How to shop secondhand as a mid-size girlie

We have to wait longer and look harder, but there are some workarounds.

There are people who love to shop, and then there is me. I’m a shopping enthusiast, an obsessive, an aficionado if you will. A pre-loved devotee, I rarely set foot in new clothing stores. If I’ve got a free Saturday, you can count on the fact that I’ll be sliding a Taylor Swift CD into my car stereo and speeding down the Eastern freeway to my favourite Melbourne op shops. If not, I’ll be sneaking in a quick scroll of eBay in those small windows between commitments.

It’s not just the purchasing part of pre-loved shopping that I love, but the browsing. Scrolling through the ever-updated pages of resale platforms online or sorting through the racks at a thrift store, you never know what you might find. It’s the possibility of it all that’s exciting. Perhaps you’ll happen upon your dream pair of low-waisted Ralph Lauren slacks, an Oroton silk scarf from the ’90s or a vintage, asymmetrical Scanlan Theodore top in a silhouette that’s been on your Pinterest board for months. 

The only downside of shopping secondhand is having to be patient. It’s not a virtue that comes naturally to me. Because I’m a mid-sized girlie, sometimes the options, particularly in-store, aren’t as plentiful. There’s simply not as much to browse on the size 16 rack at Savers, which is often a quarter of the heft of the size 10 rack. When it comes to thrift shopping, we have to wait longer and look harder. But luckily, online secondhand marketplaces have a number of workarounds. 

If I’m on my phone, you can safely assume that I’m either on TikTok, rewatching my own Instagram stories (tragic) or scrolling through eBay. Browsing secondhand clothing online, just like thrifting IRL, is something I’m quite good at (if I may say so myself). As they say, practice makes perfect. And you’re in luck, because I’m very well-practised, and I’m here to give you all the advice you need to find your dream pre-loved wardrobe online. 

Know what you’re looking for

Possibly the most important principle of shopping secondhand is to know what you’re looking for. Whether you’re into building mood boards based on your Pinterest picks, or you prefer taking a more practical approach and systematically identifying the gaps in your wardrobe, it makes it much easier to find what you’re looking for online. 

In other words, know your style identity. You might use the three-word method, you may be heavily influenced by a particular decade (for me it’s the ’90s) or you might base your wardrobe around particular silhouettes. Whatever works for you, that’s great. 

It took me a while to learn this, but there’s a huge difference between building a cohesive wardrobe that you love to wear and buying for the sake of buying. Keep coming back to your style identity (it will change over time) and soon enough, you’ll notice your wardrobe feels more wearable. 

Filter by size

Because most of my wardrobe is secondhand, I’ve tried on a lot (and I mean a lot) of pieces in thrift store changing rooms. I’ve come to know what brands fit me best, and I know which sizes will fit me the way I want them to. It’s not always about shopping for your ‘correct size’ but shopping for the ‘look’ you want. 

For example, Black Pepper used to make the cutest long-sleeve striped tops. I have quite a few hanging in my closet, and they’re on high rotation at the moment in this cold weather. I’m generally a size 16, but the tops in my wardrobe sit between sizes 18 and 22 because I like them to fit a little looser. So when I’m on the hunt for a different colourway online, I can search for Black Pepper and then filter down to sizes 18 to 22.

The same goes for buying more androgynous pieces like big jumpers and jackets. I’m a fan of super big and cosy jumpers, especially vintage sportswear crewnecks, and I like to wear them oversized. I’d never type that into a search bar though. ‘Oversized’ for someone else may not mean ‘oversized’ for you, and it’s tricky to tell from pictures exactly how something will fit you. I always pop ‘XXL’ into the search bar or add a size filter to my search. eBay, for example, lets you choose your preferred size and also your size type (regular, plus, tall, etc) so you can find exactly the fit you’re looking for. 

Filter by brand

I’m big on brands, especially online. If you know a brand fits you well, you can buy with confidence. At the moment, I’m a little (a lot) obsessed with vintage Brown Sugar pieces from the turn of the century. Their pants and jeans (all low-waisted, of course, it was the 2000s) have a particular hold over me. So online, I can search for Brown Sugar and know, even without measurements, that a pair of size 16 jeans will fit me. In fact, I’ve got a pair of Brown Sugar slacks in my eBay cart as I type this, waiting for me to click ‘buy’. 

Think of the brands you get excited about when you see them while out thrifting and pop them into the search bar. For example, Suzanne Grae is amazing for interesting and unique skirts, and Sussan is similarly great for cute, short-sleeve tops. Vintage Jeanswest is also one I look out for, and all are very often available above a size 16. 

Make your search terms specific

A fiend for anything and everything ’90s, I’m quite obsessed with vintage mid- to low-waisted skirts and I’ve found some of my favourites online. I often size up in skirts to ensure they’ll sit lower on my hip, rather than higher at my waist, and I also always make sure I’m being super specific with my search terms. Go for ‘low-waisted skirt’, ‘elastic’ or specify by length (maxi, midi, mini) to narrow down your results. It’s also a good idea to search for adjustable items. Wrap skirts are a great option because they have adaptable sizing, usually with a clasp or a button that can be moved with a little sewing know-how.

Take note of the shape you’re after. A lot of eBay listings feature flat lays of the item for sale. Say you have a pair of jeans that you love, lay them out and see how the shape looks, so you know what shapes to look for. Also, take measurements of pieces you already have that fit you well and save them to your phone so you can quickly compare them to measurements in listings.

Enjoy yourself!

Although it often is, shopping shouldn’t be a stressful experience. Once you’ve honed your online pre-loved searching skills, I promise you it can be joyous, exciting and most of all, a creative outlet. I see my wardrobe as an extension of myself, and shopping secondhand online has helped me create it. 

eBay is not endorsed by or affiliated with any of the brands referenced in this article.

To unearth your own hidden, pre-loved gems, head to eBay.