Lust for something new crowding love for second-hand
Special guest Agony Aunt takes on a tough, thrifty question.
Hello, here is the SPECIAL GUEST edition of Patched you've been waiting for!
One of my favourite positive fashion things to happen in 2025 was the launch of Not Buying It magazine.
It's a very cool magazine and reminds me of good times racing across the road to the local newsagent when I was a teenager. One of my favourite bits of Not Buying It is (of course!) the problem page written by Solidari-Tea... aka Mel Watt.
When this latest question was sent in, it felt a little too close to some things I've been grappling with myself so I asked (begged) Solidari-Tea and Not Buying It to do a Patched collab.
You're welcome :)
Enjoy and go check out Not Buying It.
Dear Patched and Solidari-Tea,
I’ve spent most of my life - I’m in my 60s - buying clothes from charity shops.
Good on me! But mostly … to be honest, due to the fact I couldn’t afford new clothes.
For the first time in my life I can afford something new. Unworn - crisp - clean. But I'm also aware we live in different times now. The consumerist hell hole.
I’ve never been bothered before about buying second-hand clothes but find myself drawn to new unworn clothes like a line of some substance that not good for you ! Help please.
Love from Paris
Hey Paris,
I’ve been there! Growing up in charity shops, I always craved some newness. But when I finally cheated on Cancer Research with fast fashion, I realised the grass is deffo not greener.
My uni student loan gave me my first taste of disposable income. Online shopping + a sizable overdraft = a dangerously seductive mix. Cue the steady stream of pink Missguided parcels arriving at my door.
I fell for fashion’s fake democracy promise. And I fell hard! I felt so free… until I clocked that my purchases came at the cost of someone else’s freedom. Cheap, trendy clothes just weren’t worth the exploitation. So I did an 180, becoming a 365 secondhand girl again.
Around the same time, charity shopping started to rebrand. “Secondhand” was now “pre-loved”. Kilo sales were popping up everywhere. And eBay later became the official Love Island sponsor. But as the stigma declined, so did the quality. Charity shop fatigue is SO real when:
- The rails are flooded with cheap polyester.
- They’ve basically become museums to microtrends - gone and forgotten.
- They’re treated as dumping grounds for stained, holey donations.
- They’re turning into outlets as fast fashion brands offload their overstock for a cheeky lil tax break.
So I get it! I don’t always have the energy for charity shops either. Here are some ways I’m putting the joy back into secondhand shopping and resisting buying new.
Remembering secondhand ≠ second best: There’s so many reasons to choose pre-loved! It’s an affordable way to refresh your style. It’s perfect for finding unique, statement fits. It’s a great entry point to sustainable fashion. It keeps clothes in circulation for longer. And it’s substituting new purchases. When you weigh up the pros with the cons of Big Fashion, H&M just doesn't hit the same.
Getting in the mood: I’m not a casual browser. I need to be in the right headspace to flick through 10 overflowing rails. So when a charity shop trip is on the cards, I make sure 1) I’m rested 2) I’ve eaten and 3) I’m wearing something I can actually bother to take off in the changing rooms.
Knowing what I’m looking for: Gotta love a wishlist! Whenever I’m on the hunt for something specific, I swear I manifest it into being. My bestie calls it my super power. I call it luck. It helps when you’re after a particular item or colour palette. A quick scan of the shop floors tells me where I need to rummage and what areas I can skip. The more you visually filter = the more chances you have to strike gold.
Opting for curated: Shelter and the British Heart Foundation’s store layout is a dream. It gives you that boutique shopping experience, minus the hefty price tag. Traid also has trendy curated rails - except on sale days. Then it’s absolute chaos! Era-specific vintage shops seem to be popping up everywhere. You can find everything from 1920s chic to y2k mini skirts. I’d be lying if I said they were cheap but they’ve put in the work to make their shops super browsable.
Deciding where my money goes: Funding a billionaires' next superyacht or donating to a charity doing life-saving work? It’s a no brainer. Oxfam is my fave go-to for buying gifts. They sell so many gorge handmade items and the tag tells you which artisans made it. Sidenote: I’m here for them exposing billionaires’ outsized role in the climate crisis.
Switching to online resale: With apps like Vinted and Depop, you can always find what you’re looking for secondhand. Filters are your best friends, helping you to narrow down your search to the brand, fabric or size. Craving something unworn? They have hundreds of thousands of brand new with tags (BNWT) listings to choose from. You get the same dopamine hit, plus the satisfaction of hunting it down yourself. It really is the best of both worlds! For investment or designer pieces, Vestiare Collective has you sorted, brand verification and all.
Inviting my besties: Going on a charity shop crawl with my bffs gives me all the nostalgia of teen shopping trips. I’ve met some of my closest friends at thriftalong events. The best part is they usually spot something “very me” that I’ve missed. Don’t worry if you have the same style - it’s a great excuse to go halves and share joint custody on that cute jacket.
Taking a chill pill: Old habits really do die hard! It’s easy to swap one obsession for another - piles of fast fashion for piles of charity shop finds. It might not harm the planet, but your bank balance and mental health might take a bruising. When the rush to consume next strikes, hit that pause button and interrogate where that feeling is coming from. Our quick quiz helps you figure out whether that potential purchase is a legit need or just another dopamine distraction. Click me for more tips on slowing down and jumping off the treadmill of trends for good.
Pointing the finger at brands: Gamified shopping ads. Flash sales. Constant “last chance!” emails. £500 hauls. Targeted social media ads. The pressure to consume feels inescapable. That urge for newness? It’s fine-tuned by decades of messaging telling us to shop til’ we drop. Once we understand these impulses, they’re much easier to resist. Once we let go of the guilt and shame, we can take back control!
Getting to say “thanks, it’s thrifted!”: Copping a tee for 50p at a carboot? Cosmo is calling it “the ultimate flex”. Then getting compliments on it? Yeah, that feeling’s unmatched!
Consumerism really does a number on us all. But shopping secondhand gifts us an exit route. It’s a chance to slow down, shop more intentionally and free up energy for deeper change. So don’t give up on shopping secondhand just yet! With these tips, I hope you can fall in love with it all over again.
You’ve got this!
Solidari-Tea <3
Mel Watt
Thanks, Not Buying It team!
Mel Watt, Co-editor and Solidari-Tea: Mel is a fair fashion campaigner, creative and craftivist. She loves sipping sangria, fashioning bag charms out of old beads, and yapping a million miles a second. She hates greenwashing (obvs), brands commodifying community, and the fast fashion-ification of trinkets.
Yalda Keshavarzi, Co-editor: Yalda is a fair fashion disrupter, a campaign organiser, a writer and a poet. She loves making earrings and uncovering the next TikTok microtrend (did someone say water-based cooking?). She hates corporate feminism, brands ripping off small designers, and the unhinged obsession with Stanley Cups.
Molly Porteous, Graphic Designer: Molly is a graphic designer and illustrator. She loves sketching, travelling to new places, and learning new mending skills. She hates generative AI stealing artists’ work, and the insane speed that trends move at.
p.s. I've been experimenting with recording Patched:
p.p.s. Love Fashion Hate Fascism? There's going to be a fashion bloc on the March To Stop The Far Right demonstration in central London on Saturday 28th March. Details here.
