One of the key tenets of sustainable style is making the most of what you have — and that includes giving a second life to unworn clothes. Given the impact of fashion on our planet, shopping secondhand has many environmental beyond just being kinder to your wallet. From preventing old or unworn clothes from being doomed to landfills to reducing the number of resources it takes to produce new, choosing secondhand can really make a difference.
As we’ve already established, secondhand is not second best — just look at how glam these women look rocking secondhand fashion in Singapore. Whether you’re into thrifting or designer vintage, renting or swapping, these all fall under the broader secondhand umbrella. Your secondhand journey doesn’t end when #SecondhandSeptember does. So here’s a master list of secondhand shopping options in Singapore, good all year long.
Pre-loved Designer
Think big designer names, valuable vintage collector’s items, and all things luxury. Pre-loved designer is a growing category as more consumers are interested in extending the life of their loved luxury and purchasing one of a kind pieces from their favourite designers.
1. The Fifth Collection
Save money, enrich your lifestyle and positively impact the environment in one go, through online vintage and preloved luxury. The Fifth Collection is a curated collection of vintage, collectables and pre-loved luxury fashion, that ensure authenticity, quality, and no hidden costs.
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2. StyleTribute
StyleTribute was founded as a solution to a moral dilemma many women face – facing a desire to shop versus the sight of an overcrowded closet. Built on the pillars of community, authenticity, diversity and sustainability, StyleTribute showcases a variety of pre-owned authentic designer fashion clothing and accessories.
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3. Reebonz
Reebonz is a trusted online platform for buying and selling the widest range of new and pre-owned luxury products with a seamless shopping experience.
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4. Madam Milan
With the belief that the timeless style and trusted quality of designer goods should not have to cost a fortune, Madam Milan wants to enable more women to feel good and look good in genuine designer products.
Raffles Place MRT, 5 Raffles Place, #B1-31, 048618
Open Mondays to Fridays, 11 am to 8 pm, Closed on Saturdays, Sundays & PH
Far East Plaza, 14 Scotts Road, #04-52, 228213
Open Mondays to Saturdays, 12 pm – 8 pm, Sundays & Selected PH 1 pm to 7 pm
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Vintage
Vintage is anything that’s more than 20 years old and those older than 100 years is considered antique. It’s also a curated collection of garments that represent the styles and trends associated with the era it was produced – think flapper dresses in the 20s or bell-bottoms in the 60s.
1. Dark Horse Vintage
Find some fabulous vintage at the most accessible vintage store – online. Whether your taste is more quirky and floral, or laidback classic, Dark Horse Vintage does it all.
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2. Dustbunny Vintage
Fall in love with vintage all the way back from the 50s! Discover all things cute and retro at this vintage shop, and also snag some unique designer finds! They even have some of their own in-house creations available.
2-A Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089110
3. Loop Garms
If you’re more into contemporary than vintage pencil skirts and flowy dresses, check out Loop Garms. They curate collections of streetwear, casual and workwear apparel as well as fun knick-knacks from the 80s and 90s.
635 Veerasamy Rd, #01-148, Singapore 200635
Open Daily except for Wednesdays, 12 pm to 7.30 pm
4. A Vintage Tale
For all things 60s, colourful and glamorous, look to A Vintage Tale – a cute technicolour boutique nestled between the colourful shophouses on Joo Chiat Road.
277 Joo Chiat Road Singapore, Singapore 427531
Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 11.30 pm to 7.30 pm, Mondays from 2.30 pm to 7.30 pm
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5. The Eclectic Room
What started as an e-vintage store turned into a hip independent lifestyle concept boutique in the shophouses of Joo Chiat. You can spend hours browsing through their collection of apparel, accessories, vintage home decor including in-house produced candles and incense sticks.
162 Joo Chiat Rd, #02-01, Singapore 427437
Open Thursday to Sunday, 12 pm to 6 pm, Tuesdays & Wednesdays by appointment only
| For more vintage finds, see our vintage guide! |
Swapping + Renting
Experiment with your style without committing to any trends while being eco-friendly through swapping, renting, leasing and borrowing! Swapping is a fun way to not only clear out good-condition items you don’t wear anymore but discover something else to add to your collection. Renting is a great option for one-time wears (whether for a gala or a wedding). Above all, both give you more options at a lower budget without losing out on closet space.
1. Swapaholic
Swapaholic is a social enterprise that helps declutter & refresh your closet, without hurting your wallet or the planet. They perform thorough quality checks on all items you bring in, assign them points and then you are set to find your favourite new-to-you items!
04-07 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238896
Open Daily 11 am – 10 pm
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2. The Fashion Pulpit
Think of The Fashion Pulpit as an extended closet – combine giving away your previously loved clothes with buying used. This vibrant space is carefully curated with all sorts of preloved items, from casual tees to wedding gowns! Decide between multiple memberships, tailored to your needs, and then start swapping.
5 Straits View, Marina One, The Heart #01-04, Singapore 018935
Open Tuesdays to Sundays including PH, 11 am 7 pm
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3. Covetella
Covetella was founded by an avid shopaholic, Carol Chen, who had many friends interested in borrowing her collection of fabulous dresses and gowns. First of all, start by booking items online or pay a visit to their showroom to try on the racks of designer dresses. Then, choose to rent them for 4, 8, or 12 days. They also take care of deliveries and dry cleaning services so lenders and customers can simply focus on the fashion.
201 Henderson Road, #04-08, Singapore 159545
By appointment only, currently closed until further notice.
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4. Rentadella
Whether you’re looking for gala looks (when events are allowed again) or snazzy Sunday brunch outfits, check out Rentadella. The brainchild of singer and personality, Ming Bridges, Rentadella is a rental fashion service that lets you rent all the trend-driven fashion you love instead of buying them.
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5. Style Theory
Style Theory is a subscription-based fashion website and app, where subscribers pay a monthly subscription fee to get access to thousands of designer items. It’s basically an extension to your wardrobe – you’ll find everything from workwear to party dresses, and customers can return them to get something new to wear again.
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6. MADthread
Pairing designers from Self Portrait to DVF with speedy service MADThread offers its customers a seamless style experience. Most importantly, enjoy an unlimited wardrobe for all occasions without breaking the bank!
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7. The Treasure Collective
The Treasure Collective is a Singapore-based fashion rental platform that provides subscription-based & ad-hoc leasing of clothing and accessories from members. It also offers a sustainable and holistic managed-wardrobe solution – not just for an evening or special occasion-wear but also for daily choices.
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8. Just Borrowed
Just Borrowed is a rental platform for like-minded individuals to maximize their wardrobe and extend their lifespan by renting. Cutting out the middle person, Just Borrowed is letting lenders and renters build a community while getting paid to make fashion circular!
9. THAT BAG I WANT
Keep rotating multiple designer handbags and accessories without sacrificing an arm and a leg with thatbagiwant. A hassle-free and reliant online borrowing service, so you’ll feel at ease when looking for stylish and authentic handbags and accessories.
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10. Lendor
Considered the Airbnb for everything you can imagine, Lendor offers fashion and luxury items to rent for just a day or as long as the item is available. Head on to their website to rent a designer bag for that event you forgot you had, or try out a different dress silhouette.
11. Cloop
Cloop sees the need to reduce fashion consumption and waste by collecting, curating and circulating good fashion pieces within the community through affordable ‘shopping’ alternatives such as Fashion Swap! Also, part of the proceeds is donated to the charity: Water and World Vision.
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Thrifting + Charity Shops
Thrifting is a great budget-friendly way to spruce up your wardrobe with ‘new’ finds, without having to buy new. Thrift store shopping has many benefits for people and also the planet! For instance, you get to keep clothes in rotation for longer, and develop a more conscious mindset about how many clothes you actually ‘need’.
1. The Kint Story
Celebrate the imperfections in life and in preloved clothing with this online thrift store. The Kint Story was started by a group of students with a mission to reduce the ecological footprint the fashion industry has on our environment.
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2. Refash
Refash is a second-hand fashion marketplace for customers to buy and sell their unused garments. They make it convenient for women to clean out their closet and shop for quality second-hand clothing at the same time.
Check out their 10 country-wide offline stores on their website.
Opening hours vary from location.
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3. Exit Co
Not your ordinary vintage store. EXIT is a curated fashion retail store featuring hype and vintage global streetwear labels. Founded in 2018, EXIT started with the goal of creating a safe space for streetwear lovers to connect but also buy, sell and trade apparel.
150, #05-27 Orchard Rd, Orchard Plaza, Singapore 238841
Open Wednesdays to Sundays, 3 to 8 pm
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4. New2U
New2U is a thrift shop that sells pre-loved clothing, accessories, household items, ornaments, books and etc. starting from as low as S$1.00. Thrift stores encourage customers to steer away from fast fashion brands at a similarly low price, towards more unique finds that make fashion circular.
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5. Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is dedicated to meeting the needs of the poor and marginalized in the community without discrimination. You can pass on your pre-loved or new belongings and even have a look at what they have!
Drop off items to their Donation In Kind booths in these locations.
Opening hours vary from location.
6. The Red Cross
Dig into the many bins of clothing at the Red Cross Thrift Shop to score some excellent deals while doing good for the community. Most importantly, all proceeds support their local humanitarian efforts. Also, watch out for their Sunday sales if you can’t make it on a weekday and find them on Carousell too!
The Red Cross House at 15 Penang Lane, S238486
Temporarily closed
The Red Cross Training Campsite at 62 Jalan Khairuddin, Opera Estate, Singapore S457524
Open Mondays and Fridays, 11 am to 4 pm
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7. Something Old Something New (SOSN)
Check out Something Old Something New (SOSN) – a social enterprise thrift shop and a platform training and equipping persons recovering from mental health issues with retail and logistic skills to boost their employability. It’s also a “green” enterprise which operates with the “reduce, reuse and recycle” principles.
Drop off items to their Anglican Care and Senior centres in these locations.
Opening hours vary from location.
8. NONMAINSTREAM
NONMAINSTREAM, like their name suggests, is so hipster that they don’t have regular opening hours. They are a curated vintage and preloved clothing store that offers a lot of streetwear, collector pieces such as graphic tees, atheleisure and vintage denim treasures!
462A Crawford Lane #02-73, S191462
Open weekends, 1 pm to 7 pm (keep updated on their Instagram page)
International Thrift + Resale Sites That Ship To Singapore
With a mix of vintage, preloved designer, and your general online thrifting, make the most out of their international collections, right from the comfort of your home.
1. Vestiaire Collective
Vestiaire Collective is the leading online marketplace to buy and sell pre-owned designer clothing and accessories while placing authenticity, style and also the planet first. Dive into their carefully curated vast collection of luxury and premium items at up to 70% off its retail prices.
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2. Depop
Explore this online fashion marketplace and app where the next generation comes to discover unique items. Especially with Depop’s growing popularity amongst younger generations, they have inventory spanning edgy street style to vintage designer finds.
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3. The RealReal
Discover luxury consignment that has gone through extensive authentication processes overseen by experts. The RealReal also promotes circularity in the fashion industry by making sure more of our pre-loved goods stay in circulation.
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4. ThredUP
This is the largest online consignment and thrift store globally. Find high-quality used women’s clothing and used children’s clothing you’d certainly mistake as new. That too at a fraction of the price!
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5. Vintage Qoo
Hailing from Japan, the biggest consumers of luxury items from the 80s and 90s, Vintage Qoo ships internationally and has a fully functional site in English. Especially if you’re on the lookout for vintage Chanel, rest assured you’ll find some classy pieces as the founders themselves are big fans. They have physical stores in Tokyo and Osaka.
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*This list was updated on the 3rd of September 2021.
