Vintage Gucci, a £5 rug and a salt duck: your best secondhand finds

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We love secondhand shopping here on the Filter – whether it’s Second Hand September or not. You can unearth one-off, affordable pieces, and feel good about not adding overconsumption to your list of things to worry about. So to inspire us, we asked you for your best-ever preloved finds, whether that’s furniture or fashion or more (and added a few of our own, too).

“An Ercol daybed I bought on eBay for £50, in need of some TLC,” reader Fiona told us. “Stripped, re-webbed and with a new cushion, it is now a thing of beauty and very comfortable.”

“The best thing I ever bought secondhand is a mahogany dining table 30 years ago: I can’t remember how much I paid, but it was a fraction of the cost of a new one. It’s Edwardian and very solid. Soon after, we found four Victorian balloon-back chairs that nearly matched two we already had. The chairs were professionally re-covered so cost more than the table in the end. They’re all now heirlooms,” Anthea told us.

Rugs are often extremely good value secondhand. “I got a gorgeous rug for £5 from a charity shop in Newcastle,” Eileen de Quadra told us. “Stunning.”

“I found a beautiful rug at Antiques at Wendover,” said Filter production editor Emily Goddard. “It looks like an oushak rug, but the lack of a label means I can’t be sure it is made of wool. Either way, the quality is incredible, the colours rich, and it cost about £30. It’s starting to get a bit thin in places, but it’s still vibrant and luxuriously soft.”

Filter contributor Lucy Pavia found a 19th-century French dairy bowl at the Yorkshire Flea for £40. “Terracotta with a lovely buttery yellow glaze. It sits in the middle of my kitchen, and I grow bulbs in it in winter when everything outside is a bit dreary.”

Secondhand style

Clothes are, of course, a secondhand staple. Filter fashion writer Peter Bevan discovered “a Gucci oversized navy pinstripe shirt in a tiny thrift store in San Francisco for about $60. Whenever I’m getting dressed in a rush, I throw it on with navy trousers. It looks polished without a second thought.”

Filter commissioning editor Millie Fender usually buys leather or suede secondhand. “I found the perfect 90s Liz Claiborne brown suede jacket on Vinted recently. It fits like a glove and cleaned up beautifully after a trip to the dry cleaners. I paid £20, but because I already had that sitting in my Vinted balance, I’m telling myself it was free.”

Guardian lifestyle trends writer Leah Harper recently found the perfect cropped white T-shirt in a pop-up vintage market above a local pub. “I paid £2.50 entry and the T-shirt cost a fiver. It’s from American sportswear brand Champion and, this summer, I have paired it with everything from a suede midi skirt (also vintage) to preppy Adidas shorts. A good white T-shirt can be surprisingly difficult to find.”

“I found an old red men’s lumberjack shirt from a bargain bin at a shop in Paris in 2009 – it cost €5,” says Lucy. “It’s a lovely thick cotton that’s softened over time and is so comfortable. It’s a little frayed on the sleeves now but lovely for knocking about in at home – particularly gardening, as the deep front pocket fits packets of seeds and secateurs.”

Nike trainers from Vinted – barely worn – for £7.20

For me, secondhand shops online are great for children’s clothes: they’re often in good condition, as kids often outgrow them before they’ve been worn much. And it saves me from having to buy new coats and shoes every six months as my daughter grows. I found the Nike trainers pictured above on Vinted last week – barely worn – for £7.20.

Sometimes, though, it’s the unexpected knick-knacks you stumble on that make secondhand shopping such a delight. “I found a ceramic duck for about £2, and it’s turned out to be my best-ever charity shop find,” says Filter deputy editor, Monica Horridge. “Affectionately called Salt Duck by all my housemates and now my husband, it’s held my Maldon salt next to the hob for almost 20 years.”

This week’s picks

Editor’s pick

Fabric resistance loop bands and a handled resistance band on a pink grid background

Cheaper than a pricey gym membership and less clutter than a set of dumbbells, resistance bands are one of the easiest ways to up your workout game from home. Ultra-marathoner and fitness expert Kieran Alger tested 18 of the best resistance band sets over a month, using them in workouts, pre-run warm-ups and even yoga.

Monica Horridge
Deputy editor, the Filter

In case you missed it …

Three ergonomic gaming chairs shown from different angles against a turquoise and green grid background.

Gamers: as the nights draw in, the allure of an evening’s gaming starts to grow. Make sure you’re looking after your back and posture, though. Guardian gaming writer (and sometime sufferer of lower-back pain) Keith Stuart put 10 of the best gaming chairs through their paces over five days each, spending up to four hours a day sitting in them. His gaming-mad sons helped him with his testing, and his wife rated the chairs on their suitability as office chairs, too. And his best budget buy was reduced at the time of writing.

Get involved

Stylish sandals that don’t rub; teapots that don’t drip; a scent that doesn’t wear off by lunchtime: do you own or use an item that does what it’s supposed to do – and does it really well? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know by emailing us at [email protected].

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