Meet Emma!
Meet Emma, a fellow lover of secondhand with excellent taste and a great cat!
Welcome! I’m super excited to get the ball rolling with my little interview series, so welcome to the first of hopefully many.
There are so many awesome fans of secondhand that I follow and they are all so interesting in their own way; all different in how they interpret secondhand clothing or what they gravitate towards, as well as their views on it. So I hope this series will shine a light on the various ways vintage or secondhand can be enjoyed, what people love to look for as well as their own tricks, tips and favourite places to hunt for the good stuff!
So! Meet Emma.
-Introduce yourself:
I’m Emma, I live in Glasgow with my boyfriend, Jamie and our cat, Lady. I've always been into secondhand stuff, as a teenager I'd skive off school to spend my days rummaging through Edinburgh's vintage and charity shops. I'd say about 90% of my wardrobe these days is secondhand and I could genuinely spend hours talking about my things so it's a real pleasure to be asked about them.
-What do you love about secondhand shopping?
I think it's a real mix of things. The dopamine hit you get from finding something good or that thing you've been looking for forever. I'm sentimental and I could probably tell you exactly where and who I was with when I bought/was given everything and anything secondhand I own, it's more than just stuff, it's a memory. I don't think you quite get the same feeling when you buy straight from the high street or online. I've always had quite an eclectic sense of style, I grew up wearing my cousins hand me downs and my mum would often buy me second hand items, so for me it feels familiar. It's always fun to experiment with different styles and buying secondhand is an economical and sustainable way to do so. I like t-shirts that have softened with age, jeans that are worn, things with character so for me it makes sense to buy pieces where someone else has done the hard work and I get to enjoy it.
-A few of your favourite ever vintage/secondhand shops?
Living in Glasgow I have to mention Mr Ben's, it's such a gem, I've bought lots from them over the years and could spend a whole day there trying everything on. I think even though it's small, it's got a really good selection and the staff are so friendly and knowledgeable. I've got a soft spot for novelty t-shirts and have bought a few from Chris John Hend. Chris has a really cool sense of style and everything he sells feels like him, I really like that. He's got a studio you can visit in Manchester and you can follow him on Instagram. I went to Paris last year and spent a day wandering around Saint Ouen flea market, which is such a cool place!!! It's got such a mix of stalls and sellers. I really regret not buying this wee charm I found, I think of him often. Last but not least there’s Cenci in West Norwood which I was introduced to by Jamie, it’s amazing! I got a vintage tartan cap from there and whenever I wear it I feel like Jackie Stewart.
-Any tips or tricks for finding the good stuff?
I think my number one tip is to go and look in real life, nothing beats that feeling, especially visiting a new place, like a wee town somewhere with b2b banging charity shops. Recently I visited Cirencester and the charity shops there are elite. Vinted is great if you have something in mind and want to scratch an itch but out there in the real world is where the magic happens. You end up talking to people as well and for me that's such a big part of buying secondhand, it comes with a story, which sounds cheesy but it's true.
I’ve started making lists of things I would like, I find it helps me curb my overconsumption. I also now have a rule where if I buy something new it means I have to sell something, otherwise my wardrobe overwhelms me and it helps me deal with being less sentimental about everything.
I walk around a lot and I've found all sorts of good stuff doing that. When I first moved to London I moved into an unfurnished room and didn't have a wardrobe, so the first day living there I went for a walk and discovered a wardrobe sitting in the street just down the road from our house. I called my housemate and we managed to squeeze it in the back of their car and it was the perfect size and shape for my little room. I actually ended up giving it away to a friend who was in the same predicament when I left and it felt like a full circle moment.
-Your favourite ever vintage find(s)?
Oh god!!! As I previously mentioned I'm very sentimental but I'll try and keep it short and sweet and pick 5 of my top things.
My mum bought me a ring for my 30th which I found in a second hand jewellers in Leeds, it's rose gold and has three turquoise stones embedded in wee stars. I liked the idea of 3 stones symbolising I'd completed 3 decades and I always think of her when I wear it.
A rug I bought off facebook marketplace the day we left London. I'd been really stressed about there not being enough room in the van and had been giving things away to friends for weeks and then the day before we were moving I randomly searched marketplace for a rug and the perfect one came up for £95 and it was literally 2 minutes down the road. We managed to just squeeze everything into the van. The rug fits perfectly in our hallway, our cat loves it and it reminds me of our time in London.
The Barras is another must visit place if you come to Glasgow, it’s filled with secondhand sellers, independent shops and places to eat. It’s a real taste of Glasgow. I went there recently as a friend was visiting and came away with a trinket shelf in the shape of a house. I cleaned it up and now it houses a mix of mine and Jamie’s keepsakes.
I once intercepted a bag of clothes that my mum was gonna donate to charity and in it was a vest my gran knitted 40 years ago. My mum isn’t much of a hoarder (much to my dismay), it’s nice to know that I’ll always have something handmade of hers.
I feel like the last one is kind of cheating because it's something I made out of something secondhand I bought. It's a hat made out of scrap embroidery yarn from a charity shop in Lewes. I tied it all together and crocheted it. I had grand plans of making more but then I got a trapped nerve from crocheting and that dream died.
