Meet Susan!
Meet Susan, another fellow lover of secondhand with exceptional taste and a considered, timeless style.
Welcome to another instalment of the interview series! I’d love to do more of these as there are so many interesting and individual people shopping secondhand. I’ve been lucky enough to know this impeccably dressed, lovely lady, for a fair few years, through mostly her popping into the vintage shop I used to work in when she lived in Brighton.
Good quality, well-made work-wear, beautifully cut clothing, and with a bit of Peanuts/Snoopy sprinkled on top, is what I think of when I think of her well-honed timeless style.
So! Meet Susan.
Introduce yourself, please.
Hello, I’m Susan from Glasgow!
- What do you love about secondhand shopping?
So many things! But the main thing is, I have an aversion to anything that feels too new. I want clothes/objects to be scuffed up or softened and feel lived in. It just feels a bit more special (even if the item is fairly unremarkable or basic)
I remember secondhand shopping at jumble sales with my Mum when I was wee too. Now I think about it, I wonder if being the youngest of four and wearing hand-me-downs has influenced my preferred for slightly worn-in things. Didn’t always love it at the time, but I always ended up with my big brother Paul’s stuff, who is three years older than me. So I’ve been wearing boys/men’s clothes mixed in with more feminine pieces forever!
And not just clothes, I’m surrounded by secondhand furniture, books and trinkets
I’m sure your audience here is very well versed in overconsumption and the amount of waste on the planet. Buying secondhand is my attempt to play a small part in reducing my own consumption and carbon footprint. If more people would buy items that already exist and extend their life cycle, it would have such a big impact.
- A few of the best vintage/secondhand shops?
I get really easily overwhelmed when shopping IRL, so most of my secondhand shopping is done online. I do not enjoy a rummage and I can’t make impulse decisions! But, I do virtually rummage on ebay at least once a day.
That being said, there are a few spots I like to visit on occasion.
Secondhand Wonderland Market, Glasgow
Bam, Glasgow
Raggedy Threads, Brooklyn
Front General Store, Brooklyn
- Any tips or tricks?
Know your measurements, either of your body or your favourite pieces that fit you exactly how you like. Keep a note of them on your phone, update them regularly if you fluctuate. I will not buy a piece of outerwear, secondhand or otherwise, online without comparing the fit to my old French work jacket. Even if it doesn’t match entirely, at least I have an idea of how it might fit me.
If you’re shopping in person and can’t try on, take a measuring tape (for comparing to the above)
Use saved searches on the reseller apps. It doesn’t even have to be well known brands. There are so many random brand sweatshirts I have that I love. I just keep the brand name in a saved search on ebay and more often than not, one will pop up eventually.
- Your favourite ever vintage find(s)?
I cannot pick one…
My first secondhand purchase for a very specific look I had in mind was a bottle green 70s Adidas track-top. I got it in Mr Ben when it was located in the beloved Virginia Galleries — a special building in Glasgow, which was home to vintage and goth shops and piercing studios that smelt of damp and incense (lightyears away from its original dark history as the city's Tobacco and Sugar Exchange). I felt very cool. Bless my mum for agreeing to buy it! I wish I still had it.
I feel like I’ve talked about my Mayo Spruce Peanuts sweatshirt at length on the internet, to anyone and everyone who asks! I’ve had it for over 10 years. I was looking for one for a while, and was outbid on ebay in the last second. Then, a day or two later, the seller got in touch with a second chance offer because the original buyer changed their mind. I think I got it for like 60-80 quid! (I checked sold listings on ebay and the last one went for £700!)
My first LL Bean Boat & Tote, which I bought in 2011 from 10ft Single by Stella Dallas in Brooklyn. It’s not a special or rare bag, just slightly battered with the embroidered monogram unpicked. It was the start of an obsession. I still use it all the time; it has a growing collection of Peanuts patches.
And to round things off, my most recent vintage purchase was a '90s tartan J Crew Shirt that I’ve been hoping to find for a while (thanks, saved ebay search!) It’s been too warm to wear it, but you’ll see it in regular rotation soon!
Love Susan!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
Love this series.