The best thrift stores to get your second-hand wardrobe fix

Started by Cheow Sue-Jane, her elder sister and their parents, Tryftshop not only resell second-hand clothes, but they also donate a portion of their second-hand items to those in need. The family orders bags of unwanted clothing from a recycling centre in Japan, which gathers unwanted clothing discarded from Japanese households. They then sort the goods into four piles – commercially viable ones, good condition items for donation, damaged and stained pieces for upcycling, and trash such as underwear. Clothes from the first pile will be sold at @tryftshop on Instagram and at popup events.

Thrift shopping may be in trend now, but Reloved Collective is offering more than just retail therapy. The store opened this year and is a place for secondhand gems, crafted upcycled products and also the place to be for workshops and classes. The store aims to promote a culture of sustainable fashion and reducing waste. On top of shopping, visitors also get to leave with knowledge and some value added experiences through the classes and workshops. Reloved Collective has held upcycling workshops like weaving, soapmaking and more. 

Founder Hon Liang Lung started up HonsiePonsie to provide an outlet for men to shop second-hand items. He curates preloved menswear at this thrift store, which started out as an online business when he was in national service, emphasising on good quality second-hand clothing. He joined a pop up of small local businesses to sell his curated items, before setting up a shop at Queensway Shopping Centre. Liang Lung has turned to suppliers in the region to supply his mix of clothes – middlemen in the South-east Asian second-hand market as well as 100kg bales from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Some of the wares include cargo pants, sweaters, shirts and jackets. Prices go from $15 to $35. Items that are unwanted or unusable are donated to rework artists as well as mom-and-pop thrift shop owners.

If you’re looking for brands on a higher end, drop by @jiggythings_store for some Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Burberry among others. The store also carries vintage tees from Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, FILA and adidas. Designer items here retail for $100 bucks and less, so fastest fingers first!

If you are a huge fan of windbreakers, @thriftanic is something you should explore. Go through the racks and you’ll find eye-catching windbreakers from brands like Ellesse, Versace, Nike, Le Coq Sportif and Prince. It also carries a huge selection of other items like sweatshirts and vintage sport tees. The store is known for its pop ups, so keep an eye out for them.

Pick out preloved jackets, tshirts and sweatshirts for as low as $5 at this store. Cofounders Hafiz Arif and Yazid Sadali named their store Function Five – after the F5 key on the keyboard. For those who don’t know, it’s basically the key you press to refresh a webpage of a browser. The duo found themselves thrifting a lot when they were younger as a way to express themselves. They visited textile factories in Malaysia to source for second-hand items and purchase 50kg to 100kg bales from them. Other clothes are also sourced from Thailand, Philippines and Cambodia. They started out at a small shop unit at North Bridge Road in Feb 2021, before opening a two-storey space in Arab Street. The first floor carries everyday wear such as tshirts that will set you back for $5 to $25 while the second storey features more curated and streetwear-style pieces that retail for $35 to $100.

Not just a regular store, this thrift place carries out campaign periods based on the items they carry for that period. Branded as “a pop culture memorabilia store,” it opens on weekends while their campaigns, on the other hand, run from as short as one day, to a whole week. The store is located at Tanjong Katong Road, and expect many customers flocking to the store because they carry vintage tshirts from punk and rock bands popular in the ’90s, and tees for those with different interests like movies or cartoons.

Charmái is all about thrifted, second-hand and reworked clothes. If cottage-core is your aesthetic, preview the catalogue where clothes boast pastel tones and handmade accessories. Highlights include blue checkered floral midi dress and the vibrant Hawaiian patchwork maxi dress. Grab one and wear that for that picnic date coming up.