Fashion
I went to one of the UK’s biggest second hand shops and bagged a £590 outfit for £27 – but my hands ended up very sticky
THE Thrift Factory warehouse is like an airport hangar, but filled with endless rails of clothes.
Dresses, coats, shoes and row upon row of accessories fill the cavernous space.
Thrift factory haul versus original look
This second-hand emporium in the East End of London — which sells most of its stock by weight, at £10 per kilo — has become a bona fide social media sensation.
After seeing teens rave about it and try on their vintage hauls on TikTok, I decided to check it out.
The scale of fashion waste is huge — 92million tonnes of textiles end up in landfill every year, and the number of times a garment is worn has declined by around 36 per cent in 15 years, so shopping second-hand is important.
Thrift Factory owner Gulraiz Amin, who has a second branch in Manchester, with another in Birmingham coming soon, says his ethos is to use the clothes of the past to protect the future.
@mylondonCrates of clothes are piled high at the Thrift Factory[/caption]
Sea of clothes
But is it all charity-shop rejects, or are there real bargains here?
Thankfully, it isn’t a crazy bun fight like I expected after seeing the social media videos.
There are only three other shoppers, the staff are so helpful and there’s even free tea and coffee.
I feel overwhelmed by the vast sea of clothes and don’t quite know where to start.
But once I get over the scale of it, I see that everything is clearly signposted.
There is no sizing system, however, so there is an element of pot luck.
Most of the stock has been collected from households around the UK.
Amin’s online business bobscash4clothes.com collects garments, paying 50p per kilogram of unwanted clothing.
I recognise the majority of the brands, from fast-fashion giants Boohoo and PLT to high street faves such as Zara and H&M.
Within ten minutes, I unearth items from some of my favourite brands, including a Jigsaw jumper that originally sold for £90, a pair of & Other Stories jeans (RRP £75) and a £30 Topshop dress.
What I would say, though, is that most items are well-worn andneed a bit of TLC — so be prepared to wash, steam and dry clean. I find a couple of items with new tags on, but the majority of stock is very pre-loved.
Further to the back of the warehouse is where it gets even more crazy.
Giant cages that measure around five metres wide and are waist-deep with clothes are a bit too much for me, even.
I don’t mind picking stuff off the top, but I am not prepared to rummage headfirst further down.
My tip is to wear old gloves. My hands are very sticky by the time I’ve finished rooting.
There are some individually priced items, too.
Levi’s jeans and branded sports T-shirts sell for £10 each, which is still a bargain when you consider that vintage Levi’s sell for more than £25 on gothrift.co.uk and vintage T-shirts cost £28 on urbanoutfitter.com.
There is also men’s clothing, shoes, handbags, belts, perfumes and jewellery — some of which are included in the £10 per kilo price.
The women’s accessories fall short as they’re either from cheap brands or well worn, and I’m not keen on wearing second-hand shoes.
Stock is refreshed each day, which is a massive incentive to keep going back.
Takes away stigma
Old stuff that hasn’t sold within three weeks is sent to developing countries.
This brings its own problems as it’s estimated that 40 per cent of this ultimately ends up in landfill in its destination country.
Two hours later, I’ve done the whole place and have an armful of men’s and women’s clothing as I love the androgynous look.
My haul includes a man’s blazer, a pair of Levi’s, cashmere jumper, black bag and a belt.
When I weigh up at the tills, it costs £27.10 and I’ve bagged a great look that is similar to one I’ve spent £590 buying new.
When I compare both the outfits back home, I actually prefer the oversized blazer to my own Topshop one and I will wear the cashmere jumper at weekends, as I am too scared to ruin my designer version on a dog walk.
I would be tempted to go back but it would be more of an annual trip.
There is more choice on eBay and Vinted, but Thrift Factory does have the advantage of you seeing the clothes, feeling the fabrics and even trying them on.
The biggest joy of this all for me, however, is that it is taking the stigma out of buying and wearing pre-loved clothes.
And we can all learn something from that.
THE Thrift Factory warehouse is like an airport hangar, but filled with endless rails of clothes.
Dresses, coats, shoes and row upon row of accessories fill the cavernous space.
Thrift factory haul versus original look
This second-hand emporium in the East End of London — which sells most of its stock by weight, at £10 per kilo — has become a bona fide social media sensation.
After seeing teens rave about it and try on their vintage hauls on TikTok, I decided to check it out.
The scale of fashion waste is huge — 92million tonnes of textiles end up in landfill every year, and the number of times a garment is worn has declined by around 36 per cent in 15 years, so shopping second-hand is important.
Thrift Factory owner Gulraiz Amin, who has a second branch in Manchester, with another in Birmingham coming soon, says his ethos is to use the clothes of the past to protect the future.
@mylondonCrates of clothes are piled high at the Thrift Factory[/caption]
Sea of clothes
But is it all charity-shop rejects, or are there real bargains here?
Thankfully, it isn’t a crazy bun fight like I expected after seeing the social media videos.
There are only three other shoppers, the staff are so helpful and there’s even free tea and coffee.
I feel overwhelmed by the vast sea of clothes and don’t quite know where to start.
But once I get over the scale of it, I see that everything is clearly signposted.
There is no sizing system, however, so there is an element of pot luck.
Most of the stock has been collected from households around the UK.
Amin’s online business bobscash4clothes.com collects garments, paying 50p per kilogram of unwanted clothing.
I recognise the majority of the brands, from fast-fashion giants Boohoo and PLT to high street faves such as Zara and H&M.
Within ten minutes, I unearth items from some of my favourite brands, including a Jigsaw jumper that originally sold for £90, a pair of & Other Stories jeans (RRP £75) and a £30 Topshop dress.
What I would say, though, is that most items are well-worn andneed a bit of TLC — so be prepared to wash, steam and dry clean. I find a couple of items with new tags on, but the majority of stock is very pre-loved.
Further to the back of the warehouse is where it gets even more crazy.
Giant cages that measure around five metres wide and are waist-deep with clothes are a bit too much for me, even.
I don’t mind picking stuff off the top, but I am not prepared to rummage headfirst further down.
My tip is to wear old gloves. My hands are very sticky by the time I’ve finished rooting.
There are some individually priced items, too.
Levi’s jeans and branded sports T-shirts sell for £10 each, which is still a bargain when you consider that vintage Levi’s sell for more than £25 on gothrift.co.uk and vintage T-shirts cost £28 on urbanoutfitter.com.
There is also men’s clothing, shoes, handbags, belts, perfumes and jewellery — some of which are included in the £10 per kilo price.
The women’s accessories fall short as they’re either from cheap brands or well worn, and I’m not keen on wearing second-hand shoes.
Stock is refreshed each day, which is a massive incentive to keep going back.
Takes away stigma
Old stuff that hasn’t sold within three weeks is sent to developing countries.
This brings its own problems as it’s estimated that 40 per cent of this ultimately ends up in landfill in its destination country.
Two hours later, I’ve done the whole place and have an armful of men’s and women’s clothing as I love the androgynous look.
My haul includes a man’s blazer, a pair of Levi’s, cashmere jumper, black bag and a belt.
When I weigh up at the tills, it costs £27.10 and I’ve bagged a great look that is similar to one I’ve spent £590 buying new.
When I compare both the outfits back home, I actually prefer the oversized blazer to my own Topshop one and I will wear the cashmere jumper at weekends, as I am too scared to ruin my designer version on a dog walk.
I would be tempted to go back but it would be more of an annual trip.
There is more choice on eBay and Vinted, but Thrift Factory does have the advantage of you seeing the clothes, feeling the fabrics and even trying them on.
The biggest joy of this all for me, however, is that it is taking the stigma out of buying and wearing pre-loved clothes.
And we can all learn something from that.
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