Variation on a Theme – First Depop Purchase

I’m overdoing it on the kimono front, though I like to think of this more as a floral jacket? Anyway, I bought it to take my mind off my sore back when we were on holidays – pure retail therapy. But it took ages to get here so when it did, it came as a total surprise I have to confess…thankfully I still liked it!

It’s from Topshop but I bought it secondhand from Depop - like a mixture of eBay and Instagram I guess? You can buy & sell anything on it but it’s all mobile based and you follow the buyers you’re most interested in…creating a ‘feed’ of products most suited to you.
Most items can be bought with the press of a ‘buy’ button but there’s a big market in swaps too – so if you like something someone is selling, you can offer one of your items in exchange. It’s also a bit of a free market too with people bargaining on prices. Oh and you can also post an item that you’re looking for – in case someone happens to have one in their wardrobe that they’re not wearing.
I will warn you that generally speaking, the sizes are small and the users are young – typically 18-24 year olds so you’re not going to find much Boden or Mint Velvet for instance. Additionally, there’s an increasing number of commercial sellers coming on board selling tat but at least you can chose who you follow and avoid them clogging up your feed. The only other downside is that the search facility is based on hashtags and needs to be controlled better because if I’m selling, say a Topshop dress, I can legitimately tag #chanel #zarayellowcoat #pinkcoat #rockstuds…or whatever word I think people are likely to search for, making searching for a specific item difficult. Anyway, it’s worth a nosey and if you’ve teenagers looking for money this summer with bursting wardrobes, get them to download the app.

Now back to my kimono buy. It came from a girl also selling denim hot pants, white patent doc martens and a fluorescent yellow mini tube skirt (see what I mean about demographic?) and I was searching for Topshop cropped trousers when I found it (hurrah for aforementioned rubbish search engine).



Kimono – Topshop via Depop (similar Oasis & New Look)
Black Vest – Zara Basic
Jeans – New Look
Sandals – Fly London (charity shop find)
Cross Body Bag – (Boden AW12 – similar here from Oasis)
Necklace – Freedom @ Topshop (old)

This was my first ‘dressed-up’ trip out of the house for about 2 weeks…at long last, the pain has eased in my leg & back. So the shop will reopen soon – possibly week beginning 11th August? Let me see how things go in the next week and I’ll confirm then.

Meanwhile, after all the emails, comments and messages I got from my bad back sandal post, I’ve bought a pair of FitFlops. Everyone was raving about them so I searched online and found these on the Cloggs website.

FitFlop Souza in Black – bought a size 7 as I’d heard to size up if half sized & they fit well.

I had never heard of Cloggs before and I was impressed with the service. They were only £45 (good for FitFlops), with free delivery and free unlimited returns and arrived within 2 days of ordering. First impressions are that they are very comfy and easy to wear. Perhaps not as funky looking as they seem online but very supportive. My main concern was the lack of ankle strap but it’s not an issue thanks to the high second strap. I want to wear them for a while before I report back but initial impressions are good! Thank you to everyone who suggested them. The granny sandals are going to be eBayed…don’t all rush to buy them at once now

Ax