It can be daunting to keep up with the cutthroat game of best-dressed played daily once term begins in the Arts Block. The pressure to look good in your 9 am lectures tempts a total wardrobe revamp, sparking the question: Where do all the stylish art students get the seemingly endless funds for their endless fashions? One way to add to your closet without breaking the bank is by rummaging through a kilo sale—a pop-up event in which vintage or otherwise secondhand garments are priced by weight, typically costing Є15-20 per kilogram of clothing. In Dublin, this format is found at Dublin Vintage Factory in Temple Bar year-round and at occasional events run by Tola Vintage and other assorted shops throughout the city. The by-weight design means that a designer t-shirt can be sold for the same price as a Primark top, cementing the kilo sale as a treasure trove of thrifty fashion.
“Ultimately the consumerist currents behind Є40 kilo sale hauls are the same as those fueling Є150 Shein hauls, just in vintage sheep’s clothing.”
The popularity of kilo sales can be attributed to their affordability—a single search on YouTube yields pages of vloggers brandishing bin bags of clothing nabbed for Є40 or less. But these videos and the real-life behaviours they depict tandemly reflect and contribute to an attitude of mass consumption. According to BBC Future, the fashion industry is a major perpetrator of the climate crisis, producing 20% of all water waste and 10% of greenhouse gases globally. The quickening trend cycle of contemporary fashion—fast fashion—has intensified the number of garments that are produced, purchased, and discarded, creating a two-pronged problem of overproduction and overconsumption which is then demonstrated by the tendency for kilo-sale-goers to overstuff their shopping bags. Though obviously less resource intensive, the secondhand and vintage market has absorbed some of fast fashion’s flavour in terms of sky-high demand, massive haul culture, and increasingly short-lived, cyclical trends. Ultimately the consumerist currents behind Є40 kilo sale hauls are the same as those fueling Є150 Shein hauls, just in vintage sheep’s clothing.
The key to manoeuvring the ethical and environmental corners of kilo sales is not to stuff your shopping bag to the brim but to buy only what you need, shaping your wardrobe upgrade around the garments you already own. According to Fashion Revolution’s article “An ethical decision: fast fashion vs. vintage fashion,” the most effective method for levelling fashion’s carbon footprint is cutting consumption: “Reducing purchases of new clothes will lead to reductions over 4 times higher than the next best solution (keeping garments longer) and over 3 times higher than what is considered achievable through accelerated decarbonization of the fashion industry.”
With this principle in mind, whenever a wardrobe update is necessary (because total minimalism is not an easily attainable standard), vintage shopping—as in most kilo sales—is likely the most sustainable option. The lifespan of vintage garments, already required to be 20+ years old to achieve the title, greatly outpaces those of cheaply constructed fast fashion items, increasing long-term wearability. As explained by Fashion Revolution, unsold vintage is able to be recycled within the textile industry as opposed to excess fast fashion stock which often winds up in the landfill or incinerator. The article further elaborates that the secondhand clothing market in general sees only one-third of its stock sold to new wearers, so buying preloved clothing serves to keep fabric out of, at best, the resource-taxing recycling process and, at worst, the rubbish heap.
“The key to manoeuvring the ethical and environmental corners of kilo sales is not to stuff your shopping bag to the brim but to buy only what you need, shaping your wardrobe upgrade around the garments you already own.”
The major roadblock to vintage shopping, especially on a student budget, is its climbing price. The carefully curated, laundered, and mended racks of vintage garments garner higher costs than temptingly cheap fast fashion sites like Shein or H&M. But this problem is directly confronted by the very concept of the kilo sale. Despite shoppers’ tendency towards mass consumption, rendering vintage fashion more popular and price-accessible is an overwhelmingly positive change—a brimming haul of vintage styles will always be more ethical and environmentally forward than a fast fashion shopping spree.
The task of promoting conscientious consumption within kilo sales begins not in the store but in your closet, making sure to specifically outline the gaps in your wardrobe before shopping: What can be reworked or mended, and what truly needs replacing? A good rule of thumb is to limit yourself to three necessary purchases (predetermined from your closet-soul searching) and subsequently shop in only the sections relevant to what you need without detouring down other aisles. Reviewing beforehand what you already own further helps envision how the new pieces will fit among the other garments in your wardrobe, helping determine whether or not they are truly essential. A more measured and purposeful shopping mindset will dually result in the pieces you buy becoming more well-loved and often worn, rather than growing stale in the back of your closet. Conscious and minimal consumption is the most sustainable practice available to fashion lovers; as long as these principles are embodied in your kilo sale shopping, the kilo sale can slot suitably into a sustainable and fashionable lifestyle.
WORDS: Lucy Garretson
