[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith education around the implications of fast fashion on the rise, pre-loved clothes from charity shops and vintage store have taken off recently.
And due to shops still being closed, most of your favourite vintage stores have easy to use and access online stores so you can still look your best this spring.
The popular stores of Temple Bar in Dublin City Centre like Tola Vintage, Dublin Vintage Factory, Fresh and Nine Crows have a range of availability online.
Tola have their range of pre-loved, branded clothes on their site. Their price range is mid-to-high priced, and shipping is €4.50.
There is an option to collect in-store, according to the check-out.
Dublin Vintage Factory has a range of denim, light outerwear and knitwear, perfect for the slightly-still-chilly days of spring before we enter summer. Shipping is €5, and the clothes are reasonably priced for the high-quality vintage you would get.
AT the time of writing, there is a 50 per cent discount on certain items, however, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of the kilo-sale usually available at the Dublin Vintage Factory under Lucy’s Lounge in Temple Bar.
Nine Crows are mainly selling off of their Depop, their range of bright, gaudy, pre-loved clothes, the colourful tops, bottoms and outerwear perfect for spring. Shipping is €3.50 for Irish customers and international shipping is available.
Spice Vintage, Limerick-based and “Ireland’s leading online vintage store”, according to the site is another stylish and affordable vintage shop. The bright, patterned style of clothing is ideal for spring.
The range of the store operates on a “drop” system. The “stock-drop” goes live every Friday at 6pm, and stays live until 3pm the following Friday. Customers then purchase the clothes on a first-come-first-served basis.
The site is interactive and easy to use. It even explains in detail how drops work and gives customers the story of Spice Vintage. Shipping is €6 for Irish customers, €20 for the UK and Europe and €30 for the rest of the world.
A smaller business to support in your fashion choices this spring is the Candid Frank vintage shop. Operating on an online-only basis, Candid Frank commits itself to affordability, in an attempt to battle the unfortunate trend up sometimes “upcycled” clothes being charged at outrageous prices.
The business is also 100 per cent plastic free, even using paper-based tap to seal packages.
Coming into spring, Candid Frank now has a range of light blouses, skirts and dresses for the slightly warmer weather.
Almost all vintage sites will operate on this basis as almost all of the pre-loved clothes are one of a kind, or close to it.
Niamh Quinlan
Image Credit: Becca Mchaffie On Unsplash