Since the world was launched into a global lockdown that shut all high street shops, there has been a huge rise in the desire for vintage and second hand clothes. 
 

The current generation have the fear of Climate Change and environmentalism breathing down their necks. It is a huge crisis and can be a very daunting fear, especially for young people. However, a great solution for some environmental issues is the decrease in fast fashion and increase in second hand and vintage clothes. During COVID times, many people were clearing out their homes and tackling problems they had let build up. We all had an extreme amount of spare time, so many people took to selling their old clothes. This increased the use of apps like Depop, EBay and Vinted, all places where you could sell and buy second hand clothes for reasonable prices. People began to steer away from fast fashion sights that were known for poor quality clothes or possibly poor quality factories. 

 

This rise in vintage clothes shopping came with the new trends like Y2K fashion and the relaunch of many 90s and 2000s brands. Teens and young people began to explore new and old fashion trends and recover lost clothes their parents had possibly stored away somewhere. This all came with the rise of popular app, TikTok which also gained a lot of traction during lockdown. TikTok became the place where trends were reborn and communities could be made. Many small and niche groups of people could now share ideas and in this case, new fashion projects. 

 

It is impossible to go into a TikTok comment section without seeing it full of questions like, “Where is this from??” And “Where can I get this??”. TikTok became a place to share new and smaller brands, something that also was born out of lockdown. The rise of small businesses came with the increase of spare time and boredom for many people. Ordinary people around the world could start up these small businesses with the help of TikTok and Depop where you could attract a new and younger audience. 

 

Lockdown birthed the online surge of second hand clothes but once restrictions were eased, what was next? 

 

Markets, charity shops and car boot sales, the best places to get reasonable and rare vintage finds. For many people their Saturday morning market or Sunday morning car boot sale were a normal weekly ritual, a place to get rid of old CD’s or books that were piled up in the garage. But for this new generation that wanted to find rare clothing items or cheap vinyls, another thing that had a surge in popularity, these were the perfect places. One of the country’s most famous marketplace (known from the 90’s film Notting Hill)  Portabello Road Market has been extreme popular. It’s array of vintage clothes from brands like Ed Hardy, True Religion and Von Dutch has made it a hot spot for teens and young people. 

 

Vintage clothes hunting has become a fun hobby for teens and allowed many people the opportunity to make a bit of extra cash by selling their old clothes on Depop, Vinted and EBay. Being able to dig through clothes bins or visit local charity shops has made this hobby a fun and exciting, as you never know what steals you could find on a trip to the local Saturday market. 

 

The rise in vintage and second hand clothing is a really fun and positive one for our generation. I hope it continues and is able to be passed on for years, proving that fashion is cyclical and we will always come back to old and loved trends from years before.