Second-hand not second best

My love for all things second-hand, vintage, thrifted, pre-loved, whatever you want to call it started long, long ago. There are so many aspects that appeal: the thrill of finding hidden treasure, the joy of getting something for practically nothing, the attempt to be slightly more ethical and environmentally friendly and also, it’s just in my blood.

My dad is never happier than in a charity shop. They combine three of his favourite things: collecting, books and an Excel spreadsheet that lists the books he’s collecting.

When I was about 7 or 8, I suppose, I loved the Famous Five stories by Enid Blyton. I read all my mum’s but her collection was incomplete. My grandma bought me a couple for Christmas or a birthday or something but they were hardback, yellow and new not like my old, dog-eared 1960s versions… so for the remaining missing ones my parents, and particularly, Daddy, kept an eye out for the “proper” ones in charity shops. I can still remember when we found the last one – the collection complete! Finding something I really wanted in a shop crowded with junk!

And then there were the clothes, some from charity shops, some from older cousins or friends. The most memorable hand-me-down was what I think of as my Garden Party Dress: white flowery 90s dress and straw hat with matching ribbon. I was the bee’s knees.

My favourite charity shop purchase was a tartan kilt already attached to a white vest that I thought was beautiful. Particularly the vest bit, although I really couldn’t explain why now.  For some reason my mum didn’t seem as keen but she got it for me anyway. 

Now that I’m big and spending my own money, added to the buzz of finding a jewel is the undeniable, unbeatable dopamine-hit of finding a bargain. A Lacoste beanie for 1fr? The softest 100% cashmere jumper in the world for 2fr? You can do all the bungee jumping you want – you won’t get more of a high.

When I was at university, I started seeing buying second-hand as a more ethical option too. Fairtrade or locally made clothes may be the ideal but, let’s be honest, they can be expensive. Buying second-hand clothes is my (very small, imperfect) way of fighting against fast fashion and the exploitation of mainly female garment workers.

And then when the children started arriving there was the practical aspect too: children grow like weeds; my boys get holes in about 6 pairs of trousers a month and my daughter manages to get paint on just about everything, so buying second-hand clothes at a fraction of the price is just good sense. Similarly with baby stuff, you use it for so little time (unless you have 4 children…) that buying new just seems a waste! And books and toys like Playmobil and Lego are eye-wateringly expensive if you buy them new.

I also choose second-hand clothes, books, toys, furniture, whatever because its better for the environment. Realistically, me buying second-hand is not going to stop massive global corporations like Playmobil from overproducing plastic goods. But at least it stops existing items from ending up in landfill. Every little helps and all that. And likewise, I donate or sell our old stuff instead of chucking it: the highchair, which was given to me by my sister-in-law, who had got it second-hand from someone else, and which I leant to a friend for a few months, went to charity the other day; the children’s old beds (also third-hand) went a few weeks ago, too.

I’m not fussy about where I find my second-hand bargains : charity shops, second-hand clothes shops, second-hand fairs, vintage stalls, brocantes, free book libraries, Facebook marketplace, eBay, Anibis, Le Bon Coin, Craigslist, Gumtree, my sisters-in-law… I haven’t tried Vinted as it doesn’t exist in Switzerland, but I’m sure I could be persuaded.

So many treasures waiting to be discovered, so little time. With the internet, we can find whatever we want whenever we want with just a few clicks or taps. Practical, maybe, but completely soulless and frankly, does Bezos really need my money? (Although no Amazon in Switzerland either – what a country, eh?) I’d much rather search a little, take a bit longer to find something I really want and then appreciate it all the more.

Now, I wonder if there’s anything new in at Créature this week…