“When she found it, there was a lock of red hair inside”
I found this blouse in a thrift store back home in Belfast. The feather cuffs are slightly wild. It makes me think of Leonard Cohen’s song, Suzanne: ‘she is wearing rags and feathers from Salvation Army counters.’
The gold locket means a lot to me. It was given to me by my grandparents at a family dinner for my 21st birthday. I vividly remember it came in a red velvet box with a gold trim. You can see engraved gold floral details. When you open it, there’s also space for a photo inside.
I believe it dates from the Victorian era and has been in the family for generations. It originally belonged to my great, great grandfather. My grandmother told me that when she
first found the locket, it had a lock of red hair inside. Which is intriguing because nobody in my family has red hair.
“$low fa$hion make$ a quick buck”
The Spice Girls, Bewitched, Destiny’s Child: those girl groups rocked a lot of denim back in the day. It’s nearly 30 years since The Spice Girls’ first single ‘Wannabe’ became a global smash. But I have so many denim dresses that my friends often say I look like someone who has time travelled from the 90s. I got this denim dress from Vinted. (Other vintage internet emporia are available.)
Online trading is a simple way for people to sell, buy or even swap clothes and other fashion items. But slow fashion can also make a quick buck. Vinted was valued at $1 billion before being sold to a Dutch company in 2020. Poshmark was sold for $1.2 billion to a South Korean internet conglomerate. Etsy bought Depop for $1.6 billion.
It may come as a surprise to all of us using the platforms to make small sales and purchases, but second-hand style is a huge business.
