“My mission is to make second-hand shopping and selling a slick, easy and reliable experience for all.”
What we do
We buy as well as sell second-hand clothing on our site.
Selling - We have a unique quotation tool that allows you to get an instant estimated price, so you can make a quick decision about whether you want to use our service. To find out more about how it works, see our sell page.
Processing - We hand check the quality and condition of all items before standardising their presentation, pricing and description.
Shopping – We sell the items that have passed our quality checks from our super user-friendly online shop.
I want to provide convenience, both for sellers and shoppers. I am continually looking to improve the ease of engagement with the second-hand clothing market as well as providing a useful service and enjoyable online experience.
Why we do it
Reduce, re-use, recycle. This phrase is becoming increasingly familiar, and as we learn to navigate the ‘new normal’ many of us have had to question our old habits and in many cases adopt new ones. I’m learning to lead a more environmentally-conscious life slowly but surely, and the idea for Worn In Wardrobe came from my frustrations with current options out there for buying and selling pre-owned clothing.
I decided I wanted to make it easier - faff-free selling for those having a clear-out and seamless (excuse the pun!) browsing for those that are looking to buy. The aim is for it to be as slick as if you were browsing and buying new.
The problem many of us have faced when engaging with the second-hand world is that it often feels a bit messy, it’s more inconvenient than just buying new! Creating listings is time-consuming, sorting payment and postage, planning multiple trips to the post office or arranging a collection every time something sells.
There’s sometimes haggling to deal with, or buyers who express an interest but fail to turn up or pay. Let’s not forget the selling and promotional fees.
As a buyer, it’s often difficult to search for items you want as there’s no standard way of describing them, and casual browsing through marketplace listings often doesn’t feel very user-friendly. The less-than-ideal photos, the incomplete or inaccurate descriptions.
At the end of the day it requires a leap of faith that your purchase will be as described. There are plenty of genuine people selling wonderful pre-loved items, but there are also some cowboys out there for sure. If you've done any amount of second-hand shopping, you know it doesn't take too long before your first 'duff' purchase. No wonder people are still buying new!
As well as the inconvenience, what frustrates me is that there are no standardised guidelines for setting a price - too high and you won't have any buyers, too low and you've done all the hard work for very little reward. Sometimes an item goes for more than its recommended retail price, but other times you have to massively discount your original price to shift it.
These are just some of the hurdles I can think of that make engaging with the second-hand market more difficult than binning or buying new. Without addressing these issues, the second-hand market just cannot compete in terms of convenience. Without addressing these issues, you simply won't get mass engagement in the long term.
Who we do it for
Our website is for busy people who are switched on to eco issues but need sustainable shopping habits to be made easier and less time-consuming.
Looking for convenience and good value in your life? Tired of fast fashion and looking to reduce your environmental impact? You’ve come to the right place!
By taking over the lion's share of the work involved in reselling, our service is an attractive option to those having a clear-out and looking to make a little money back from their clothes. You could possibly make more money reselling them yourself, but equally there’s no guarantee.
If you’d rather donate your clothes to charity that’s great, but do you know what charities like better than clothes? Money! We leave it entirely up to you to decide what to do with your fee.
Who am I?
My name is Madeleine and the idea for Worn In Wardrobe came from an excessive period of nesting when I was 2 weeks overdue with my second child. I distracted myself by collecting second-hand baby clothes and dreaming up this business.
Fun facts about me include that I love karaoke, I did a 3 year stint as a pub quizmaster, and I’m a zumba fanatic - 100% believe in the power of dance to lift your mood!
What’s important to me?
Ease of use, sustainability, community, and reliability. By applying these core values I hope to provide you with convenience, an enjoyable online experience and peace of mind.
Why is Worn In Wardrobe different?
There are other companies offering similar services, I’ve found their focus tends to be on high-end and designer brands.
At Worn in Wardrobe our focus is on extending the life of all clothes, regardless of how they came into existence.
Given that the vast majority of clothing is not bought from boutique outlets, by accepting a wider range of brands we can engage a much larger audience of sellers and buyers.
And that's the main aim, increasing engagement with the second-hand market - not keeping it niche!
Why start with babywear and preschool sizes?
I wish we could offer to purchase and sell clothing for all ages and sizes of humans right from the get-go, but as a start-up business we must start somewhere. Baby wear and toddler clothing is where this idea originated, and it seems like a good place to start.
There is often high turnover of items within a household as young children outgrow clothing quickly, Young children also have a habit of getting very messy, so there is a demand for what is often called ‘playwear’ i.e. clothing that doesn’t need to be new, or bobble-free. There are also high levels of gifting for young children by family and friends.
Not only are some gifts inevitably surplus to requirements, it also provides a great opportunity to introduce and encourage the idea of second-hand gifting!
Looking to the future…
Where are we heading?
I’m dreaming big. I envisage a world where looking for an item second-hand first becomes the norm, and buying new is only thought of when nothing appropriate can be found second-hand.
I’d like to see the stigma removed around the gifting of second-hand items. I’d like to see better working conditions for garment workers worldwide. Once we’re turning a profit I plan to donate 10% of our profits to garment worker charities such as Fashion Makes Change and the Clean Clothes Campaign.
I’d like to create flexible living wage jobs for those with caring responsibilities and other unpaid commitments, jobs that actually fit into people’s lives and bring them joy. If the work can be adapted so that there is the option to work from home, I will pursue this.
We are starting with preschool clothing first, but we are aiming to expand our offering to maternity & womenswear, older children, teenagers and menswear as soon as we are able to!
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