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Somewhere there’s a warehouse full of amazing vintage suits in pristine condition where the sun shines through the windows to slant shutters on the floor. And you can walk into this room and up to a rack of these perfectly preserved clothes, pull out a jacket, slip it on, belt it up and sashay through the room like Katherine Hepburn in her heyday, and the sunshine will follow you out the door.
That’s our idea of thrift shopping.
The reality is that by now most stores have been picked over so much that what remains is like the dregs of some poorly-coordinated person’s musty old closet, where you might find a great jacket if you can forget about the moth holes on the side or a fabulous sweater if you know how to repair a frayed cuff or a pair of pants that might pass muster if you have some serious tenure at a sewing machine.
That’s where PreLoved comes in. First off, they’ve found that elusive warehouse, because all of their pieces are fashioned from fabrics that look like they were time warped here from 1943, minus any wear and tear. But it’s what they do with these pieces that’s truly amazing. With a nip and a tuck and a well-thought-out seam, they transform a goody two-shoes, pink-and-gray argyle sweater into a sexy, off-the-shoulder top, or pants into a wrap or seamed skirt. By their reckoning, on one season they rescued and revived 20,000 sweaters, 12,000 t-shirts, 10,000 sweatshirts, 8,000 pairs of jeans and 6,000 trench coats. But the best part is the descriptions of each piece, where you can see the “recipe” it took to make it, such as the “three pair of vintage wool trousers” that combined to create the L’Amour belted, strapless dress which would even do Kate proud. Now all you need is sunshine.
Here’s the kicker: You can’t actually buy PreLoved online until their new site launches next year. That is, unless you’re reading up on our Fashion page!
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