Today I want to show you a ‘new’ secondhand piece I got my hands on. Since I think some people have a wrong view of secondhand clothing, I want to show every piece I buy myself, to give an image of secondhand clothing. Because, sometimes I hear the reasons why people like buying only new: they think secondhand clothing looks bad and old. I think I can proof that’s not true. Today I’ll tell you about buying secondhand swimwear.
What did I buy?
I needed a new swimsuit. And whenever I think I need something, I delay that decision. Since I really want think about it for a while, do I really need this? Will this add value to my life? The answer to this piece of clothing was yes. I needed a new swimsuit. The last swimsuit I bought was also secondhand, I bought it on UnitedWardrobe. It was a good one, but when I went on a holiday last summer to Crete, the color started to come of. Everyday my skin was all black, the beds and chairs were even black at one point because of my bathing suit. I tried washing it off multiple times, but that did not work, unfortunately.
And also, I have just one piece of swimming clothing, it was that bathing suit. I feel like one is more than enough, I mean, how often do you really swim? But since I only had one, I needed another one to replace it.
Where to put the old one
A swimming suit that is still all fine, I would try to sell myself again. But this one wasn’t fine for me, so no one else can wear it anymore either. I put it in the textile recycling bin, where I know, it will be made into new things (like isolating material) if they can. I hope that works out.
‘Recycling is a good point to start, but a bad one to stop’
Criteria for a new one
Swimming clothes are always made out of polyester. I don’t really know the reasons for that, but I have never seen a swimsuit that wasn’t made out of some synthetic material. A shame really. So, a natural material was not an option. (if you know any brands, let me know!). Then I still have another choice to make. New or secondhand? Whenever I can find something secondhand, I buy it that way. I am buying secondhand swimwear. No new resources are needed, so it is far more sustainable. In this case it is also local, because the person I bought it from lives in The Netherland as well. So, I looked on the Vinted app for another swimsuit since I found such a great one there the last time.
Overall, I am very happy with UnitedWardrobe, the quality is mostly great. But, some people use it as cheap way to sell their handmade new things, I don’t like that since the platform is not built for that. So, before I buy something I always ask why the owner wants to get rid of it. Most of the time it is size.
The one I bought
The swimsuit I bought is the one below on the pictures. I love it! The color is why I wanted it, is so bubbly and nice. The size is just right, the first impressions is that it fits me very well. I didn’t have to look for very long since I found this one very quick and the site is full of nice swimsuits. There are so many choices! This one cost me about 27 euros, including sending. That may come off as expensive, but whenever I find something secondhand I like this much, price doesn’t matter. The owner didn’t want the swimsuit any longer because she bought it and it didn’t fit her. So, it is practically new (in case you like secondhand clothing but don’t want people to have worn it naked), but I would not mind if it weren’t.
I forget to ask if she wanted to send it to me plastic-free (which I most of the time do to avoid any plastic). But, she did! It can in a paper envelop with just the item, now that’s how I like it. Simple. Now you might be wondering why I bought a swimsuit. It is not because I am unhappy with my body or try to cover anything, but a swimsuit does look better on me in my opinion. Also, it makes me feel free in the water. With a bikini I always had to be careful, because if you just dive in the water the whole bikini comes off. With a swimsuit everything is nice and tight and won’t come off.
One blogpost for one piece of clothing?
Now, I can understand that one full blogpost for a thrifted swimsuit is a lot. But! I don’t buy many clothes any longer because I intend to have a minimalistic wardrobe. If I have to wait till I have about five pieces of clothing to show, then it’ll be a long wait. And still, even if it is one piece, I still think it is important. I want to shows you what a secondhand wardrobe looks like, and that’ll be like this, one step at a time. Have you seen my latest secondhand clothing shop-log as well?
And you? What do you think of buying secondhand swimwear?
Yours sincerely,
Romee
I recently bought secondhand swimwear on Marktplaats. I’m trying to sell my clothing that doesn’t fit anymore or I don’t wear anymore on Marktplaats as well, but it’s not selling very much 😛 I put cheap prices on it like 1 or 2 euros… Wouldn’t it sell because I made the prices TOO cheap? Personally I would be glad if I could buy secondhand clothes for such prices (I paid 5 euros excl. shipping for my new swimwear and it looks like new as well!).
Great that you found good second hand swimwear on Marktplaats! The more platforms, the better haha! Hmmm, maybe you could try to put your clothes on multiple platforms? UnitedWardrobe is very popular! And maybe you could not set a price, but leave it open so people can bid? Maybe that’ll help 🙂
That’s a good idea 🙂 I changed everything to “Bid” now instead of a fixed price! Though I did just sell a skirt for 2 euros (which was the price I had put on it).
I think I’ll just bring things to the local secondhand-store when I can’t sell it (after 2 months or something).
Let’s hope that’ll work. And indeed maybe the local store can sell it 🙂 This sort of issues really make me think when I buy something, because it is a big responsibility to get rid of it properly again when I don’t want it anymore!
Removing the prices really worked! People are now bidding a lot higher :O
I try to make most of my clothes myself, because I have so much left-over fabric from costumes and from other people who don’t use it anymore. Fabric that is too small to make clothes of, I use for gift bags.
Great that it worked! And great job on making the clothes, it’s amazing that the fabric is recycled this way!
Making clothes from fabric yourself also saves one trip around the globe!
Normally it’s:
1) Fabric is produced
2) Fabric is shipped to factory somewhere far away to be made into clothes
3) Clothes are shipped to somewhere else far away again.
When you buy fabric, it’s more like:
1) Fabric is produced
2) Fabric is shipped to somewhere else.
Right :O ?
Usually the fabric is also produced far away (if you live in the Netherlands) too. The difference is not that big in my opinion when you compare it left over clothes (which you then make new again here :)). So the best way is to recycle your clothes yourself, which you do!