Sydney photographer and stylist Lexi Laphor’s guide to shopping secondhand markets

“Pre-loved fashion and vintage shopping is slow. It’s about the process and the experience, not the outcome.”

Striking gold at secondhand markets takes a special set of skills. You need to be patient and prepared to put in the time, have a beady eye for detail and unexpected finds and a clear understanding of what you’re looking for (and what isn’t actually worth taking home with you). Sydney-based stylist and photographer Lexi Laphor has been shopping secondhand markets for most of her life and is known for her vibrant, maximalist aesthetic.

“I’ve always loved bold pieces and putting together things that clash or disrupt, and having fun with buying and dressing. I especially love seeing the way that textures and trimmings combine when I’m shopping or creating outfits. That’s what I love so much about market environments – the variety in the materials and textiles of vintage pieces that you just cannot find in new products,” she tells us.

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Lexi has scoured secondhand markets around the world and has found one-of-a-kind pieces from flea markets in New York, Oakland, New Orleans, Portland, Los Angeles, Berlin, Marrakech, Melbourne and Sydney.

“I love the energy and history attached to pieces that have lived past lives. I feel excited to get to create a new chapter in the lifespan of the piece. The plus side of market finds and older pieces is the quality in craftsmanship and construction that you just don’t see on the mainstream market in this day and age, and getting to wear unique and one-off pieces means that no one else is wearing what you are,” she says. Below, we asked Lexi to share her wealth of experience in successfully shopping secondhand markets.

Hi Lexi! What kinds of pieces have you found at secondhand markets? Any standouts? 

I just wore this amazing ’80s dress that looks like it could be off a Vivienne Westwood runway that I got at Oakland Flea Market a year ago. I wore it for the first time at my brother’s 30th in Canberra this weekend! I was planning to wear it to fashion week last year or this year, but it didn’t happen. I’m obsessed with the dress and I’m going to take it out for a spin in New York later in the year.

At secondhand markets do you tend to make a beeline for specific stalls, or do you browse through everything?  

I always inevitably beeline. I start by doing rows methodically but what starts as a leisurely stroll turns into an Olympic sport; you will always catch me darting and running manically across the markets when something special catches my eye. If I go with friends they are like “Call us when you’re finished”, because they know how I get and that the completionist in me needs to see every single store before I leave. I may be there for a while if it’s a good market!

What do you look for when browsing a secondhand stall? 

It depends on what I’m looking for at that period. I’ll usually have a few specific items I’ve been hunting for over the years and also some genre of thing I’m currently obsessed with. A few months ago I inherited my grandparents’ ’60s light fittings and tableware. I’m now super into MCM glass designers, ’60s linen tablecloths and place settings, but before that, it was all about Japanese and New Zealand ceramic stoneware and before that, colourful cowboy boots!

Do you prefer reseller stalls or personal wardrobe stalls?

It depends. Personal wardrobe is so great because the prices are usually super accessible but the downside is it will all be the one size and usually the one style of that person, so you strike gold or don’t find anything at all. Resellers can be more diverse and have collectible or rare pieces but the prices are higher.

I used to sell now and then at markets in Melbourne and had an Etsy/Instagram store called Hard Femme Vintage from 2013 to 2016 where I’d sell club kid/’90s style pieces and ’80s and ’90s swimwear which I’d style into music videos and for touring musicians. It was a very specific style and not for everyone – very Melbourne queer punk! The Etsy store got banned so many times (I still think bc of all the queer models and edgy photos). It was too ahead of its time.

In Australia, I think I enjoy people’s personal wardrobe stalls more than the reseller stalls though because of the personality and rawness. Resellers, although some can be amazing, can be a bit same same, similar to online shops or brick-and-mortar stores appealing to trends and what sells and makes money right now. In America, the reseller stalls are more wild and wacky, but I’ve found pieces I love at both.

Do you have a favourite market for shopping pre-loved fashion? 

As a teen visiting Sydney, I loved Paddy’s Markets for denim and custom embroidery. I was infatuated with Mister Stinky on Cleveland St– the oldies and OGs remember. I grew up in Canberra and loved the vintage markets that came to Albert Hall. That’s where I got my first silk scarf and MCM Jewellery when I was 15. A few years back, I frequented Fairfield Markets for bric-a-brac and homewares. But the past couple of years I haven’t found an Australian market that hits the spot for me.

I’ve been to some massively curated Instagram/TikTok ones but I don’t like it when it’s all homogenous – all the storeholders were under the age of 30, and all the clothes were Y2K.  It can feel too trendy and also really overpriced. If you’re not confident using your eye and instincts it’s a helpful place to start, but for me, it takes the whimsy and the treasure hunt out of it! Having said that I did get a great haul last week visiting Melbourne and stumbling upon a super curated secondhand clothing store.

For Australia right now I’m all about the op shops. My goal is to get to every single Vinnies and Salvos store in the whole of greater Sydney and I don’t have many left to get to! Vinnies is my fav because of its queer-friendly company structure that doesn’t discriminate in who they give help/aid/support to.

Any last words of advice for people who are new to shopping secondhand markets? 

If you like an adventure and having unique pieces this is for you. It’s for every kid told by a family member or teacher “This is not a fashion show”. It’s for the romantics and the creatives. Pre-loved fashion and vintage shopping is slow. It’s about the process and the experience, not the outcome.

For tips on buying and selling your secondhand clothes, head here.