The minimalist wardrobe : Support/progress thread

[Perja]

Great advice @Mairaculi . I guess I'm just doing my head in trying to make sure things aren't wasted... but the original waste was purchasing some of this stuff. Rude awakening on some of my fashion choices.

 

[mellecyn]

Dear downsizers, I'm having a bit of a dilemma and would like your support & advice.

I'm trying to cull my wardrobe, esp. shoes and bags, and I'm hitting a wall: there are items that don't feel like donation-box material (say, high heeled sandals or emerging designer bags), but after offering them around to friends AND later listing them on resale sites like Vinted, they still don't go. Should I just toss them (in the donations) and forget about how much I spent on them?

I also do either trash, donate or sell.
When things don’t sell, and I don’t know why! I end up changing platform, and pricing less. And otherwise I do just give…to a charity shop. If you are sure you won’t use them anymore think that the money is already gone.

 

[mellecyn]

It is definitely a trend, specially for younger people. Sustainability is in!

We have more and more second hand stores with various selling concepts opening around in the city and I must say they are always busy! Way more than before, young people mainly.

 

[Etriers]

Dear downsizers, I'm having a bit of a dilemma and would like your support & advice.

I'm trying to cull my wardrobe, esp. shoes and bags, and I'm hitting a wall: there are items that don't feel like donation-box material (say, high heeled sandals or emerging designer bags), but after offering them around to friends AND later listing them on resale sites like Vinted, they still don't go. Should I just toss them (in the donations) and forget about how much I spent on them?

Great question! I had quite a few of these kind of items - great quality, but wouldn't get much when I sell it. Honestly, yes, you have to forget about how much you paid for them.
But I wouldn't just toss them into any random donations either. I usually bring these kind of items to my local second-hand boutique as donations. Of course, it always depends what kind of shops you have in your area, but I really enjoy supporting them. I try to bring in things that fit the season, so they can go directly into sale. And I know they take care of the items and get a decent price -their profit go to charity. So it doesn't feel like I wasted my money at all, what I would've made selling them goes to a good cause.
I have these categories (worst to best quality):
1. Trash
2. Animal shelter / Recycle
2. Donation Box
3. Second Hand boutique
4. Sell

I also do either trash, donate or sell.
When things don’t sell, and I don’t know why! I end up changing platform, and pricing less. And otherwise I do just give…to a charity shop. If you are sure you won’t use them anymore think that the money is already gone.

This is the frustrating thing about buying great quality shoes and clothing that are not accepted for resale. It’s not like I ever buy clothes thinking I’ll sell them, but it does seem to be the case that I often do want to re-home them. Lately it has been downsizing and change of taste. I’ve been thinking about only investing in re-sell-able designers from now on. Other than things like jeans, sneakers, tee shirts and those kinds of things. Your thoughts?

 

[JenJBS]

This is the frustrating thing about buying great quality shoes and clothing that are not accepted for resale. It’s not like I ever buy clothes thinking I’ll sell them, but it does seem to be the case that I often do want to re-home them. Lately it has been downsizing and change of taste. I’ve been thinking about only investing in re-sell-able designers from now on. Other than things like jeans, sneakers, tee shirts and those kinds of things. Your thoughts?

I think it's more important to buy what you love than what you can maybe resell. It's not just the brand that is an issue with reselling, it's also style/season. I recently took some items to a resale shop. They loved all the brands I had, but wouldn't accept a single item because they were not Summer 2021 styles. And it's not even officially summer yet... So unless you want to resell them within weeks, or a couple months at most, it could be an issue.

 

[Perja]

This is the frustrating thing about buying great quality shoes and clothing that are not accepted for resale. It’s not like I ever buy clothes thinking I’ll sell them, but it does seem to be the case that I often do want to re-home them. Lately it has been downsizing and change of taste. I’ve been thinking about only investing in re-sell-able designers from now on. Other than things like jeans, sneakers, tee shirts and those kinds of things. Your thoughts?

Like you, I went with items of good quality and that I liked, without thinking about their resale potential. If I had, I would have probably ended up in a uniform that looked too much like other people to really appeal to me.

That being said, what is your “turnover” rate with clothes? In some cases, the designers who are hot now (outside of the big names) might end up non-entities by the time you let go of your clothes.

I think it's more important to buy what you love than what you can maybe resell. It's not just the brand that is an issue with reselling, it's also style/season. I recently took some items to a resale shop. They loved all the brands I had, but wouldn't accept a single item because they were not Summer 2021 styles. And it's not even officially summer yet... So unless you want to resell them within weeks, or a couple months at most, it could be an issue.

This feels very frustrating – almost like your resale shop caters to an influencer crowd that gets items before release and lets them go before they’re even on racks...

 

[ElenaAlex]

Dear downsizers, I'm having a bit of a dilemma and would like your support & advice.

I'm trying to cull my wardrobe, esp. shoes and bags, and I'm hitting a wall: there are items that don't feel like donation-box material (say, high heeled sandals or emerging designer bags), but after offering them around to friends AND later listing them on resale sites like Vinted, they still don't go. Should I just toss them (in the donations) and forget about how much I spent on them?

I forget how much I've paid as soon as I buy the item. I don't buy things to resell them and get some of my money back. I definitely will not trash anything that can be used - there are so many people who cannot afford to buy decent quality items. So my first and only option will be a Donation box. I recently donated more than half of my clothes to a non-profit organization. About shoes - I have quite wide shoes so whenever I find comfortable shoes, I wear them until they fall apart. About bags - I give them away also. I don't know how donation boxes work there - we don't have them here and non-profit organizations and Red Cross are the only options. I prefer non-profit organizations, because they have their own shops so they can sell my emerging designer bag at a good price - 2 people will benefit from that - the person buying it and the person being helped.

Good luck

 

[Mairaculi]

This is the frustrating thing about buying great quality shoes and clothing that are not accepted for resale. It’s not like I ever buy clothes thinking I’ll sell them, but it does seem to be the case that I often do want to re-home them. Lately it has been downsizing and change of taste. I’ve been thinking about only investing in re-sell-able designers from now on. Other than things like jeans, sneakers, tee shirts and those kinds of things. Your thoughts?

I think I've been approaching it exactly the other way round recently. When I want to buy an item I ask myself: If I want to get rid of it at some point, would I be ok with not getting any of my money back? If the answers no, I don't buy it.
I've had it in the past, where I found a luxury item at a good price second-hand, and maybe was not 100% convinced, but I thought: Well, I will try it out for a bit and if it's not exactly right for me I can get my money back when I resell it. It sounds like a good strategy, but the result was that I was never comfortable wearing the item, it felt like somebody else's stuff and I was just borrowing. Also selling is a hassle most of the time.
I guess it being a resellable designer item makes it easier to justify a purchase that's not 100% right for you, so be aware of that

 

[Perja]

I guess it being a resellable designer item makes it easier to justify a purchase that's not 100% right for you, so be aware of that

Resale is also being touted as a great way to consume guilt-free, which feels like missing the mark of trying to consume less (and better) for most of us.

Thank you to @ElenaAlex , @Etriers and @mellecyn for wise words! In my case, after airing it out to you all, I've decided the stuff that's been hanging about in a hypothetical second-hand-sale box would just go to the donations boxes nearby that go to charity & post-consumer processing. And definitely making space to have more space, not making space for more things.

 

[mellecyn]

Yes if the designer/brand is hot now and if it’s a current style….then maybe you get half the purchasing price on resale.
I tend to go for classic styles so they sell. Actually I had ok success reselling in a consignment store where I rent a shelf. But it was 1/3 to 1/10 of the new price.
By now I know which few brands resell (in Scandinavia) and that’s it. Nothing outside these few known brands ever sells…

 

[Etriers]

I think it's more important to buy what you love than what you can maybe resell. It's not just the brand that is an issue with reselling, it's also style/season. I recently took some items to a resale shop. They loved all the brands I had, but wouldn't accept a single item because they were not Summer 2021 styles. And it's not even officially summer yet... So unless you want to resell them within weeks, or a couple months at most, it could be an issue.

Wow. That’s incredible that they are that choosey to only want pre-season clothes.

 

[Etriers]

I think I've been approaching it exactly the other way round recently. When I want to buy an item I ask myself: If I want to get rid of it at some point, would I be ok with not getting any of my money back? If the answers no, I don't buy it.
I've had it in the past, where I found a luxury item at a good price second-hand, and maybe was not 100% convinced, but I thought: Well, I will try it out for a bit and if it's not exactly right for me I can get my money back when I resell it. It sounds like a good strategy, but the result was that I was never comfortable wearing the item, it felt like somebody else's stuff and I was just borrowing. Also selling is a hassle most of the time.
I guess it being a resellable designer item makes it easier to justify a purchase that's not 100% right for you, so be aware of that

Such wise thoughts!

 

[Etriers]

Resale is also being touted as a great way to consume guilt-free, which feels like missing the mark of trying to consume less (and better) for most of us.

Excellent point.

 

[JenJBS]

Wow. That’s incredible that they are that choosey to only want pre-season clothes.

Yeah. Crazy. But this place is known locally to pay sellers the highest amount, and now we know why...

Those Spring/Summer styles are out, and therefore 'current season'. Their customers want current season, so they want current season. It just seems crazy this early in the season.

 

[Etriers]

Yeah. Crazy. But this place is known locally to pay sellers the highest amount, and now we know why...

Those Spring/Summer styles are out, and therefore 'current season'. Their customers want current season, so they want current season. It just seems crazy this early in the season.

Well at least they pay well!