Personal stylist Dress Decanted makes a guest editorial with Fashion Finest on the emotional benefits of buying second hand and how it enhances the fashion industry to do much better.

The emotional process of selecting a piece should be deliberate, not accidental. Ph. Noemie Roussel (unsplash). 

One sustainable personal stylist covers the impact of thrift retail that can’t be replicated online.

“Think About Dressing For Your Soul”

Many underestimate the emotional lift when putting some time into your appearance carefully and consciously. Retail cuts that process out whilst thrifting allows you to pause, slow down and awaken the senses. The clothes don’t smell of a warehouse. They hold a story and if it fits your mood, you take home a memory for yourself.

Time and time again, self expression has proven to be the antidote to a dampened spirit. Quenching your soul’s creative thirst can help a passion that’s gone un-nurtured to flourish into action.

“Retail Therapy” Is Therapy. But Not As You Know It"

Scanning through pages of high street or designer clothes waiting for something to grab you by the collar is one way of doing this, however I opt for a more hands on approach that tickles the brain a little more intimately.

Vintage clothes/charity shops and eBay-like merchants give a visceral experience that you can tailor to yourself like a custom suit.

“Engaging true sense of style should be touch, smell and how it sounds when you wear it”. Ph. Tessa Simpson (unsplash).

For example, the sensation of feeling a rugged denim or corduroy when running your hands through a rack of pre-worn trousers and jeans.

The smell of steamed hanging leather jackets is something that can’t be replicated online. However, online doesn’t have to feel cumbersome.

Getting an eBay delivery you almost forgot about and finding out your due diligence of size checking and patience has paid off can be just as rewarding. Carefully curating some of your outfits around second hand clothes allows you to see first hand the themes that defined eras in fashion all over the world, I really like that.

Nothing will give you more ideas than seeing a statement piece of a forgotten time. All these things make my brain marvellously happy. Of course these are only the immediate rewards to changing your creative trajectory.

“Fast fashion” and “sustainability” have been unavoidable terms echoed through every runway and office in the industry. The consumer shouldn’t be obligated or beholden to cure something they had no hand in creating, however the ripple effect of the everyday consumer buying used cannot be understated.

So…if you’re interested in sparking your imagination, and gaining access to a broad array of unique designers, and an endless spectrum of inimitable materials and looks only now being dredged up from the stubborn clutches of time, then here’s how you might do it.

First and most importantly, have all your measurements ready. If you don’t have them, get them. Fit is everything.

If you don’t want to leave the comfort of your own home; eBay, Vinted, Etsy and Gumtree are all sofa shopping game changers but come with their own merits. Personally for the user base and range of options/filters I’m an eBay loyalist but Vinted appears to have no shortage of praise.

If small excursions to quiet shops you didn’t know existed missed your radar, then searching “used Vintage clothes shops near me” in your browser of choice will yield results that may surprise you. My experience is little weekend escapades to see what catches your gaze may quickly mutate into group trips that spark creative competition.

But the beauty of it all is that it’s all your choice.

More about this guest featured stylist: -Dress Decanted

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