The Joy of Letting Go: How Selling My Clothes Made Me Love My Wardrobe More
Lucy Scholes, a regular seller at Onanon found selling her clothes daunting at first, and parting with beloved pieces was bittersweet. But seeing someone else treasure a jacket she once wore was more rewarding than she expected. In this blog she shares why selling your clothes can be surprisingly satisfying, along with practical tips to help you start.
How would you describe your style in three words?
Vintage, varied, and (hopefully) chic!
What’s your favourite or go-to clothing brand?
It’s constantly changing! Perhaps the thing I enjoy the most about buying second hand clothes is that it means I’m always discovering new brands/rediscovering old ones. But as a rule I shop with an eye for the individual piece rather than what it says on the label.
Why do you choose to sell your clothes instead of donating or discarding them?
Discarding would feel wrong – unless something is in actual rags – and while I do donate some items, selling helps me feel a little less guilty about buying more clothes (I’m not quite at the ‘one in, one out’ stage, but it’s a step in the right direction…), not to mention the fact that it literally helps fund my habit! But there’s also something really satisfying about knowing your old, and once beloved pieces have gone to the perfect new home.
What’s one piece you’ve sold that was hard to part with? Why did you let it go?
A gorgeous golden-brown silk dress that I bought years ago from the designer Susy Harper. The fabric is divine, the cut is beautiful, and all the little details are perfect, down to its billowing sleeves and little buttoned loops for the belt. But the length of the skirt is just a little too short for me. Some would say it doesn’t matter – which is what I tried to tell myself when I bought it – but I fixate on this every time I put it on, and so I never actually wear it, which is such a waste because it deserves to be seen. I finally admitted defeat, and handed it over to Amy.
How does it feel to know someone else is loving a piece you once wore?
At one of Amy’s first pop-ups, I was queuing behind a woman who was buying a jacket that I’d given Amy to sell. And I had gone back and forth about whether to sell it, because I had loved it once and had lots of great memories of wearing it. But after much deliberation I realised that it was no longer a go-to piece, so I decided it was time to let it go. And hearing the woman telling Amy how much she loved it, and how excited she was to find it was really lovely; even better than I’d imagined it would be! In that moment, I knew without a doubt that I’d made the right decision.
What would you tell someone who’s curious about selling their clothes, but isn’t sure where to start?
Do that thing of looking through your wardrobe and if there’s anything there that you haven’t worn in the last year (bar one-off party pieces), or anything that when you put it on it actively doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, then sell it. Once you start, it’s incredibly freeing!
See more of Lucy in her world of literary editing, cultural musings, and understated aesthetic moments over at @scholeslucy
If you’re keen to find out more about how to sell your clothes via Onanan click below or get in touch with more questions here.