Buying Preloved Clothes for Kids

If you are keen to try preloved shopping and aren’t sure how to navigate it, then this guest blog on Buying Preloved Clothes for Kids: Tips, tricks and my best bargains by Jamie from SavvyJamie will be invaluable.

Shopping “second hand” has become increasingly popular, even being dubbed the more appealing term “preloved”. If you’re still on the fence, let me tell you about some of the absolute bargains I have picked up for my children, along with some tips to pick up some for yourself!

I am a mum of two children aged 2 and 6. They grow so quickly that I soon began to begrudge how frequently they needed new clothing and the cost of this. I also worried that despite donating/ handing down much of their clothing I was becoming increasingly aware of “fast fashion” and not wanting myself or my family to be further adding to this issue. After receiving some amazing hand-me-downs when my daughter was a baby, I began hunting myself for preloved gems. I searched charity shops, second-hand sales, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, and more recently Vinted.

Now – so much of my children’s clothing is preloved (mine is too actually!). I am not ashamed to say that in my daughter’s 6 years of life, I believe I have only ever bought her one “new” party outfit. Party outfits are worn so infrequently that I quickly realised these were the perfect items to pick up at a fraction of the price preloved – they’re often the types of things that are in excellent condition and have minimal wear from their previous owner! Coats are another item I don’t buy new – coats are SO expensive and every coat I have bought preloved has been in excellent condition. 

Preloved bargains

So, what are some absolute gems I’ve picked up for my kids?

• A Boden dragon dress for my daughter that retailed at £31 for £15 on Vinted
• A toddler h&m all-in-one fleece for 50p in a charity shop
• New Balance trainers for my 2-year-old – given to us free by a friend
• Adidas trainers – I picked up a pair for both of my children at just £3 each
• Countless fancy dress items for £1-£4 including a Disneystore Ariel Dress (£4) and Anna coronation dress for £3
• A Boden coat for my daughter with an RRP of £51 and I picked it up for £1.25 in a charity shop

My top tips for thrifting:

• Only buy what you really need. It can sometimes be tempting to grab something purely because of what a bargain it is. But buying beyond what you need actually defeats the object. It’s not really a bargain if you don’t need it, plus you’re keeping it from someone who really does.
• Rummage in the bargain bins! Whilst it can feel overwhelming to rummage the bins in a charity shop, it’s where I’ve found some of my best bargains. Our local charity shop has a 50p bin and I can usually find at least one “high end” piece in there.
• When searching for preloved on places like Vinted or Facebook Marketplace make sure you factor in the extra expenses before you get carried away. With Vinted there’s additional fees and postage, and with Marketplace petrol costs may be an extra cost.
• Be prepared to find nothing. My best bargains often come when I least expect them. On those occasions that I nip in purely for a browse; they are the ones when I often find absolute treasure.
• Remember that things change daily. Whether you are looking on Vinted, Marketplace, or in your local charity shop – they will have new things daily so even if you went yesterday, it’s always worth another look today.
  

This post focuses on the children’s clothing I have picked up second, but kids toys are another gem that can be found preloved at a small fraction of the retail price. You can read how I thrifted a lot of my Christmas in this blog on Thriftmas: I saved over £300 by buying preloved Christmas gifts. Happy thrifting!

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We hope you’ve found Jamie’s blog helpful and feel encouraged to give preloved shopping a go! Don’t forget that we stock a range of preloved clothes for kids and grown ups in our Cirencester store, so pop in and see us there for help in finding your preloved gems.

Keep in touch! Let us know what you’ve found and where.