EMBRACE COLOUR
The beauty of buying vintage is you never need to be afraid of colour. It's not like you're spending £30 on a long sleeve rib crop top you sort of already know you'll wear once but still safe-buy in boring navy, not like that at all. Instead, when you're buying singles secondhand you can afford to be a bit reckless with your palette. After all, this APC t-shirt was £4 and the trousers were £9, it's just poetry that they fit together like Rose Byrne and Marilyn Manson. And if they didn't? Hey, that's life. The dream scenario for finding the perfect bold pieces are the charity shops which have sorted all their stock into colours. Beacons closet in NY does this, as does the pop-up secondhand shop on Hampstead High street. It basically means you can gravitate to whatever mood you're in and limit your searching to one foot-long section of pure gold. Or baby blue. Or lime green. Or, yes ok you get the point.
**DITTO PRINT
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Similarly, if you're buying something which has the high probability of making you look like an extra from Kevin & Perry Go Large, there's much less of a "oh shit now I can't eat for three weeks and I look terrible" online-shopping hangover if you get it for under a fiver on eBay. Believe me, python print online is a solid yes, "tribal" print on net-a-porter? Firm no. Try Morgan on eBay, they do some great great check pencil skirts, and if you're willing to push the boat out (I'm talking the £15 margin, guys, pretty serious bucks) there are some vintage Versace jeans that would make your dad proud. I actually found this strap top in a bargain basket at a Cancer Research in Elstree nestling in between an old Monsoon dress and a Von Dutch vest (both of which I bought too, obviously).
SEARCH THROUGH DESIGNER CHARITY SHOPS
Speaking of designer, there's no better way to buy it than off somebody else's back. Target charity shops in swish neighbourhoods for yummy mummy cast offs, and avoid "vintage sales" at all costs. You're far better off rummaging through rails of Mary Portas's Living & Giving shops (only in London and Edinburgh at the moment, sadly) for that one-of-a-kind Issey Miyake skirt suit (it happened, I was there) than being charged £75 for a glorified tennis skirt that's only classified as vintage because someone pulled the Miss Selfridge label out. A really sneaky tip is searching online for designer labels with one letter of the name spelled wrong. It seems far-fetched but after you've stumbled across "GENUINE JOESPH SHEARLING" with exactly 0 bids on it you'll get where I'm coming from.
GO ECO
Ok so this handmade wool jumper isn't strictly secondhand, well it isn't secondhand at all, but it gives you the same warm fuzzies as buying all your clothes from charity shops. There's nothing better than counting through everything you're wearing and realising not one piece of it has profited a tax-dodger in any way, and this jumper will keep you toasty while you're doing it. Fishermen Out of Ireland jumper, £140 from Katrina Phillips, 99 Portobello Road.
OPT FOR SOMETHING SPARKLY
Ah the polo neck, the mildly uncomfortable but incredibly chic way to wear an extra layer in March and still feel totally sophisticated. This one's from Rokit, but try Moschino in 'used' on eBay (can't believe I'm giving my tips away) and silky Puma zip ups for the same effect. If sparkly's your thing, seventies lurex is the holy grail of vintage shopping, search it out wherever you can. Just not wherever I'm searching for it, because I will be furious. And no, I'm not telling you my eBay account name.
BOOTS
Cowboy boots where all over the catwalk this season, from Chanel's Paris Dallas collection to Ashley William's multicoloured 60's offering. Thanks to sudden interest, you probably won't find your dream pair knocking around any of the vintage shops in central London. Take a trip to the outskirts for better luck, or convince anyone you know that's going to SXSW that they simply have to bring you back a genuine pair from the deep South. After all, what are friends for? And just imagine those prices…
VELVET IS V V GOOD
And finally, velvet. Yes sometimes it feels weird and has bits of… stuff… in it, but when you find the perfect slinky velvet dress you'll never look back. Plus sizing is much less important when it's so draped and weighty, so don't worry too much about desperately trying to find your size. Dig out cast offs from The Craft loving older sisters country wide. Wear underwear-free, with a pair of mules, a cigarette and a smile.
Follow Bertie on Twitter @bertiebrandes
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.