There is something so incredibly satisfying about finding very specific items secondhand. I don’t know if I’m lucky, patient, or just straight up overly enthusiastic. But once I set my mind on it, I sometimes will put in a little too much time and effort to find that certain thing. Take this sweater for example.

story time

I saw it on Pinterest awhile back when I was searching for something unrelated, and I just loved everything about it! Clicking the photo took me to a blog, and I had to scroll back like 2 years to find it on LikeToKnow.it. Of course, the item was out of stock because it was so old. But I now knew where it was from. Over the next day or two, I used keywords on Google to try and find something similar, to no avail. I started entering any descriptors I could think of to check Poshmark, ThredUp, and finally eBay. After lots and lots of scrolling and through the process of elimination, I FOUND THE FREAKIN’ SWEATER. In my size. I couldn’t believe it! But this sort of thing does happen quite often. I can think of several items I’ve been lucky to find just with a little extra digging.

Was it worth the time and effort? I guess that’s all in the eye of the beholder. To me, it was worth it. In fact, most of the pieces that I have really put in the time to find have ended up being great. Much more satisfying than impulse buys. It took me a couple weeks of checking sporadically to find it, but that’s also a couple weeks where I was dedicated to the hunt — not distracted by sales or other new and shiny things. In the end, I like that I have a new-to-me sweater to enjoy, without creating any demand for new clothing (especially from a fast fashion brand). Of course, there’s always that chance that you’ll get something that isn’t in great shape or was different than you were expecting. But so far I’ve been 90% satisfied with online secondhand shopping. For the record, when I finally found this one, it was labeled “Forever 21 Orange Short Sleeve T-shirt”.

outfit notes

The top is a size M (which worried me a bit) but the drapey effect of this knit fabric makes it very forgiving. It’s lightweight and breezy, because of the open knit. Luckily it was in perfect condition. We’ll see how long I can keep it that way! And speaking of secondhand shopping — look at me with my new (used) belt! I feel so fancy, even though a leather belt is such an ordinary thing. Why am I so weird? It’s just been so long since I’ve worn one, I really thought I’d never want one again. But I like it a lot! It makes my very plain denim shorts feel much more pulled together, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

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Any secondhand items you’ve been especially pumped to find?

loves,
jaana