The official start of summer coincided with a heat wave that brought temperatures of over 90 degrees along the East coast. It was also fitting that I, a huge procrastinator in every aspect of my life, finally finished spring cleaning of my closet. Most of the clothing that I weeded out were items that have not and will not get much wear - for example, a baby blue sweater vest with ruffle detailing that was given to me as a gift from my aunt, and a longer black and white chevron striped skirt in a jersey material, purchased from The Garment District. Even though I have worn the black and white striped skirt in the past, as both a skirt and a strapless dress or beach coverup, I don't see the potential of a revival in my wardrobe. (I had thought about turning it into an eternity scarf, however, the material is just too slinky.)
For all those items of clothing that no longer receive any love, luckily there are many options for reusing and recycling that could also earn you some cash.
1. Sell your clothes at ...
Consignment Store
Bring your new or gently worn, designer brand pieces to a local consignment store. Although consignment stores generally accept items that are higher end brands from the past couple of seasons, overall condition and look of the garment are also important to the buyers. Second Time Around is a chain consignment business in my area that carries classic timeless pieces that attract young professionals to middle-aged women. STA stores carry everything from work appropriate attire, to designer denim, to evening and cocktail dresses, to designer handbags, which are often kept behind the registers. Once your items are accepted and priced, at 30-40% of original price or 50% if new with tags, you have to play the waiting game for your clothes to sell. Sellers retrieve 40% of the item's sale price, compared to 50% a few years ago when I used to sell there. Another drawback of selling at consignment stores is that your items' prices are subject to store sales. In order to push sales, STA offers reductions on older items, which in turn reduce the amount that you end up getting paid. On the other hand, the sales are great if you're a buyer! (Tip: if you sign up for their email list, you get updates on the latest holiday sales.)
Used Clothing Store - Plato's Closet, Buffalo Exchange, The Garment District
Bring your gently worn, trendy pieces to a used clothing store that offers cash or store credit on the spot. These stores have a distinct style profile that attracts the young, hip fashionista (or fashionisto? There are guys sections too). I wouldn't suggest trying to sell your Louis Vuitton Speedy here. Up-to-date trends and unique pieces are sought after in these types of stores, and it is usually helpful to check their websites to get an idea of what pieces they're currently looking to buy, which differs by location and season. Buffalo Exchange offers the seller 30% of the sale price in cash or 50% in store credit, and The Garment District offers 30% in cash or 60% in store credit. Since there isn't a Plato's Closet in my area, I have no experience selling with them. All of these stores promote the exchange of clothing by offering hefty store credit, so I would suggest taking a good look at items on the floor before selling in case there's anything you want to buy. In my experience, Buffalo Exchange tends to set their sale prices fairly low, which sometimes make me rethink selling the item. I have never left their stores with big wads of bills, but I do think that used clothing stores are a good way to receive instant gratification of getting rid of clothing that you're sick of taking up space in your closet.
Online
Websites such as eBay, Etsy, and ASOS offer platforms for listing items for free or at minimal cost. (Etsy charges $0.20 to list an item for 4 months or until it sells, and it charges a 3.5% fee on the sale price.) This might be a good option for those of you who have a large collection and have the time to dedicate to taking pictures, creating a listing, and shipping packages. It is a convenient and flexible way to sell from the comfort of your home and in contrast to selling at stores, you can set the sale price, but like consignment, it might require a little patience.
I have also been seeing ads for a free iPhone app called Poshmark that allows you to list items on their marketplace. In exchange for free prepaid shipping, Poshmark reaps 20% of your sale price. It is an interesting idea but I'm not sure what the market size is at this point.
2. Swap with your friends
In a perfect world, you would have a sleepover party with your friends, who are also the same size as you. The only time this worked out was when I was in middle school. My group of friends and I decided to meet with our culled items at one of our houses and sorted through each others' piles. It worked out surprisingly smoothly (without any fighting) and most of us came out with pieces from one another's wardrobe.
3. Get crafty - DIY project
Then there are those items that are neither trendy nor in great condition. Perhaps you purchased that oversized blouse thinking you'd style it in a flattering way, or you just wore that pair of jeans too many times that the hems are beyond frayed. All you need is a little imagination and time to reincarnate these pieces that are of quality fabric and/or interesting print. The web is full of inspiration for DIY projects. I find that YouTube is a great place for finding step-by-step tutorials for transforming old clothes.
For example, I followed this tutorial from stylehaul for a classic DIY project for creating a pair of denim shorts from my old Adriano Goldschmied jeans, which I originally purchased from an eBay seller for under $20 including shipping. During college, I went through a phase of buying designer jeans off eBay for a fraction of their retail price, and most of the time, I had great luck with sizes and fits. These jeans were a size 26L and ended up a tad big (with no stretch) and way too long (along with huge bellbottom openings). Wearing these pants on rainy days was a nightmare. I never had them hemmed, probably because the fit through the legs was too big. These conditions created the perfect storm for transforming them into a pair of denim shorts!
Surprisingly, I have not owned a pair of denim shorts since elementary school. So to make up for lost times I have been living in these summer essentials for the past few weeks.
4. Donate to charity
Finally, you always have the option of donating your gently worn clothing to local organizations such as Goodwill or Savers. To save you a trip, Big Brother Big Sister Foundation even picks up donations right from your house!
With all these options for your old clothing, there is no excuse for not cleaning out your closet. Whether you sell your designer duds for some extra cash or revamp an old pair of jeans into a pair of shorts or donate to charity, you can feel good about elongating the life cycle of a piece of clothing by passing it along to a new owner who will love it as much as you did.
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