8 Secondhand Clothing Items I Bought

Sometimes I decide to dedicate a full blogpost to one piece of secondhand clothing. Sometimes I write about two things I bought. It depends on my mood and what point I’m trying to make. But, lately there have been so many things I want to write about that I just want to catch up a little bit. In this blogpost, I’ll show you the last 8 secondhand clothing items I bought.

My sustainable wardrobe

Maybe I’ll share my wardrobe one day, but I feel like I still have not reached the point I want to with this wardrobe. I am thinking about doing a little decluttering the coming weeks, going through categories of clothing and getting rid of things. There are a lot of things I bought but didn’t share the last 6 months. It’s a bit overwhelming if I share them all today and since I am planning on sharing my entire wardrobe soon, I am sharing the last 8 pieces I bought.

I do still like to share, since I want to show you that sustainable clothing is fun! But, I am still in the process of finding my style and what items I love. Even when I do buy things, and I do that intentionally, I find out later that it wasn’t really my thing after all. But that’s fine for now, I just return the items to the thrift shop and continue. It’s all a learning process, but here are the last 8 secondhand clothing items I bought.

Item nr. 1: a big sweater

A sweater in July? No. I am starting with the oldest item here and I bought that back in January, so this post is basically a summary of the past six months. I. bought this sweater for 25 euros in Amsterdam at Zipper. As soon I saw it I loved it. It was love at first sight. It is 100% acryl and so not a sustainable material. I’ve sort of decided to let go of the goal to only buy sustainable materials. I just can’t do it. I still manage to avoid a lot, but not all. Anyway, this sweater has definitely been a good one so far. I’ve worn it a dozen times already and I still love it. This one’s a keeper.

Item nr. 2: a dress

This dress is one I bought at Het Goed in Enschede for 6,95 euros in February I think. I love the model, it’s off shoulder and I didn’t have anything like it yet. It is however made out of 100% polyester and so not a sustainable material again. I bought it a long time ago and haven’t worn it once. Once back home when I bought it I figured I need a strapless bra with this, so you don’t see the straps. I don’t have one so I can’t wear it. I am still deciding whether I am going to buy that strapless bra or get rid of the dress. In the Netherlands, most of the months are cold and you can’t wear dresses. So, I think dresses like this one are for 2 months of the year and I don’t know if that’s worth it to me since I also own other dresses. I didn’t really think this through.

Item nr. 3: another dress

Yes, another dress. I bought this at a flee market in Harderwijk for 2 euros. It’s the same story as the other dress. I don’t know if I’ll keep it since I don’t have the opportunity to wear a lot of dresses. I have worn it a few times since I bought it and I haven’t fully figured out of this is a 10/10 for me. When I bought it there was no good mirror, so I didn’t see it fully. It’s a bit long and sometimes you can see my bra due to the open upper part. I haven’t decided just yet. It is 100% cotton though.

Item nr. 4: a swimsuit

This is a quite recent purchase. I bought this swimsuit at United Wardrobe for 10 euros. I had bought another secondhand swimsuit a while back, but it turned out to be too small after all. It just wasn’t comfortable. This new one I bought suits me way better (even though my breasts need a tiny bit more room but it’s okay). I have worn it a number of times ever since I bought it in June. I love it and I definitely think this is a keeper. Also, I was thinking about buying a bikini as well but I won’t. Once piece of swimming clothes is enough. The material is polyester, but I think all swimming suits are made out of that.

Item nr. 5: a pair of flip flops

I bought these flip flops back in April for 1 euro at the same flee market in Harderwijk. I do have another pair of flip flops, but I usually use those for showering after training in the sports centre (I don’t want fungi from anyone else). Those are quite boring so I figured I could use a pair of cute flip flops for other occasions. I haven’t made my mind up about them, do I really need two pairs of flip flops? I just don’t know. For now I am keeping them.

Item nr. 6: a pair of summer shoes

These summer shoes cost me 3 euros at a flee market in Harderwijk back in April. I love them, but they might not be basic enough. They should fit with most of my clothes but I’m not sure they do. I have worn them once since I bought them and I don’t know if I’ll keep them since my toes hurt after that (I have really wide feet). At the same time I have one other pair of summer shoes, but I barely wear those. I can’t get rid of those since I don’t know if this pair will last since they hurt and if I get rid of both I don’t have a pair of summer shoes.

Item nr. 7: a pair of sneakers

Last year I bought secondhand Adidas sneakers, but this year they were worn out already. My mom forced me to get rid of them, since they looked so bad. I needed a new pair, a basic pair in my opinion, since these fit with many clothes. Also, I like timeless items. So, I bought these Vans at United Wardrobe for 20 euros back in June. I love how they look but they hurt. My ankles had wounds after I had worn them. But, I won’t give them up so easily. Soon I will bring them to the cobbler to see if he can fix it for me. I really hope so. These shoes are black and so easy to clean once they get dirty.

Item nr. 8: another pair of sneakers

Once I got rid of the Adidas shoes I figured I needed just two pairs of sneakers, black and white. As you’ve read, the black once I got. And after that I bought these white ones at United Wardrobe as well. They cost me 15 euros back in June. They fit me perfectly and I love them. I have worn them a lot ever since and they are my favourite sneakers. They do get dirty quite fast but are easy to clean as well. What I love as well is that they have no brand. When I walk around in the Vans or any other brand, I am basically promoting their product even thought I would never purchase something at their company. So, this pair without brand is great, I don’t promote unsustainable brands this way.

Conclusion

Those were the 8 secondhand clothing items I bought. I have three favourites, the white sneakers, the swimsuit and the sweater. Those are definitely keepers! The Vans can be amazing too, if the cobbler can fix them. All the other items are still in the do-I-really-like-this-or-not-phase and so I am still learning. Some things stay, some will go eventually. It’s a process. But the good thing is that this personal quest does not harm the planet, since it’s all secondhand and if I don’t like it, I return it to the thrift shops and it’ll be given a new life!

What do you think of these 8 secondhand clothing items I bought?

Yours sincerely,
Romee