Second Hand September

My Best Thrifting Tips

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September is all about second hand thanks to Oxfam’s annual campaign Second Hand September. This month is all about shopping second hand and how doing so can help us combat the climate crisis. There is a terrifying statistic that if we stopped producing clothes right now we would still have enough to clothe the next six generations. The amount of garments being produced across the world is completely unsustainable and has created a throw away culture of people who no longer care about their clothing. We’ve also lost our unique style as individuals, cities and countries with the same brands and styles selling millions of the same garments all over the world every year. Second Hand September is a chance to combat all of this, to learn something new and make a commitment to helping our planet.

I love second hand shopping. It all started for me years ago when I first got into vintage clothing. A small vintage boutique opened up in the town I grew up in and I fell head of heels for it. I was lucky enough to grow up right next to the vibrant city of Liverpool and vintage shops and markets were everywhere. We also had a great selection of charity shops in my town and so it was fairly common place to pop in their for a cheap outfit that could be embellished and upcycled.

These days you’ll often find me thrifting in a charity shop looking for homewares to upcycle or old bedsheets and curtains to turn into clothes. I share a lot of my transformations and thrifting trips over on my YouTube channel including a video where I turned a pair of curtains into the dress in the photo at the top of this post.

I just love how easy it is to create a unique and stylish home and wardrobe second hand and I cannot understand why it isn’t the norm for most people. I have found some absolute gems and our house is filled with fun things we’ve collected over the years. I know a lot of people want to buy second hand but aren’t sure where to start or feel a little bit overwhelmed by changing shopping habits you’ve had all your life, so I thought I’d put together a few helpful tips that I hope will encourage you to get started!