Yo, it’s your girl Maz – a bit of a stranger to the blog. Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve taken to my laptop and published a decent string of blog posts but hey ho, Girl Got Lost is all about the phases of business and chill.
As most of you probs know, I’m pretty keen on the old sustainable shopping front. I don’t buy any new (as in 1st hand) clothes so when I do shop for clothes & accessories I head to a few random places IRL and online.
Here are some of my faves:
Ugh, such a great concept. Buying clothes by weight. Ok, in reality, it’s not as simple as you’d hope but it does help to refresh your normal dull shopping experience. I used to enjoy visiting the Paris stores; great for basic items like shirts and blouses, not so great for heavy coats or jumpers.
Vestiaire is a God send if you’re a self-admitting label snob – ok, I haven’t bought anything from there but I sure do love scrolling through the dreamy designer handbags. Vestiaire allows you to buy and sell ‘luxury’ and ‘premium’ second-hand items for a discounted price. Every item is checked by a member of their team to double check they’re authentic and up to standard. Yes, some things are crazy expensive but you can also find a bargain and know that the quality is top notch.
Items that don’t sell in Oxfam stores can end up on their online shop. It’s really simple to use and there are honestly, SO MANY PRODUCTS on there. Not everything is second hand, some retailers will donate stock if they can’t sell them or just wanna do some good. Books, vintage, CD and vinyl, clothes, shoes – basically, you can get almost anything on their website so it’s defo worth taking a look.
Charity shops
An obvious choice for some but still, in 2017, so many people overlook the potential of charity shop shopping! They even have discount charity shops now, like in Hatfield, my fave is one where everything is £1(?!?!?!) Before going to Glastonbury last year I was stressing out about buying new wellies and managed to find a pair in my size in there; so fab for a quid.
Festivals
Speaking of festivals, they’re well worth a nosey around if you’re into stand out, eccentric clothes. Summer 2016 took me to no less than 7 festivals and I did my fair share of clothes shopping between stuffing my face with falafel and belting out a tune alongside Adele. Shambala and Lattitude really impressed me with the amount of stuff on offer – picture sequins, bum bags, unicorn horns, tutus, fairy wings and more. Keep an eye out for bargains on the final evenings of a festival; a lot of stalls don’t have room to take much back so they lower their prices at the final chance. I’ve nabbed an army jacket for £1, 2nd hand Topshop jumpsuits for a fiver (down from 20) and countless deals on socks and cosy hoodies.
Overpriced but still fab –>
Pretty much the ASOS of the vintage clothing world.
The River Island of the vintage clothing world?
Lastly, if you have a tad more patience and don’t mind wading through more random crap, I recommend shopping on Facebook Marketplace, Depop and eBay. You could even stretch to Gumtree if you’re feeling reaaaally crazy (I once found the prettiest never been worn River Island kimono on Gumtree for a tenner so wahey, it can be done).
Hope you enjoyed the post.
Don’t forget to follow me (online, not in real life plz)
Ta.
Maz xxxxxxoxxxxxx
Mary Mandefield 