Like most others with similar interests, second-hand clothing was my ticket into the fascinating world of fashion and clothes. I could pinpoint the places, the feel, even the scent – the dusty moth-ball smell of the op-shops run by elderly volunteers, the different textures I would feel as I sorted through the racks, the seemingly endless hours I spent trawling through warehouses looking for the hidden gem that would catch my eye.
For me, these were spaces where I could explore and test my own sense of style and more importantly gain a love for the materiality of clothing, the feel of certain textiles, patterns, and styles. For many fashion lovers these second-hand stores are how they build knowledge bases surrounding quality, fabrics, and design. Years of experience have turned me into a kind of second-hand expert. I had cultivated knowledge on old and new brands, what different fabric, designs and brands were worth and most importantly when I was getting a bargain (or when I was being ripped off). And even on a professional note, it was through my love affair with second-hand stores that I was able to work professionally within higher-tier fashion resale for nearly two years.
So, when the resale app Depop started gaining traction in the mid-2010s, it inevitably caught my attention. With a similar structure and interface to social media apps, Depop is based around individual sellers and their profiles. Sellers can upload items for purchase in a format similar to Instagram – replete with a comment section, like button and save-for-later option. Rather than having to sift through thousands of coat hangers to find something that fits their style, users can follow sellers whose aesthetics and fashion sense they aspire to. With the surge of interest in vintage styles such as Y2K, 90s minimalism or ‘old money quiet luxury’, Depop and similar platforms such as Vinted have become a mainstay in the modern fashion community. Recent ad campaigns run by the company featured slogans like ‘I Don’t Shop, I Depop’ and ‘I Got It On Depop’.
When I started using Depop to purchase clothes around 2017, the app felt like a necessary and exciting new addition to the second-hand market. I could shop wherever I wanted, and without having to commit to the sometimes day-long experience of meticulously searching through my second-hand outlet of choice. I found and followed sellers who curated their accounts with clothing and accessories that interested me. I bought a few good pieces (one of which I’m wearing now!), and only paid a little more than I would expect to for good quality and condition. Overall, majority of the sellers and users on Depop were like me – well-intentioned people with both interest in vintage clothing, and a knowledge of quality, fabrics, and their value in the resale market.
As the second-hand trend gathered speed and vintage styles gained widespread popularity use of platforms like Depop skyrocketed. And like most things in today’s consumerist economy, the platform became prone to exploitation, primarily targeted at new and unknowing second-hand shoppers. Lower quality items and viral vintage styles that would typically be sold for very little were being extortionately overpriced. Criticism arose about the role of a platform like Depop in making second-hand shopping, something often the necessity for lower-income people, an expensive hobby. Social commentators such as popular video essayist Jordan Theresa cited the ‘gentrification’ of the second-hand market.
On a positive note, the popularity of Depop has undoubtedly broadened the second-hand community. Not to mention encouraged people to shop in the most sustainable way, without buying new items of clothing.
But as the app become increasingly prone to shoddy deals and mass-run accounts, I found myself turning back to what I knew best – the in-store experience. Touching the clothes, seeing the quality and make of an item in-person is both crucial for a successful vintage shopper, and something that brings me joy. All those years ago it was the op-shop that helped me gain a sense of individual style, as I sifted through the racks. I worry that newer generations will miss out on such an experience as they grow to see the vintage market through the lens of a curated Depop account. Most importantly, they will miss out on that wonderful sensory experience. Ultimately the digitization of the second-hand clothing market has only gone to demonstrate the power of technology and the Internet to modernise even the most analogue of markets.
References
Black, Cierra. “What Is Y2K Fashion, Anyway? Depends on Who You Ask.” Highsnobiety (blog). Highsnobiety, January 20, 2023. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/y2k-fashion-definition-meaning-2023/.
Bowler, Hannah. “‘I Got It on Depop’ Campaign Taps into Secondhand Fashion Hype.” The Drum, May 11, 2023. https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/05/11/i-got-it-depop-campaign-taps-secondhand-fashion-hype.
Theresa, Jordan. “The Working Class Aesthetic & Gentrification.” www.youtube.com, July 6, 2020. https://youtu.be/3JXhrdrExT4?si=go0tJ8BIbatOI_u7.
Ward, Fiona, and Georgia Todd. “What Is Quiet Luxury? The Stealth Wealth Trend That Has Taken the Fashion World by Storm.” Glamour UK, November 3, 2023. https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/quiet-luxury-trend.
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