Style correspondent Ceri Barnes Thompson finds out how to dress to kill while having a “nothing new” pact

When Vanessa Wright was a little girl, she played shops when her peers played teachers and doctors. You’d be more likely to find her rummaging through a jumble sale than a rumbling round the playground, and for little Vanessa easily the best sweet shop was a haberdasher. A career in social work and a family followed alongside a move to Brighton, and as she walked the streets of her new home she would wonder every time a new shop came up for rent why someone didn’t open an old-school dress agency like the ones she grew up around. Until one day…. 

‘Preloved of Brighton’ opened its doors 10 years ago – with its stylish owner ever present to hear how you are, what gigs you’ve been to, what exhibitions have impressed you as well as what you are looking for clothes-wise. Never pushy, always happy for you just to check out any new additions (her stock updates daily with new contributions) Vanessa’s edge is curating her store like a boutique. The jeans are all in one place, the sizes separated up, the sparkly clothes for events and Christmas presented together. Shoes, bags, belts dotted around, there’s even a £10 rail – very worth a rummage for a bargain. And crucially she knows her customers and the fashion zeitgeist so well. There’s no point trying to get her to sell your skinny jeans if wide and cropped is what’s happening at the moment.. she knows what will sell and it’s what makes people happy. Her lovely shop has gone from strength to strength with so many following suit – the market for vintage having massively expanded, and apps  like Depop and Vinted giving new life to old clothes. I see my younger son in someone’s old French-blue Ralph Lauren hoody he’s found on line and snagged for a steal and know that for him it delivers that spark – it’s new to him. 

When Preloved started it was the only place of its kind here – chic and thoughtfully stocked with people’s preloved clothing – splitting the proceeds 50/50 with the people who bring her their treasures. And so often for Vanessa the real treasure is in the stories of the clothes, the connection to her customers and the lives that they have lived.

Initially her clientele was probably between 30 and 60 years old, but now Vanessa reckons it’s more like 15 to 80, and this is so much down to the atmosphere that she’s created. She believes clothes aren’t ‘just’ clothes; they are key to how you feel. Her warmth and interest in the people who come in and their stories wraps you up like a friendly hug. I can’t think of a time I’ve visited when there hasn’t been a lovely chat or a serendipitous exchange of information. I’ve even found a physiotherapist who knows about knees whilst in the shop with Vanessa literally getting on the floor and showing me the best joint exercises to do. 

What gets her up in the morning is a real mission to change people’s minds about buying all their clothes new – it truly makes her day if even one person makes a decision to buy vintage and feels great in it. 

And it’s because of pioneers like Vanessa that I’ve started asking those questions I’d never asked myself – what really do I wear that makes me feel properly myself? The answer is a very limited list, truly. 

This year my husband and I have had a pact to buy no new clothes and it’s been HARD. 

The biggest test of our ‘nothing new’ pact came in the form of a wedding and our oldest son’s graduation. Could I ever feel ‘dressed up’ wearing something ‘old’ to events like that?. Hovering over the ‘add to basket’ on the Cos website too many times, I headed up to Preloved. There was Vanessa, the shop lit up by the early summer sunshine and her smile, a lovely scent filling the air from an aromatic little steamer on her desk. Behind her, hanging up waiting to go on the rails, was a bright orange and pink summer dress, long length, short sleeves, two layers of cotton. ‘I’d never wear that it’s just not my thing’, I thought and dismissed it immediately. Vanessa held it up. “Why don’t you try it, Ceri? it’s a good length for you”. So I did. And when I opened the curtain Vanessa said “Look at that smile!”. I felt fantastic. Worried that my idea of pairing it with my dark blue clutch bag would ‘kill the dress’ (she has a very, very good fashion eye) Vanessa found a gold and orange one and that was that. For £40 I had an outfit that made me feel a million dollars. 

People like Vanessa and their passion for design, designers, textiles and stories really do make the world go round. She’s recently launched a ‘what are you looking for?’ service and she also uses her Instagram presence to promote other local business generously. It’s from her that I really do understand that new doesn’t have to be ‘brand’-new. It can be new to ME. And that not only has to be good enough it’s just plain great.