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If you had to make a list of style icons, members of Congress probably wouldn’t be on it.
Enter Rosie Lightning, the Labour MP for Kettering, who is looking to shake up the way politicians dress. The 26-year-old studied fashion at the University of Westminster and previously worked as a buyer at ASOS. Her personal style seems to consist mainly of trench coats, tailored jackets and bright red blazers. But earlier this week, news broke that she was selling her own clothes on Depop, further elevating Lightning’s style status.
For those who don’t know, Depop is a clothing sales site that’s currently popular with Gen Z, with a focus on trendy, sustainable items. Users can set up online stores to showcase and sell their personal aesthetic.
Unfortunately, Lightning’s store appears to have closed since news of her thrift-shopping adventures broke. Hopefully, she’ll continue selling her clothes under a different name, and frankly, if she’s into fashion, she should.
She should buy her clothes from this platform or a similar one because this is how young people consume fashion today, and in my opinion, it’s the best way.
In 2023, Depop’s user base has grown to 35 million, all of whom have collectively earned over $3.5 billion so far. It’s a massive marketplace, with people selling everything on the platform, from second-hand designer dresses to never-worn swimsuits. Earlier this month, Depop announced it was removing seller fees for all new listings, which could increase further. This means users can receive more money for selling items on the platform.
Depop’s competitors are also doing surprisingly well. Vinted, which is expanding rapidly across Europe, turned a profit for the first time in April and turned a loss of €20.4 million into a profit of €17.8 million in 2022. The company’s revenue also jumped 61% year-on-year to €596.3 million in 2023.
There are a myriad of reasons behind this surge: the cost-of-living crisis has made the prospect of buying new clothes difficult, fast fashion has fallen completely out of the zeitgeist and most people want to shop as sustainably as possible, and let’s be honest, at this point, buying and selling second-hand clothes is a lot cooler.
Firstly, you can find super unique items on these platforms that you can’t get anywhere else. For Glastonbury, I desperately wanted the iconic Hunza G cut-out dress that Julia Roberts wore in Pretty Woman, but the brand itself had sold out ages ago. So I found one on Depop, and although it was a different colour (orange and yellow instead of white and blue), it was a great alternative and much cheaper than the original.
On Depop, I found items from all of my favorite brands, including Gimaguas, Realisation Par, Reformation, Ganni, Molly Goddard, etc. Every item I bought there arrived in like-new condition (sellers are obligated to inform potential buyers of any defects up front) and nicely packaged.
This comes despite some amusing findings from @depopdrama (now renamed @dmdrama), an Instagram account that posts amusing interactions between buyers and sellers on the second-hand shopping platform. Highlights include arguments over shipping costs (“I don’t ship internationally because I’m scared,” one seller wrote. “Afraid of what?” the buyer asked) and items arriving with drugs in the pockets.
I sell more than I buy. I sell mostly on Depop because it’s too much hassle to set up accounts on other platforms. I also sell via my Instagram account @anotherhand_sale, where I send a lot of expensive dresses. They do the postage and packaging for me so the commission is higher, but frankly it takes a lot out of my burden and is well worth it.
Gone are the days when buying and selling second-hand goods was a chore or something only a particularly distinctive dresser would do. Today, it’s an integral part of the fashion ecosystem, and it seems like everyone is doing it, even members of Congress.
