My five favourite pre-loved clothing items

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

I can often be heard telling people that most of my favourite items of clothing are pre-loved, either from charity shops, clothes swaps or from ebay.

Over the years I've found some lovely pieces, here are my top five.


This is one of my very first charity shop finds, bought it back in July 2012. I had to dye it last summer to bring the colour back to life, but this yellow maxi is set to be around for a while yet. Not bad for £2.99 eh? The jacket and t-shirt I'm wearing in this outfit are also pre-loved, jacket from ebay, t-shirt from a clothes swap.


This Monsoon skirt is gorgeous. I picked it up in 2015 for £4.49. I've only worn this a few times but I can't see it leaving my wardrobe anytime soon. It's so lovely to wear, it swishes and sways and makes me feel incredibly feminine. The beaded evening bag is a charity shop purchase, and the necklace too.


I won this ASOS rose print dress in an ebay auction in July 2016, paying £18.00. I wore it for a wedding and hope to find many more reasons to wear it.


I used to steer clear of denim jackets, although I have no idea why. But then I decided that one would actually make a pretty good addition to my wardrobe, the first one I bought can be seen in the first image. But having not had one for years, I decided I needed two and my second one needed to have full length sleeves. I found exactly what I was looking for in January 2017 on ebay and paid the Buy It Now price of £6.99. I reached for it many times over the course of the year. It's been put away for winter but I'm looking forward to getting it out again in the spring.


I picked up these Oasis jeans in August 2017 on a whim, paying just £2.00. They looked brand new and although I don't normally go for wide leg jeans these have been worn so much! They're in my current capsule wardrobe and have been worn 12 times since the beginning of January (yes, I'm keeping a tally). The green jumper is also a charity shop purchase.

All of this is my round about way of saying - look what fantastic things await you in your local charity shops!! It's a fantastic thrifty and eco-friendly way to fill your wardrobe with great clothes.

Do you shop secondhand? What's your favourite pre-loved purchase?

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14 comments

  1. As a second hand shopper, I can only applaud your post. You've really picked the most wonderful things! I love how you gave the yellow maxi yet another lease of life. I often come across jeans jackets in my charity shop trawls, so why should one buy them from the high street? And you should definitely wear the Monsoon skirt more. It's very elegant, especially the way you wore it in the photo! That's such a stunning outfit, Hazel! xxx

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    1. Thank you. I'm always so surprised at the things I find in charity shops, I tend to shop new if I'm looking for something specific and I want it sooner rather than later, but if you wait long enough the items you want will always turn up eventually.
      xx

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  2. I always like a look in my local charity shops (though very rarely go into town). I have a brown cardigan I love that I bought quite a few years ago, but I hardly ever find items small enough for me in the charity shops sadly so I usually come out empty handed when I do get into town for a browse.

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    1. That's a shame, there re so many nice items to be had. But well done for going in in the first place.

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  3. Those jeans look exactly like my favourite pair of jeans ever. I will always mourn when they stopped fitting me. They were from Miss Selfridge and I was living in London at Uni and came home to Ilford for a concert. Alas, I got completely soaked on the way there and was so wet and miserable and all my trousers were in London. I went into Miss Selfridge and grabbed them off the sale rack as the cheapest Trouser item and they were wonderful- my perfect jeans! I have not found anything equivalent and rarely wear jeans now!
    You can't surely make me choose ONE favourite Second hand item!??!! I loved my Clara Topshop checked mac from the Charity shop and I adore the & Other Stories navy beaded dress I picked up from Barnados for £1.99 in 2016- it is my favourite holiday dress as it is so light and has low arm holes so I don't sweat too much in it!

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    1. I hate saying goodbye to a favourite item, you can never replace it. I had a lovely pair of beige suede Chelsea boots and try as I might (and I've never stopped looking) I simply can not find anything the same. It's odd that it's the things you don't expect that become real favourites. I didn't expect to like these jeans as much as I do, I think I bought them because they looked brand new, were in my size and were only £2.00. I've worn them more than anything else in my current capsule.
      OK, asking for one favourite was a bit mean, I couldn't pick just one!

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  4. P.S. Could also say my wedding dress was my favourite Second hand item! I paid £200 for a £2900 dress and shrug which I had thought I would have no hope of every finding or least at an affordable price. Didn't have to adjust them at all!

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    1. And what a beautiful dress it was! I bought a few second hand wedding dresses, all under £40.00 and I would've happily worn one if I hadn't found 'the one', it was expensive, ridiculously so, but it was perfect.

      Now that I think about it I've found so many great second hand items, this post could've been much, much longer!

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  5. Many of my favuorite clothes are preloved. I have a lovely denim jacket from a clothes shop, some dresses from vintage shops and fairs and quite a few dresses and cardigans from oxfam. I also have a vintage wool biker style jacket which I wear loads.I love the ombre of the skirt that you dyed. You have inspired me to do my own post about my favourite preloved items!

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  6. What a fab round-up, Hazel. For someone fairly new to the joys of second-hand shopping you've got a brilliant eye and, most importantly, an open mind, which is one of the best things about charity shopping, you can experiment with new styles without breaking the bank!
    I'm not sure what my favourite secondhand find would be, I've got thousands of them! xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix. I have purchased some things that, if they'd been full price I'd never have even considered them. I don't think I'll ever stop buying pre-loved now.
      I imagine it would be a pretty tall order for you to pick your top 100 favourites, let alone just one!

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  7. I love second hand shopping and always have a scoot through my local charity shops on pay day. I rarely come away empty-handed. My favourite items have to be the black Ted Baker mini dress for a tenner and an unbranded, blue military jacket which is very Sergeant Pepper's that I bought for under a fiver. I'm a fairly new convert to thrifting but I'm now obsessed x

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    1. They sounds good!
      I've only been buying pre-loved for about 5 years, but once you discover the bargains to be had, there's no going back :)
      x

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All products that are featured on Hazel’s World of Joy have been purchased by me unless otherwise stated. Any PR samples, items that have been sent to me for review or similar will be declared as such at the end of the post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.