JENNIFER PLATT | Used clothes stores are where I book out

I recently discovered thrifting on Instagram. You can get ugly clothes there that are not at all cheap. There’s a site that sells granny jerseys, but it all smacks of scam. These knitwear items do not look as if they have death cooties. They do not look as if they were worn by Sophia in The Golden Girls. There’s no off-cream or apricot cable knit in sight. They look suspiciously new and are in lurid greens, purples and pinks, and some are off-shouldered and cropped. Hmmm ...

However, there are accounts that seem legit and I went rabbit-holing, so now my Insta algorithm is skewed and my feed filled with ads for used goods. While scrolling innocently on my phone, to my horror was a pair of grimy, greasy, vintage Birkenstocks for sale. I laughed aloud while my stomach turned in shock. Yes, it seems used Birkies are a much-desired fashion object, especially if they are from the ’60s and ’70s, when these shoes became popular with hippies. The thought of wearing them makes me feel slightly ill. 

I am a fan of the second-hand goods concept and do purchase used kitchenware and furniture, but “previously owned” comfort cork sandals are a big no no. To be honest, I don’t like browsing vintage clothing shops. I particularly don’t like the smell — lavender and oud trying to disguise the faint odour of sickly floral perfume still lingering on the clothes.

It’s a bit bizarre because I thoroughly enjoy walking into a second-hand bookstore. There is something about that undisguised musty book smell, something about a place which holds books that have been read and loved. A magic I don’t find in used clothing stores. To each their own I guess.

The discovery of a hole-in-the-wall second-hand bookstore is one of my best thrills, with finding local pharmacies and padstals, of course. It mostly happens when I am on holiday, as I never take enough books with me. A few years ago I found a little book corner in a one-stop general store in a small dorpie on the Cape coast. It was the only store in the town, so I was happy it sold used books. I found a 1991 Evelyn Anthony novel called The Relic, probably the only book of hers I had not read. Anthony introduced me to spy thrillers and historical novels when I was in my tweens. I have loved her work since and still have her Davina Graham series from then. I was entranced by the unlikely British spy whose savvy and intelligence foiled her Russian counterparts. The Relic is set in the Cold War and I was beyond thrilled to find a hardcover version in a small town in the middle of nowhere for R20.

Thrifting (as the youths call it) is also very much in fashion when it comes to buying coffee table books. According to Insider.com, videos about them have garnered 208-million views on TikTok, with many selling and buying these books for this purpose. Coffee table books are pricey, so it makes sense there is now a huge market for second-hand ones. Much more sense than buying a pair of used Birkies.