Second-hand is gaining ground, and these Kringfluencers know all about it. Together with De Kringwinkel, they aim to inspire and motivate you to find your perfect look in a sustainable way. During a day at the thrift store, we asked four Kringfluencers about their experiences and tips for getting started with secondhand shopping. Each of them shares a passion for fashion.

Joline De Moor (Instagram: kattenwasjes) initially started thrifting for financial reasons, but now she also likes the challenge, not just finding unique pieces but also spotting an item you’ve seen elsewhere in a thrift store. “It’s so much fun to inspire others to do the same”, she says.

Elien De Keyser (Instagram: elien.de.keyser) en Flore De Keyser (Instagram: floredekeyser) started their second-hand journey for multiple reasons: financial savings, sustainability, and the desire to create a unique style. Moreover, secondhand clothing often has better quality than fast fashion, and they want to avoid child labor and exploitation in the fashion industry. Elien, who also works with textiles, places extra importance on reusing materials.

Kathlyn Brans (Instagram: kathekwaad) gets creativity and passion for thrifting from her mum. Their financial situation wasn’t very good, but Kath was raised in a spirit where your own, personal identity is the most important value to protect and develop. Her mum really early taught her how to sew, embroider, crochet, so she would be able to make her own pieces of clothing.

Do you want to thrift, but you feel like you are not good at it? Kringfluencers prepared some practical tips to kick off your second-hand (pre-loved) journey:

Take your time: Your first visit to a thrift store might feel overwhelming, but with patience, you’ll discover hidden gems.

Have fun - thrifting is like treasure hunting. Don’t stop searching and discovering.

Try everything on: Some clothes may not look great on the hanger, but could completely surprise you once worn.

Define your style: Use Pinterest to gather style ideas so you know what to look for, or make a list of things that you need or that you look for.

Be open, creative, and experiment: Don’t limit yourself to one section—check out the women’s, men’s and kids’ sections for unexpected finds.

Check different possibilities - If going to the second-hand shop is too overwhelming, you can start by looking at pre-loved clothes in a different way. For example, check first at Vinted or start with clothes swapping with family and friends.

Choose what you like, not what other people wear - it’s cooler to wear clothes that not everyone has.

Second-hand clothes are meeting a lot of arguments, which are stopping even more people from starting their thrifting journey. Which of them can you usually hear, but in reality, they are not true?

• Pre-loved clothes have bad quality - As students, Elien en Flore discovered that by buying secondhand clothing, they could save money while still finding high-quality pieces. Nowadays, the quality of pre-loved clothes is even better than new, fast-fashion products.
• In second-hand shops, you can buy only vintage pieces - you can find both types of clothes. You would probably be surprised how many pieces that were made quite recently are available in second-hand shops.
• “I don’t know how to thrift” - If you don’t feel confident about how to thrift but you would like to start, check kringfluencers’ tips. If you would prefer to be more prepared, here you can find another article about this topic.
  

We asked Kringfluencers the question, if it’s possible to have all clothes second-hand. Our specialists answered:

Joline: “I think it is a bit difficult, of course, you have to think about underwear and that is a bit harder to find. It is certainly possible, but it can be difficult. But I think it is more important to buy as much second-hand as possible and invest in sustainable basics that you can really combine and wear throughout the years.”

Elien: “I think that about 75% [of my clothes] is second-hand now. Not all from the thrift store, but definitely second-hand.”

Flore: “Everything comes from the thrift store, except my trousers, because I still find that difficult to find second-hand. I have some from second-hand stores, but that's harder to find.”

Kath: "I don't believe it's necessarily possible to have a whole second-hand wardrobe, but a sustainable wardrobe. (...) That also means that if there's a hole in those clothes that you dare to sew them. Or (...) mend your own socks, so that you make sure that every piece of clothing in your wardrobe lasts as long as possible."

“I stopped buying fast fashion three years ago, so I would say that there is still about 10% of the clothes in my wardrobe that are fast fashion because those are pieces that I have actually been recycling for years. But everything else is second-hand. (...) I have to say that indeed, part of that 10% that is fast fashion in my closet, is also my underwear.”

As you can see, it’s possible to have the majority of your clothes from a second-hand shop, but in reality, that’s not what matters the most. The main question should be: Are all of your clothes sustainable? The best way to do it is to combine fair fashion (which is improving working conditions and ecological impact in the production chain) with second-hand as slow fashion (which is keeping clothing in use longer). In this way, it’s also easier to buy underwear, trousers, or any other needed piece from a reliable and fair source.

Thrift shopping comes with many benefits. Besides being more sustainable than fast fashion, it’s also budget-friendly. There’s no wrong way to buy second-hand. It’s all about discovering what works for you. You might not find the perfect piece immediately, but don’t give up! Kringfluencers prove that sustainability and style go hand in hand.

During shopping, you just need to know that second-hand is a good idea, but it’s only part of the solution. We need to be aware that buying a lot of clothes, but from second-hand shops, is not going to solve the problem of overconsumption. To really help the environment and people working in the fast fashion industry, we are obligated to buy less and from a reliable source. Second-hand is good, but it can’t make all the changes by itself.