As someone who grew up in Perestroika times in Ukraine, I never would have thought in 2021 I would be such an advocate for vintage fashion. We had quite a modest lifestyle as a family. I remember being picked on for being poor a couple of times.
And the funny thing is, if no one told me I was poor, it wouldn’t have ever occurred to me, as we had a great family and it seemed like there was enough.
Me with my mum and dad and my brother.
Living in Ukraine at that time, we sometimes would get big parcels of clothes from our friends or relatives, who immigrated to the US, and this was pretty much my only experience of vintage - definitely not the most glamorous one.
So it’s really only when I moved to London I was introduced to the exciting vintage style clothing in Portobello and Brick Lane.
And now, 15 years later, things shifted massively. There are fantastic online vintage and second hand places where you don’t have to try hard to find something, which looks modern and presentable.
I came across a survey done by Business Waste, according to which 80% of 16-21 year olds are happy to shop vintage. However, less than a third of shoppers in their 30s and 40s are happy to shop vintage.
As a personal stylist, the majority of my clients are 40+ and I thought it would be good to spark some interest in vintage and share ideas on my favourite places to buy it. People are forced to shop mostly online, including my online personal styling services, so I’d love to make it as easy for you as possible.
Why am I so invested in this? Because I love the idea of circular economy and reusing what we’ve already got, rather than making new stuff.
HERE ARE MY 3 FAVOURITE PLACES TO SHOP VINTAGE:
1. Preloved Onloan
You can get some amazing stuff here. Onloan is originally a clothes rental platform and this is them branching out and selling some of the stock.
2. Retold Vitage
The best way to shop with them is to sign up to their newsletter and they send an email out every time they have a drop of a very curated list (between 5-10 items). I love it as you don’t get overwhelmed with lots of things to look at. She also sells amazing jewellery.
3. Manifesto Woman
Manifesto woman is the place I normally send my stuff to sell. She also has a great lifestyle selection and kids.
If you’d like more ideas on how to sustainably get rid of your unwanted clothes and how to decide what to let go of check this out:
I hope this has been helpful! Want advice on how to wear vintage? Why not sample one of my online personal styling services with a free 20 minute consultation- no strings attached!
