and I’m not saying to ask for that every time, but just make an offer that in your mind, is reasonable. Generally, if one of mine gets declined, the seller will send a new offer somewhere in the middle, so I’m still getting it for less money that the original price; it’s basically online haggling. You get 25 offers a day, so no need to hold back. Can you tell I like a bargain…

Saved searches

This one is specifically for Depop and eBay (Vinted please add this functionality x), on Vinted you can see your most recent searches and how many items have been added since your last search, but they are lost as your more recent searches are added.

But for Depop and eBay, you can save searches and keep an eye on what’s been added. This is FANTASTIC if you are after a specific item. You can even turn email notifications on for these, which could get annoying, but are ideal if you’re after something that typically sells out very quickly.

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I LOVE talking all things vintage, so please feel free to drop your thoughts or own tips in the comments, or send them my way on instagram @emilyrosejacko.

Have a deliciously gorgeous week everyone!

Em x