Why "pre-loved" is the new new thing

Our house is a hive of activity at the moment as both my daughter and son are focused on using what little time they have left with us, before fleeing the nest for university and an overseas trip, to sell as many of their possessions as possible. Not only clothes but various bike parts and accessories (my son being a very keen cyclist who clearly adhered to the mantra that, where bikes are concerned, you always need n + 1 of everything, where n is the number you currently have).

Vinted, Depop, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, you name it. Items are photographed and posted, negotiations made and one by one off they pop in a reused plastic back, ready to meet their new owner. And the ￡￡￡ arrives in the bank.

(I need to explain to them that the key then is not to spend the ￡￡￡ on new purchases from Vinted, Depop, Ebay etc but, knowing they are unlikely to listen, I save my breath.)

Personally, I'm all for it. It's the new new thing. In the last few months I've bought several items myself, the current favourite being a pale grey Escada suit jacket snapped up for ￡65 at 5.55pm last Sunday in the downstairs vintage market on Brick Lane.

Pre-Loved, Vintage, Second Time Around

I found myself pondering the various reasons why I'm loving "vintage" fashion and realised that there are lots of parallels with my business, the Reignite Academy where we help women and men find new roles in their, well shall we call it "mid-life". Second or third act.

I came across this article entitled "Ten Reasons to Buy Second Hand Rather than New" and - I think you'll agree - there are several parallels.

Discover luxury brands you thought were beyond your reach

Just this month we've introduced three magic circle trained, highly qualified women, to slightly smaller or more local firms who might not have attracted them in the first place but who now offer quality work with a totally different lifestyle.

Those firms (one in particular who is almost as savvy as my daughter when it comes to spotting a bargain) recognise an amazing deal when they see it.

Extend the life of an item

As we all know, a working life has many twists and turns and certainly should not end at 38. I know so many women who took a break from a big career when their kids were little but it was just that - a break. Meet them again at 45, 50, whatever and they are raring to go. I quote

I'm 45, my kids are 10 and 12, that gives me twenty years to make a discernible difference".

Encourage Community Building

As the article says, "It's almost impossible to buy used items from people regularly without building friendships and community relationships." I get this. There's a lot of trust involved.

It's the same with people. A CV is a very dry document but if I say to a client, "Hey you must meet Ayana, she trained at Magic Circle A, used to work for Joe Bloggs, moved with him and his team to AmLaw B before she took a break ... done a lot of work in the energy sector, nows Helen, GC of Oil & Gas Major C ....and I know she'd be a great cultural fit for you ..." It's a whole different story.

Prevent Waste

You don't need me to labour the point.

Good Riddance to That Diversity Rubbish

That thought seems to be very much on the mind of a lot of newspaper editors, who are gleefully reporting the cancellation or trashing of "Diversity & Inclusion" training. I mean, why stop there, why don't we just stop measuring things like the number of women on boards. Nonsense.

And anyway, hasn't some guy in the US just successfully sued 2 law firms over discriminatory "affirmative action"?

Or B:

Let me share with you two of the stories and pictures making the front pages of The Times this week.

Wednesday: Photo of Trinny Woodall with "tips for ageless beauty - first, wash your face twice". There you go folks. The most important news of the day.

Friday: Photo of Shirley Ballas: "I like sexy. I'm in my sixties. I'm not dead."

I know, it's my fault, I should unsubscribe but I mean ...

And if that's not enough to persuade you that good old sexism is alive and kicking, you can turn the pages to read about Bernard Looney, BP chief exectuive.

Bernie got into trouble over undisclosed "romantic relationships" with women who, presumably, were in his chain of command. Although funnily enough, I've read all there is to read and nowhere does it actually say he had sex with them, though one has to presume that's what was going on.

Bernard, it would seem, like Shirley, also likes sexy but the journalists are too squeamish to write about it.

Russell Brand. Where do you even begin. I'm all for the "innocent until proven guilty" thing but this investigation has been going on for over a year. Think about it. How many people in the entertainment industry must have known about concerns, whispers, rumours and chosen to keep their mouths shut. Beggars belief.

But make sure you wash your face twice before you go to bed.

Hold onto Your Hats

Someone is standing up to the Government!! The House of Lords were actually prepared to call out their proposed change to rip up water pollution rules for the disgrace it is. They were defeated.

Michael Gove ad Rishi Sunak had the bare faced cheek - can you actually believe it, Michael Gove, bare faced cheek - to claim that our water is cleaner than ever and that this move was using Brexit freedoms to accelerate housebuilding. As though there has been nothing else they could have done in last 13 years to address the lack of housebuilding.

Next thing someone will dare to tell them that a train line running fro Birmingham to Oak Common is not going to help with economic growth in Stockport. Or Leeds. Or Bradford. Or Liverpool. Actually, I don't see how it is going to help with economic growth anywhere.

Does anyone know where Oak Common even is?

Cultural Fix

I'm watching: The Woman in the Wall. Why didn't any of you tell me it was so good??? I had to rely on my mum for that one. And State of Chaos on the BBC, where Laura Kuenssberg is effectively asking "What the f￡4k just happened?" of the last 4 years.

I'm listening to: Nick Robinson's Political Thinking Podcast. He interviews Theresa May about her book "The Abuse of Power". It's a remarkable interview. She gets right into some things for which successive governments have a lot to be ashamed. And she's not righteous about it.

I'm reading: Preliminary Character Statement - Yorkshire and the Humber Region parts 1, 2 and 3 from Historic England. All about the historic development of farm buildings. I'lll explain another time.

Autumn on the way folks. Start wrapping up. In vintage though