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Upcycled, vintage and secondhand style for your sustainable wardrobe

About

Hello
I’m Barbara Gadd and I run Vintage-Patch, an online upcycling and secondhand clothing shop based in North Oxfordshire. 

One of Vintage-Patch’s mottos is ‘a new look from old’ and I firmly believe that this can be an exciting possibility for so much of our used and discarded clothing.

Here’s some of the back story to my business.

My mother was a tailor, and from her I learned to see the potential in old clothes…how to recognise beautiful quality fabrics and how to revive a garment and make it shine again.  In the 1970s, clothes from the ‘jumble sale’ came with a bit of stigma, but once my mum had worked her magic, you could never tell an item had been picked up for a few pennies, whether it was a beautiful cashmere coat that had simply been cleaned and steam pressed, or a somewhat worn shirt made of nice material that had been re-worked into something completely different.   It was upcycling before the term became fashionable, and I’ve been doing the same ever since.

Working in publishing for many years, I was keen to get back into something more hands on creative.  In 2012 I inherited hoard of vintage fabric and wanted to find a use for it.  The idea of transforming this treasure into a unique range of iron-on patches to repair worn through jumpers and jeans seemed a perfect solution.  As the resulting patches were so popular for customising all sorts of garments, further offers of reclaimed fabrics were happily accepted, and along with it, many times, vintage and preloved garments for selling on.  A common theme of eco friendly dressing began to evolve, and the ethos of creating  ‘a new look from old’ was born.

So how can Vintage-Patch help you? If you’re concerned about the level of waste in the clothing industry, this is a place to find excellent quality vintage and secondhand clothing plus a range of ideas that can help you give your existing clothes a new lease of life.  Our Products page has all the details.

You can buy secondhand here confident that every item has been carefully checked for condition, with a refund if you’re not entirely satisfied.  If an item would be ‘perfect’ with a slight tweak, we can help with simple alterations such as shortening a hemline or a decorative customisation. . If you have your own garment which needs a facelift, you can have fun doing that yourself with our range of iron-on patches.  Last but not least, we offer a wardrobe weeding service if you need to have a clear out but don’t know where to start.

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