Whilst I am busy advocating and promoting reselling clothes to keep wearing them longer, I do have to be realistic and admit that some items are much more suited to reselling than others. I would recommend taking more time to buy new the items you might not want secondhand so that you as a wearer choose things you can fully exhaust.
Outerwear which can be costly is easy to sell on. Because the majority of outerwear is dry clean only you may need to factor in the cost of dry cleaning when purchasing. Leather items require specialist cleaning which can be expensive and if you own it exclusively it may rarely (if ever) get done.
Suiting is also very easy to onsell but it is usually more body conscious so you have to find things that fit or adjust them. It may need professional cleaning first.
Skirts are possibly the easiest items as it is usually only the waist that needs to fit.
Accessories like belts, jewellery and scarves are great for transforming garments and also really easy to onsell.
Trousers and jeans are good as long as you make sure they are clean. Trousers are harder to fit and possibly not as popular secondhand but my measuring systems solves this. Trousers are also an item that probably get discarded more frequently as we change size and they no longer fit.
The main obstacle to onselling items is deodorant and perspiration marks.
Obviously, this is more problematic the closer a garment is to the wearer’s armpits and also how often an item is worn. It is quite an individual thing as people perspire differently. In my tips on ‘looking after garments’ post I recommend washing perspiration marks as soon as possible and in my ‘composition’ post you will discover wonderful fabrics like merino which don’t get smelly. You can also layer garments over a merino or cotton top so that they absorb the perspiration instead of the garment. For some people wearing a garment that is discoloured at the armpit might be fine but I don’t expect everyone to be as keen. Looser shirts or shirts that aren’t as high on the armpit are perfect for onselling. Similarly dresses that aren’t cut as high at the armpit are much better.
Knitwear is suitable especially if it is good quality and has been looked after. Pure wool is particularly suited as it doesn’t get smelly like synthetics and is less likely to pill.
Occasionwear is probably the area that most needs to be part of the resale market as it is these special event items that we are less likely to keep wearing multiple times. If you know you perspire a lot you could look at using something like sweat pads so as not to mark the garment, a more heavy-duty antiperspirant or wearing over a vest. Even with specialist cleaning it can be impossible to remove perspiration marks. Luckily it is more likely that something bought for a special occasion has hardly been worn so is still in a suitable condition to resell.
Obviously, swimwear isn’t as suitable. Personally, I’m not as big a fan of secondhand shoes either unless they have only been worn a handful of times. I tend to buy better and keep wearing shoes. If shoes have been worn a lot then they have often taken on the wearer’s foot shape and how they walk and may not be as suitable for you. Trainers are easier to recycle as they can be washed.
