#SECONDHANDSEPTEMBER INTERVIEW - LITTLE NIFTY
What started your passion for shopping secondhand?
Growing up I remember always having a combination of secondhand and new clothing in my wardrobe thanks to my amazing mum. It was a budget friendly way to get good quality clothes that would last us for years to come. Yes, I was that annoying kid that would hide in amongst the clothing racks and play games with my brother while she would look for things for us.
What do you love about heading off on a treasure hunting mission?
I love the hunt. It's really awesome knowing that I’m about to go into a space with heaps of hidden treasures from all sorts of decades. I’m a huge vintage lover so going into an environment that is like a museum, EXCEPT you’re allowed to touch ALL of the things, is exciting!
What are some of your favourite pieces that you love discovering when secondhand shopping?
Most the time I am out sourcing for Little Nifty so my favourite areas are clothing/fashion. I gravitate towards dresses. I love the 60’s/70’s so am always keeping a keen eye out for floral maxi’s and psychedelic printed mini’s. After dresses I look for vintage jeans as it’s very rare to find a good pair of vintage denim. 80’s mom jeans or a sexy worn-in pair of Levi’s are my favourite to find.
What's your best ever secondhand score?
My most prized possession for the past year has been a 70’s suede and sheepskin Penny Lane jacket. To my surprise, this wasn’t on my local Hospice’s “retro rack” so only cost me a whopping $8?!?!
Growing up I remember always having a combination of secondhand and new clothing in my wardrobe thanks to my amazing mum. It was a budget friendly way to get good quality clothes that would last us for years to come. Yes, I was that annoying kid that would hide in amongst the clothing racks and play games with my brother while she would look for things for us.
What do you love about heading off on a treasure hunting mission?
I love the hunt. It's really awesome knowing that I’m about to go into a space with heaps of hidden treasures from all sorts of decades. I’m a huge vintage lover so going into an environment that is like a museum, EXCEPT you’re allowed to touch ALL of the things, is exciting!
What are some of your favourite pieces that you love discovering when secondhand shopping?
Most the time I am out sourcing for Little Nifty so my favourite areas are clothing/fashion. I gravitate towards dresses. I love the 60’s/70’s so am always keeping a keen eye out for floral maxi’s and psychedelic printed mini’s. After dresses I look for vintage jeans as it’s very rare to find a good pair of vintage denim. 80’s mom jeans or a sexy worn-in pair of Levi’s are my favourite to find.
What's your best ever secondhand score?
My most prized possession for the past year has been a 70’s suede and sheepskin Penny Lane jacket. To my surprise, this wasn’t on my local Hospice’s “retro rack” so only cost me a whopping $8?!?!
What are your top three tips for shopping secondhand?
Firstly, especially if you are new to op shopping try not to have too many expectations. It can take a lot of patience to find exactly what you’re looking for, just go in prepared for a really good browse and let the op shop take you on a journey. Secondly, look in every section of the op shop. Especially if you are size 4 to 8 as some cool designer pieces in the smaller sizes get mistaken for kids clothing. Ultimate secret: check the men’s area too, it is the best place to find vintage jeans and cool shirts. And lastly, make sure to try things on because vintage sizing is completely different to modern day sizing eg a vintage 14 would now fit a size 10, a vintage 16 would fit a size 12 etc so make sure to pick things that you like. Don’t base your decisions on size before you have tried them on because you never know they may just be that perfect fit.
What's the one item that got away? The one you missed out on that's haunted you ever since!
From memory I’ve had a missed opportunity once in an antiques store. They had a rack of coats and right at the front of the rack was a wool plaid cape or it may have been a 50s coat? it was stunning, I just had to touch it! But as I reached my hand over a lady said to her daughter “well are you going to purchase the coat?” and right before my eyes they settled a deal with the store owner. Heart breaking but I wasn’t going to fight for it because I believe in op shop karma, but I think about it often.
What changes have you seen in stores and stock over your time as a secondhand shopper and what kind of secondhand store would you love to see in the future?
I have noticed the quality of items has dropped since fast fashion has become such a normal way to source clothing. Op shops are filled more with things that don’t tend to last more than a few washes. In future I would like to see fast fashion pieces phased out of op shop’s naturally where people turn to buying vintage and ethically made items first hand so that we don’t end up with an abundance of worn out clothing being donated.
Would you be willing to share some of your favourite secondhand spots?
•The Hospice Shop in New Lynn
•Dove Hospice in Panmure
•New Plymouth’s Stop ‘N’ Shop by St Mary‘s Church
•Hamilton in general is the ultimate destination for a day of op shopping, too many good spots to list but highly recommend a trip!
Firstly, especially if you are new to op shopping try not to have too many expectations. It can take a lot of patience to find exactly what you’re looking for, just go in prepared for a really good browse and let the op shop take you on a journey. Secondly, look in every section of the op shop. Especially if you are size 4 to 8 as some cool designer pieces in the smaller sizes get mistaken for kids clothing. Ultimate secret: check the men’s area too, it is the best place to find vintage jeans and cool shirts. And lastly, make sure to try things on because vintage sizing is completely different to modern day sizing eg a vintage 14 would now fit a size 10, a vintage 16 would fit a size 12 etc so make sure to pick things that you like. Don’t base your decisions on size before you have tried them on because you never know they may just be that perfect fit.
What's the one item that got away? The one you missed out on that's haunted you ever since!
From memory I’ve had a missed opportunity once in an antiques store. They had a rack of coats and right at the front of the rack was a wool plaid cape or it may have been a 50s coat? it was stunning, I just had to touch it! But as I reached my hand over a lady said to her daughter “well are you going to purchase the coat?” and right before my eyes they settled a deal with the store owner. Heart breaking but I wasn’t going to fight for it because I believe in op shop karma, but I think about it often.
What changes have you seen in stores and stock over your time as a secondhand shopper and what kind of secondhand store would you love to see in the future?
I have noticed the quality of items has dropped since fast fashion has become such a normal way to source clothing. Op shops are filled more with things that don’t tend to last more than a few washes. In future I would like to see fast fashion pieces phased out of op shop’s naturally where people turn to buying vintage and ethically made items first hand so that we don’t end up with an abundance of worn out clothing being donated.
Would you be willing to share some of your favourite secondhand spots?
•The Hospice Shop in New Lynn
•Dove Hospice in Panmure
•New Plymouth’s Stop ‘N’ Shop by St Mary‘s Church
•Hamilton in general is the ultimate destination for a day of op shopping, too many good spots to list but highly recommend a trip!
What appeals to you about secondhand rather than new goods?
For me it’s about the quality. Nowadays fashion isn’t made like it used to be and the quality just doesn’t compare to handmade and/or vintage! On top of that you aren’t restricted by trends when shopping secondhand. You can just buy what you like and what suits your figure rather than trying to conform to what the mall mannequins suggest is “in-season”.
Overconsumption and mass production of new goods is a huge global issue, resulting in overflowing landfills, environmental degradation and modern slavery. Shopping secondhand is welcome alternative to this 'buy brand new then throwaway' culture, what are your thoughts on this issue?
Being low-waste is important to me in my everyday life so that is why I started Little Nifty as a way to encourage others to think more about the planet when it comes to their wardrobe. I feel like before anyone actually takes the time to educate themselves on the impact consumerism is having on the planet they won’t have a full and proper lifestyle change that will benefit the planet completely; you can take an over consumer out of the mall but turning them to buying secondhand as often as they would buy fast-fashion is just as bad. People need to stop and think twice about what they’re purchasing whether it be new or secondhand, look at an item and commit to it right up to the end of it’s life, how are you going to dispose of it? Can you pass it onto friends rather than expecting op shops to continue being overloaded with donations that aren’t always sellable? I am happy to see there is a huge movement taking place where fast fashion companies are being held responsible for the production of their goods, hopefully in the near future this means we will have no slavery, no sweatshops, no plastic materials, responsible manufacturing of materials from renewable resources or recycling of clothing that already exists.
Unfortunately prices of new goods are now so low, they're often cheaper that secondhand. Why is it better for people invest in vintage/secondhand rather than buying new?
This one is very easy for me to answer because from my past I remember buying something from the mall for a night out and having it fall apart after two washes. This comparison (as well as new items not always being ethically made) is why I will always turn to secondhand first. You can buy a T-shirt for $4 at the mall, wear it once, wash it and it will lose it’s shape and have absolutely zero value after that whereas if you buy a $4 vintage T-shirt from the op shop not only does it last a long time but when it starts looking worn it actually looks like it has character and still has value.
Any other wisdom or words of advice that you'd like to share with people during #secondhandseptember
A fair warning that op shopping is addicting and is so thrilling to discover that you can save so much money while doing better for the planet but if you’re not quite ready to dive straight into the charity stores there are plenty of curated vintage sellers who have boutiques, online stores and instagram accounts; once you find one you’ll find most of them are connected, you can thank me later ;)
For me it’s about the quality. Nowadays fashion isn’t made like it used to be and the quality just doesn’t compare to handmade and/or vintage! On top of that you aren’t restricted by trends when shopping secondhand. You can just buy what you like and what suits your figure rather than trying to conform to what the mall mannequins suggest is “in-season”.
Overconsumption and mass production of new goods is a huge global issue, resulting in overflowing landfills, environmental degradation and modern slavery. Shopping secondhand is welcome alternative to this 'buy brand new then throwaway' culture, what are your thoughts on this issue?
Being low-waste is important to me in my everyday life so that is why I started Little Nifty as a way to encourage others to think more about the planet when it comes to their wardrobe. I feel like before anyone actually takes the time to educate themselves on the impact consumerism is having on the planet they won’t have a full and proper lifestyle change that will benefit the planet completely; you can take an over consumer out of the mall but turning them to buying secondhand as often as they would buy fast-fashion is just as bad. People need to stop and think twice about what they’re purchasing whether it be new or secondhand, look at an item and commit to it right up to the end of it’s life, how are you going to dispose of it? Can you pass it onto friends rather than expecting op shops to continue being overloaded with donations that aren’t always sellable? I am happy to see there is a huge movement taking place where fast fashion companies are being held responsible for the production of their goods, hopefully in the near future this means we will have no slavery, no sweatshops, no plastic materials, responsible manufacturing of materials from renewable resources or recycling of clothing that already exists.
Unfortunately prices of new goods are now so low, they're often cheaper that secondhand. Why is it better for people invest in vintage/secondhand rather than buying new?
This one is very easy for me to answer because from my past I remember buying something from the mall for a night out and having it fall apart after two washes. This comparison (as well as new items not always being ethically made) is why I will always turn to secondhand first. You can buy a T-shirt for $4 at the mall, wear it once, wash it and it will lose it’s shape and have absolutely zero value after that whereas if you buy a $4 vintage T-shirt from the op shop not only does it last a long time but when it starts looking worn it actually looks like it has character and still has value.
Any other wisdom or words of advice that you'd like to share with people during #secondhandseptember
A fair warning that op shopping is addicting and is so thrilling to discover that you can save so much money while doing better for the planet but if you’re not quite ready to dive straight into the charity stores there are plenty of curated vintage sellers who have boutiques, online stores and instagram accounts; once you find one you’ll find most of them are connected, you can thank me later ;)
Brooklyn from Little Nifty sells ethically sourced pre-loved vintage, retro and designer goods. You can follow her on Instagram @little.nifty Facebook @littleniftykiwi and via her website www.littlenifty.co.nz
Keen to find your own vintage treasure? CLICK HERE to order a pre-sale copy of Collector's Anonymous, your handy glovebox sized guide that lists over 1500 antique, secondhand and charity stores around Aotearoa!
Keen to find your own vintage treasure? CLICK HERE to order a pre-sale copy of Collector's Anonymous, your handy glovebox sized guide that lists over 1500 antique, secondhand and charity stores around Aotearoa!