How Second Hand Shopping Paved the Way For My Lifelong Love of Luxury Fashion

As with most good things in my life, I have my mother to thank for my love of luxury fashion—but not in the way you might assume. Unlike many of my peers, I did not grow up with one foot already in the industry, surrounded by glamorous people, with access to a designer-filled wardrobe, or the lucky recipient of some seriously epic hand-me-downs. My mother is an academic, and while she always dressed more flamboyantly than her colleagues, clothes were more of a means to an end than a passion—and certainly no reason to splash more than necessary of her hard-earned cash.

That said, she did have one style quirk that she inadvertently passed down to me, and that was that she almost always shopped second hand. Where most of my friends would spend their Saturdays traipsing around Topshop and hitting up the high street, much to my dismay I instead accompanied my mother to our local second-hand shop in search of cut-price clothing—and it was here that I got my first taste for luxury fashion.

You see, it wasn’t just any second hand shop: it was where the wealthiest women in our area took the past-season pieces they no longer wanted, and as such, it was filled with designer treasures. It’s where I first got up close and personal with brands like Prada, Fendi, Max Mara and Vivienne Westwood that I'd only ever seen in magazines—and was able to appreciate the value of high quality materials and beautifully constructed clothes. It's also where I unlocked a lifelong love of cashmere and statement shoes, and discovered more niche labels that I might never have come across otherwise, like James Perse for everyday basics, Citizens of Humanity for the best jeans, and Yves Salomon's luxurious outerwear. And the best part? I could actually afford them.

Still to this day I can’t understand how some of these pieces were priced. I remember buying a brand new La Perla mini-dress for less than £20, a vintage D&G suede skirt for £60, a Burberry trench (still with tags) for £100, and a saffiano leather Prada Galleria bag in perfect condition for less than £200—one of my best finds to date. My working theory is that the women who filled said shop with their wares were more interested in clearing out their bulging closets than making any money, and that was absolutely fine by me.

I quickly became quite the pro at sifting through the endless rails and uncovering the best pieces—I can still identify top-end cashmere a mile away—and given their superior quality for Topshop-adjacent prices, my mother was only all too happy to indulge me. Then, when I was old enough to shop and earn money myself, I began seeking out similar shops in other wealthy parts of London, and what started out as mere necessity developed into a full-blown obsession. Needless to say that shopping on the high street hasn’t had quite the same appeal since.

It wasn’t long before I had a wardrobe that rivalled that of a fashion nepo baby, with the added satisfaction of knowing how little I’d paid for it. Even better, many of the pieces I bought back then are still in my regular rotation—not just because they’re incredibly well-made and crafted from quality materials, but because shopping in this way removes trends from the equation entirely. You can’t go to a second-hand shop looking for something too specific: you go in the hopes of finding something fabulous, and when you see a piece that you love, you buy it regardless of season or occasion. These are the pieces you keep, love and wear forever, —and that tend to make more of a mark, too.

Without exception, all of my most prized luxury fashion items were bought second hand. My Max Mara teddy coat, snapped up in the middle of summer for £100 over a decade ago; the silver Prada heels embellished with smoking lips that I found in Fulham for £75; my very first designer bag, a Louis Vuitton pochette that’s still all the rage today; the DVF wrap gown I wore for my University graduation party and at a number of black-tie occasions since; a multicoloured Missoni cover-up that’s won me compliments at the chicest beach clubs… and those are just a few off the top of my head.

My personal love of a bargain and penchant for luxury aside, however, there are obviously countless good reasons to shop pre-loved. First: it's the most sustainable option, reducing waste and the demand for new production, and supports the increasingly important circular economy. Why buy new, with all the associated negative environmental impact, when there are so many great clothes out there looking for a new home? And when done right, often for the same price as a one-season hit from the high-street that you’ll forget about after a few wears to boot.

Then, there's the fashion flex that comes with owning something unique and that few others will own—and that expresses your personal style better than the latest buzzy Zara dress flooding everyone's Instagram feeds ever could. Not forgetting, of course, the fact that shopping second hand can actually be incredibly fun, akin to a grown-up treasure hunt.

Luxury lovers like me will also know all too well that buying new is, for most, no longer an option. Gone are the days when you could save up for a few months to buy the designer bag of your dreams. Prices are rising at an alarming rate, rendering luxury more inaccessible than ever—and second-hand has become the only viable point of entry.

Sadly, the formative second hand shop of my youth is now long gone, but there are countless others scattered across the UK just waiting to be discovered, while the likes of eBay, Vinted, Depop and Vestiaire Collective have made the pursuit of pre-loved luxury easier than ever. To help you on your way, I've listed my favourite second hand shops in London below, as well as some of the designer bargains I'll be snapping up online if you don't first...

My Second-Hand Shopping Little Black Book

Deuxième at 299 New Kings Rd, London SW6 4RE, deuxieme.co.uk

Shona Mac at 8 Bellevue Rd, London SW17 7EG, shonamac.com

Sign Of The Times at 5 Elystan St, London SW3 3NT, signofthetimeslondon.com

Mary's Living & Giving Shop for Save the Children at 109 Regent's Park Rd, London NW1 8UR

Sellier Knightsbridge at 6 Cheval Pl, London SW7 1ES, sellierknightsbridge.com

Boutique by Shelter at 57 South End Road, London NW3 2QB

Consigned Sealed Delivered (CSD) at 70-72 Marylebone Ln, London W1U 2PQ, csd.shop

Break.Archive at 118 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NW, breakarchive.com

The Best Second Hand Luxury Fashion to Shop Now