Ragsredone

The online shop, Ragsredone, is a gorgeously curated vintage brand founded by Isabelle Hamza. What originally began as purely a love for vintage clothing, quickly turned into a full-time, individually owned business selling stunning handpicked items worldwide.

In the age of disposable clothing and fast fashion, Ragsredone offers a different and sustainable approach to purchasing clothing online. The term ‘fast fashion’ was first coined in 1990 by the New York Times as a way to refer to stock that needed to be made quickly available to the public. Because of the sheer speed that these items are put onto the shelves, a lot of this stock is made from poorer quality materials and made in bulk; ultimately meaning that these items are not made to last or produced in an environmentally friendly way.

Thankfully, the rising fight against fast fashion in previous years has meant that vintage stock is now at a higher demand than ever as it allows shoppers to sustainably purchase gorgeous and timeless pieces without running the risk of receiving poor quality items.

Ragsredone is a brand that's able to cater for anyone. No two items are the same, meaning not only is there something for everyone, but also helps to promote fashion individuality and encourage others to discover their own personal style. Isabelle explains that “vintage makes it much more special because there's a feeling of rarity and uniqueness surrounding it all.”

All stock is specially selected by Isabelle herself who explained that “sourcing is definitely my favourite part of the job so I choose every single item myself and don't like to have bulk suppliers.” This stock is “predominantly sourced from Italy” as she believes that “their vintage is the best.”

For Isabelle Hamza, growing up with a parent who worked in the environmental sector meant that sustainability had always been at the forefront of her mind when searching for new clothes. Explaining that even when she was younger, “buying second hand was a way for me to buy as many clothes as I liked without feeling guilty about the impact on the environment and without spending so much money!”

Recently, Isabelle has also ventured into the design aspect, releasing her own designed mini skirt in two colourways and explained that “in doing that, my number one priority was to have them made out of deadstock fabric” in order to limit the “the environmental impact of fashion consumption” as much as possible.

Isabelle has been selling second hand clothing since the age of 15 however she officially launched Ragsredone two and a half years ago after deciding to take on the shop as her full time job. Inspired by her own love for clothes and personal growth in style, Ragsredone has since accumulated over thirty thousand followers on Depop and Isabelle is constantly looking to grow the business where she can. After recently launching her own website, the vintage stock is now available to purchase on Ragsredone, Depop and occasionally at fairs such as Second Life Markets.

Hoping to inspire others to shop more sustainably, Isabelle added “Even if it’s not vintage clothing, I don’t see why I wouldn’t buy second hand when it’s cheaper, more unique and better for the planet!”