We’re all secondhand shoppers these days. But where? How? And more importantly, why?

Online marketplace platforms have grown exponentially (making billionaires of some of the founders in the process) but there’s also a surge happening IRL, where the indie dealers hold the power. And the more niche the better.

In this episode we’re exploring how preloved fashion is booming in physical spaces, and in particular the new-style, curated vintage and archive fashion markets. Is it about sustainability or status, or both? Subcultures, nostalgia, a yearning for authenticity in our increasingly disconnected world, sheer fun - it all comes into play.

Also covered: What’s with the curated obsession? Don’t we love a rummage anymore? What’s driving new gen uptake? Could we be seeing a backlash against fake AI vibes? What are the dealers looking for? Is it okay to haggle? Also, has decluttering fallen out of favour? Is it more about restyling what’s already in your wardrobe? SO MANY QUESTIONS! We’ve got answers.

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In the first of a mini-series on the rise of second-hand fashion, my guest is the very charismatic and knowledgeable Aussie vintage fashion guru, Philip Boon. I'll leave it to him to tell you his story, and that of the late Mary Lipshut, the extraordinary Melburnian vintage doyenne, whose collection Philip (with his business partner Sonia) now manages as part of The Internationals.

Get ready for a super-fun gallop through key vintage eras of the last century!

Up for discussion: the importance of designers knowing this stuff; how past decades were defined by particular silhouettes; why vintage is hotter than ever; fashion subcultures; the rules of vintage dressing (are there any?); how to look after your vintage duds, wash those old silks and store those beads and jumpers; why the real vintage insiders are looking for uniqueness over brands these days plus lots of funny stories and outfit descriptions. Let's go!

If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.

Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com

Support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

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We know the struggle to resist the January sales is real! So this week's pod is for anyone who needs a reminder that some of the best things in life are free. Or, maybe you could use bit of encouragement to take a moment to ground yourself.

Consider it permission to forget capitalism, scary news headlines, the spectre of going back to work for while.

In this limbo time after Christmas but before the new year really kicks in, we wanted to invite you to have a moment of noticing the birds, how delightful, clever and fascinating they are, how they live among us, yet often go unnoticed.

My guest is Australian theatre actor and playwright, Nathan Harrison, who's latest play is Birdsong of Tomorrow.

Our conversation was recording on a birdwatching jaunt in my local park.

Hang on! Isn't Wardrobe Crisis a fashion podcast? Don't worry - birds are often brilliantly dressed with their wonderful plumage.

Enjoy!

If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.

Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com

Support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

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Lizzie Dibble wants libraries to lend clothes as well as books. Not just any clothes though. A carefully curated selection of donated second-hand fashion, imbued with the stories of former wearers, and volunteer-run.

With Love From… has built a collection of occasion-wear, mostly for women (though there’s also a children’s dressup box) for library members to loan in her hometown of Oswestry, UK. That focus is intentional, because party dresses are some of the least-worn garments in our wardrobes. Lizzie is on a mission to encourage less wardrobe waste and more collective joy - all while encouraging new users into the existing local library network.

We have questions!

Who’s donating? Who’s borrowing? How does it work in practice? Did the library take some convincing? How can others get involved? Could it annoy existing library users who just want a quiet spot to read? Lizzie’s answer to the latter is both lovely and surprising. She says that the shared wardrobe is a quiet space, and that’s part of why it works. With Love From… is not just like shopping without money, but without the frenzy that underpins so much unsustainable consumption. Could this be a blueprint for shared wardrobes around the world?

If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.

Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com

Support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

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Despite Shein’s new sustainability rhetoric, workers are still paying the price for the ultra-fast fashion giant’s success.

To 75-hour working weeks, piece rates and no contracts, we can add secrecy, opaque financial operations and a general air of mystery around its billionaire founder and how the brand does business.

This is the story they don't want told.

But thanks to Swiss NGO Public Eye's meticulous research and undercover reporting, it's now out in the open. So can Shein change for the better? Or is unethical simply part of the business model?

If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.

Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com

Support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

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Listen up! Yayra Agbofah is the founder of Ghanaian non-profit, The Revival. He's seriously stylish a poet, a creative upcycler, and one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders, as well a 2025 winner of the H&M Foundation's Global Change Award.

And he's got some advice for the global fashion industry...

Also covered in this charismatic convo: why wear a hat, the art of knowing yourself, community upcycling at scale, fashion education, how circularity is creating jobs as well as value from waste, and a new vision for the fashion system of tomorrow.

If you enjoy the Episode, please help us share it.

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Got recommendations? Hit us up!

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We're back! And excited to be kick off Series 12 with this fabulous interview with Copenhagen-based Moroccan Danish stylist, and excellent dresser, Samia Benchaou.

Clare and Samia met at fashion week when they got talking about the power of a great outfit. Can you relate? Bet you have a story of someone you met because of what they were wearing! (If so, tell us on Instagram).

Clothes speak before we do and fashion is a fun way to connect. But what we wear can also express our politics, culture and identity and belonging.

Themes up for discussion? First, confidence! How to get it, how to dress with it, and how it can set you free. We also talk about why you should give more complements to strangers, being a renegade, the influencer economy, and how much some people really get paid, while others miss out. Earnings, value, power imbalance, and how free clothes don't pay the bills. And we talk racism, why representation matters but it can't stop there, and why there aren't more Muslim prominent fashion influencers and stylists. Buckle up!

If you enjoy the Episode, please help us share it.

Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com

Read Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Got recommendations? Hit us up!

And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts.

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Construction! Proportion! Craft!

What lies behind the enduring power of the suit? Of great tailoring? How is that amplified when it’s bespoke? What makes a good suit? Does it still matter? Why? And how much should it cost? All these questions, and many more are on the (cutting) table this week, as Clare sits down with Savile Row tailor Dominic Sebag-Montefiore, creative director of iconic bespoke house, Edward Sexton.

Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis Series 11! We'll be back soon with a new series of inspiring interviews from fashion's front lines.

Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.com

Read Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Got recommendations? Hit us up!

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This week's guest, Glen Rollason, describes pattern making as the architecture of fashion. It's the bones, the structure, the technical process that gives our clothes shape, moves them from the 2D to the 3D, and helps them fit. Pattern making is drafting, design, and highly skilled technical process - but it's also team work.

No pattern, no coat!

From the basics (what is it, where do you begin) to the artistry (fit, form, allure) through Raf Simons, bust darts and the crazy complexity of national sizing standards, we've got it all in this dynamic conversation about this essential fashion ingredient. Plus, why do we need to keep capacity on shore? How might small factories / design labs work in future? What's going on with apprenticeships, and what are we going to do about skilled people ageing out of the industry?

Scissors at the ready!

Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.

Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.com

Read Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Got recommendations? Hit us up!

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In the last of our mini series, Made in Melbourne, we meet Australia’s National Designer of the Year 2025, Amy Lawrance.

Amy launched her namesake label just a couple of years ago, but she's highly experienced - working for other labels, teaching at RMIT, and she is an extraordinary, couture-standard maker.

Her architectural patterns are blisteringly original, she uses mostly undyed silks and has been experimenting with decorative embroidery stitches that she discovered studying vintage dressmaking manuals.

As she tells us, her atelier is "very, very small scale and very, very hands-on"; everything from pattern-making, to sampling to final production is by her own hands. "A lonely team of one!" she jokes, but she loves it.

Not that it comes without challenges. Any small fashion business owner will be familiar with these. Like, how are you going to pay for it all? Will you need a second job forever? At what point should you give up? Or shift your aims from running your own show to helping grow someone else's vision?

Resist! It's worth it in the end!

In our discussion, we talk about passion, solitude, the joy of sewing, and the gap between that and selling, doing media, all that stuff that not every creative automatically loves. Why should they? We cover trend cycles (hello, Pantone Colour of the Year), self doubt, origami, the joy of having a dog and what it's like to stand before the judges at one of these big fashion prizes. But big picture: this is an episode about the sometimes elusive "Why" - why do what you do, the way you do it. Enjoy!

Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.

Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.com

Read Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com

Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

Got recommendations? Hit us up!

And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.