A Stylist & Vintage Obsessive Shares Her Tips For Buying Pre-Loved

My journey with vintage and pre-loved fashion has been life-long. I remember visiting my older brother Angus at university and he’d put together a very eclectic wardrobe – a teal mohair overcoat coat and a big oversized leopard faux fur coat were two of the standouts. I loved that they had a story to them – it was such a draw. 

Today, vintage and pre-loved shopping is far more fashionable. It’s definitely helped that celebrities have made it more mainstream, with stars like Rihanna and Bella Hadid turning it into a more aspirational choice. There’s an element of kudos when you’re spotted in something iconic or rare, but it doesn’t even have to be that – it can just be cool and original, like nothing you’d find anywhere else.

A real step change was seeing Love Island and eBay join forces. I was really surprised when they asked me to be the stylist on last summer’s show. It was significant because these two mega brands had decided to infiltrate – and hopefully change – the psyche of people who usually worship at the altar of fast fashion. The fact that magazines and influencers talked a lot about the partnership also spoke volumes – suddenly, buying second-hand was all people in the fashion elite wanted to talk about. 

I’m not convinced fast fashion will cease altogether. But there is certainly a move away from unethical brands and people are more aware about where things come from and what they cost to make. Consumers are finally becoming more circular in their shopping habits too, and amid the cost-of-living crisis, more people are setting up online accounts to sell on parts of their wardrobe.

Vintage shopping is such such a huge part of my life. When I was a fashion director, I was always trying to weave pre-loved pieces in to shoots and change the negative perception about it looking worn or passé. After I launched the campaign #CHOOSEPRELOVED on Instagram at the end of last year, it felt like I was finally playing a bigger roll in making vintage or pre-loved fashion a movement, rather than a token gesture.

The beauty of buying pre-loved is that you often find things you didn’t know you were looking for. Equally, you can also find pieces you’ve wanted for years. Recently, I tracked down a Marc by Marc Jacobs motocross top that I’ve spent a decade searching high and low for.