Issue 4 - Replacing the irreplaceable

A vintage knit sweater I purchased soon became tattered and torn, so my quest began to replace an irreplaceable vintage item

I spied a lovely navy sweater for £18 on Vinted. It was used, but it had a unique knit design and subtle embroidering I hadn't seen before. After weeks of pondering, I caved in and 3 days later the sweater arrived. I unwrapped the parcel and popped on the jumper, it looked great and could be paired with anything.

Like an excitable child, I wore the jumper every day that week, which is where the tears began to show. The sleeves had little holes which multiplied as the days went on, due to the nature of the knit, any attempts I made at hand sewing the holes was a failed mission.

Sometimes this happens with vintage clothing as it has been used and well-loved in the past, which is part of the second-hand charm.

I was persistent, but the sweater simply wasn’t an item I felt comfortable wearing, so in light of this woeful admission, I embarked on a journey to find the perfect replacement.

First port of call: Flamingos

My first stop was Flamingos Vintage, a clothing store I always rave about to my friends. I wasn’t expecting to find a jumper which aligned with my vision, but nonetheless I gave it a go. If nothing was to my liking, I remembered that there are plenty of charity shops in Cardiff which may have what I am looking for.

I scoured the mens knitwear section, and whilst I was greeted with characterful nordic style jumpers, I had my sights set on finding the exact replica that I needed. The missing piece in my wardrobe.

I caught a glimpse of a navy sleeve, and to my delight pulled out a thin, unique knit in immaculate condition and sprinkled with colourful striped embroidering. Perfect. 

I tried it on and immediately knew I found the piece I was looking for. Due to the nature of Flamingos thrift store-style pricing, I took it to be weighed by the kilo and it cost me £18, which was exactly what I paid for the original piece.

Clothing recycling units 

I contemplated taking the sweater to a charity shop, but it didn’t feel right. Charity shops are already swamped with damaged items virtually unsellable to the public, so I searched for a clothing recycling unit nearby.

The charity Recycle-More recommends two simple ways to reduce the environmental impact of the clothing industry, which is the source of 10% of global greenhouse emission. 

Clothes which aren’t suitable to be resold can be recycled and repurposed on our doorstep, the company Recycle-More requires you type in your postcode and locates a store nearby to simply drop the item off. 

Like with anything, second-hand shopping has its pros and cons. With the environmental and humanitarian benefits of ethical consumerism, recycling damaged clothing is a worthwhile little task. 

The sweater in question. Credit: Inga Marsden

Mission complete!

My new jumper is certainly not the same as the original knit sweater I pined for, in fact it's rather different. But that's the beauty of vintage shopping, that every piece is unique.

If a situation like this arises in the future, I will certainly head back to a recycle unit nearby. Discarding a vintage item is as easy, and admittedly tedious, as completing a clothing return and certainly shouldn’t deter you from second hand shopping in the future. 

If a midi skirt you ordered brand new doesn’t fit, do you return the item, delete the clothing app and never purchase from the shop again?