Thrifting Saves Me Thousands of Dollars on Designer Gear a Year — These Are My Tips

How often do you go shopping and save thousands of dollars? If you’re thrifting, pretty frequently. And not only can thrifting save you some serious cash, it can also make your closet more sustainable.

While platforms like Depop make buying second-hand easy, and online boutiques like Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal curate the high-end goods for you, you will never find a better price or a bigger rush, than the gems you thrift yourself (plus shopping online adds shipping to your carbon footprint!).

Case in point: last Saturday, I went to the markets for the first time in months. This was my haul:

Moncler Jacket, (mint condition): Scottish label Moncler is worn by the cast of Succession — they are a status symbol on the streets of New York during the city’s hard winters. Wearing a Moncler puffer is probably the warmest you will ever be, and their quality sees them retail in the US for between $1300-$8000AU. On websites like Vestaire and The Real Real, they sell second hand for around $1300. Mine set me back $170.

Gucci, Cotton Lamé GG Top: This exact top is still available on the Gucci website for $1500. After some haggling, I nabbed my perfect condition Gucci for $90.

Oroton Handbag: Sturdy and reliable a large Oroton leather bag can set you back $300+. I picked up this bad boy, which fits my laptop, water bottle, planner and cosmetics case for $50.

Total: For a haul that would set me back thousands, my total was $310, plus the adrenaline rush that lasted all day. 

So, how to thrift?

Before I get into it, I have to mention that there is one caveat here — I am very good at thrifting. It’s in my blood. Some of my earliest memories are trawling through markets or the local Vinnies with my mum, her sister and my nan. If you come to a family function and compliment someone’s couch, cutlery or handbag, you’ll have the Vinnies it was discovered in and the low price they got it for shouted at you. We’re not athletes in my family, but thrifting is as close as we get to a competitive sport. So without further ado, here are three generations of thrifting tips condensed into a tight five. I call them the golden rules of thrifting.

Distinguish Vintage Vs Second Hand

There is a difference between “vintage” and second-hand and the difference will save you money. For the purposes of this article, we are looking at items that have been owned by someone else, not true “vintage.” Generally, vintage boutiques have scoured St Vincent de Paul, the web and the markets I’m about to mention for mint-condition “true vintage” pieces or designer goods. Clothing is considered “vintage” if it was made more than forty years ago, anything pre-1920s is “antique.” Finding great condition vintage pieces when some are 70 or 80 years old is hard work – with serious vintage boutiques sourcing items from all over the globe. Calculate shipping, time invested in tracking rare pieces down, and rent on high traffic locations, you can add hundreds of dollars to your purchase. These shops are still great and definitely offer a more curated experience. But if you want a genuine bargain, look elsewhere.

Hit Op Shops and Markets

The true thrifting battleground. You will dig through a lot of stuff you don’t want, but there’s nothing like the high of finding a perfectly fitted Prada trenchcoat for $70 on Glebe Point Road amongst a bundle of falling-to-pieces Dotti items.

Avoid the City

Business owners with Depop stores and vintage boutiques to stock hit markets and charity shops in the city centre on a weekly basis. You’re competing with hardened professionals in these environments, so often, the true gems move fast. Look further afield. If you’re travelling in a country town, seize the opportunity to hit their markets, local charity shops and vintage stores — this is where I’ve found some of my favourite pieces like the bottle-green silk Easton Pearson skirt and top I nabbed in the Blue Mountains for $110, or my Dolce & Gabbana pant-suit for $70.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Thrifting can be overwhelming. Endless, disorganised racks of clothes, many of which aren’t in your size, can have you running for your nearest Witchery. I’ve developed a system that sees me in and out in under 45 minutes. Here is my formula, in order:

• Start with colour and print. We generally know what colours work well on us so starting there means you can scan the racks super-fast rather than pulling out every item.
• Move to the fabric. There are a lot of poorly made low, quality or damaged items in less curated stores. Before fishing out the size, have a quick feel of the fabric.
• Check the tag — while sizing varies, especially on older, pre-vanity sizing items, if you wear an 8-10 and a garment label says 16-18 or vice versa, you can probably guess it’s not worth a try on.
• Try your stuff on and get out!

Find a Tailor

Some items will never fit you or suit you (on my last haul I had to leave a stunning Celine mini skirt behind as it made me look like a rectangle). However, some pieces require a tiny adjustment. Find yourself a good tailor who understands your style. Reza at Precision Fine Tailoring, Balmain, has been tailoring for my family since I was 15. He brought some incredible pieces to life. He also created custom bridesmaids’ dresses for my 85-year-old grandmother’s wedding and has salvaged some clothes that would otherwise have ended up in the trash!