Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
Second hand fashion is clothing that has been previously owned or used by others. Rather than being thrown away, clothes, shoes and accessories in usable condition can be donated or resold, and garments in horrible shape can sometimes be repurposed. Shoppers find second hand clothing at thrift shops, consignment stores and used clothing retailers, and online through resale platforms including Depop, eBay, Etsy, Poshmark and thredUP.
Second hand fashion is clothing that has been previously owned and or used by others.
Wearing second hand clothing is beneficial to the environment. Rather than waste clothing by putting it in the trash, some clothes, shoes, and accessories can be donated or resold. If the garment is in horrible shape, possibly it can be repurposed in some other way.
Consumers can locate second hand clothes online or at local retail location:
Learn about clothing donations for second hand fashion, shoes, & accessories.
Below are a few popular online resources for locating second hand clothing:
Depop (purchased by Etsy) Depop is a peer-to-peer social shopping app specialized in the buying & selling of second hand clothes.
eBay is an American multinational e-commerce corporation based in California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. Much of the product is second hand clothing, footwear, and accessories.
Etsy is an American e-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items. These items fall under a wide range of categories, including jewelry, bags, clothing, and more.
Poshmark is more than just a shopping destination, it's a vibrant community powered by millions of sellers who not only sell their personal style, but also curate looks for their shoppers, creating one of the most connected shopping experiences in the world. Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace where people in the United States can buy and sell new or used clothing, shoes, and accessories.
thredUP is a fashion resale website for consumers to buy and sell secondhand clothing online.
Do you know the difference between vintage, antique & retro.
Learn more about vintage clothing in the fashion influence section.
You may also want to research vintage footwear if you enjoy old things.
By the way, second hand clothing can be perfectly fashionable or it could potentially be clothes that is out of fashion.
Second hand fashion is a circulation system, not a single type of store. At one end, owners pass clothing onward by donating it or selling it; in the middle, thrift shops, consignment stores and used clothing retailers sort, price and present it; at the other end, a new owner wears it. Consignment adds a particular arrangement to that system: the store sells the item on the owner's behalf. Wholesale channels move used and vintage clothing in bulk between businesses, and vintage clothing stores specialize in the older end of the stream.
Online platforms changed the scale of each step. Depop built a peer-to-peer social shopping app for second hand clothes and was purchased by Etsy, the e-commerce company known for handmade and vintage items. eBay's consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer marketplace carries a large volume of second hand clothing, footwear and accessories. Poshmark operates as a social commerce marketplace where sellers also curate looks for shoppers, and thredUP runs a fashion resale website for buying and selling secondhand clothing online. Together they made a seller's closet reachable by buyers anywhere.
The environmental case is the system's foundation: wearing second hand clothing keeps usable garments in service instead of in the trash, and even a garment in horrible shape can sometimes be repurposed rather than discarded. Clothing donations feed the same stream for shoes and accessories as well as apparel. The fashion case is separate but real — second hand is where vintage pieces, discontinued styles and one-off finds live, which is why the stream serves both the budget shopper and the collector.
Second hand fashion is clothing, footwear and accessories that have been previously owned and used by others, then donated, resold or repurposed instead of discarded. It can be perfectly fashionable — being previously owned says nothing by itself about whether an item is in or out of fashion.
At local thrift shops, consignment stores and used clothing retailers, through wholesale vintage and used clothing channels, and online through platforms such as Depop, eBay, Etsy, Poshmark and thredUP.
Second hand describes ownership history — the item was owned before. Vintage describes age and era. Some second hand clothing is vintage, much of it is recent, and the linked guide explains the difference between vintage, antique and retro.