I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen so many of these Vintage Kilo Sale events appear on my Facebook timeline and was always intrigued about what it would be like to go to one. They’re often held at my old uni and when I woke up on Saturday morning without any plans, I said to Aaron it could be a bit of fun to head along – he disagreed but soon after convincing him, we headed down to The Forum at the University of Hertfordshire for some good old second hand fashion shopping.
The Vintage Kilo Sale is the UK’s first ever ‘buy by weight’ vintage shopping event. Founded in 2009 and now serving multiple cities across the UK.
Revolutionising the way we shop retro, The Vintage Kilo Sale calls at over 35 cities each year bringing 8 tonnes of good quality vintage clothing from the 1970s – early 00’s
Allowing customers to pay by weight at only £15 per kilo means fashion lovers can get their fix without spending a small fortune.
I didn’t have anything in particular that I was looking for (I’m sure you’ll have seen the amount of clothing I’ve splurged on this month) so was happy enough to have a mooch around and see whether I came across a little gem.
The place was pretty mobbed when we got there and I think was a lot busier earlier on, I saw an old friend outside that said it was really busy but definitely worth having a look (she had a couple of bags with her so I started to get excited about what was in store!)
It was advertised that there was to have been around 6 tonnes of clothing at this event and I’d say a good couple were already gone by 12 o clock when we arrived. There was so much to get through that I got myself into a rhythm of flicking, glancing and moving on – I would only stop if I felt drawn to something and contemplate on whether I needed to take it home with me.
Tents were set up on the stage where a DJ would normally get a crowd of raving students bouncing (I spent my 18th birthday watching Mr Hudson there – shout out if you remember him lol) for people to try clothes on, but I decided to give it a miss – if I was going to try anything on it would have been the jeans, but with the poor lighting I couldn’t really make out the sizes to get a good idea of what I was working with.
I found a lot of American college/school/university T-shirt’s so I think the clothes must have been imported from over there. After noticing they had pretty much every state, I was on the hunt for something from Utah (the state I was born in) or Michigan where my Mum, step-Dad Mike, brothers Callum and Alex and sister Charlotte live. I soon came across an oversized University of Utah T-shirt and was jumping for joy before noticing a hole on the front – gutted I put it back. I continued on my search through the T-shirt’s having no luck before making a start on the jumpers when I finally came across a Michigan jumper, only to find some bastard had chopped the sleeves and hem off.
Feeling defeated, I finally found a cute oversized jumper, some scarves I was planning on using for my hair and a couple of vintage T-shirt’s that I thought would look pretty good with my existing wardrobe. I also had a chat with my Mum later on that day who said she’d pick me up some Michigan merch anyway, so not all was lost!
The cost of everything is measured by weight, so you could buy loads of lightweight stuff for cheap, but the heavier things (like denim jackets/jeans etc) cost a bit more. I went slightly over and ended up spending £15.45 which I thought was pretty good for what I ended up with. I haven’t managed to shoot any of the items yet as I needed to run them through the wash (they had the well-known charity shop smell) but I’ll make sure to share photos soon.
I’d definitely recommend giving these events a visit if you’re into your secondhand/vintage fashion (note: I would say the majority at this event was 90’s) and want to grab a unique bargain. Their Facebook page is linked here so you can find an event near you and shop to your eco-fashion loving heart’s content!
Have you been to a Vintage Kilo Sale event before and is it something that tickles your fancy?
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Oooooo, I’d never heard of them until l’d spoken to you but they sound right up my alley! I’d love to go to one!
Mum, you’d be in your element!!
Why am I only just learning that you were born in Utah?! Haha, that’s so cool. I’m sure they do something like this in Birmingham every now and then, I always keep meaning to go to it and I never do. It sounds amazing though! I absolutely love vintage clothing, I love it when certain trends from the 90s or even earlier come back into fashion. And I absolutely love a good bargain, I’m intrigued to know just how much you picked up by only spending £15 as that’s an amazing price if you did a proper haul! I can’t wait to see everything you got.
Alice xx
Hahah!! Yeah, loads of people don’t believe me until I show them my driving licence which has America on it 😂😂 and you should deffo go as you can pick up some right bargains! Xxx
Wanted to go to one of these for YEARS but am still yet to attend! I always used to work Saturdays when they were on and then when I stopped working, I was too unwell to go 😂 Now you’ve reminded me, I’m definitely going to snoop out some in Bristol! We recently got a thrift store on Park Street which I keep meaning to go into for a proper rummage as I’ve only popped in there once briefly. I’ve been so much more into vintage and second hand buys recently, it’s so nice to have pieces you know aren’t going to be absolutely every where like they are when you buy them on the high street! (Although I deffo can’t resist a Primark or New Look bargain every once in a while)
Alice Xx
Ahh you would bloody love this thing Al!! I just read your second hand post (loved it by the way!) and I think you’d manage to pull some great bits for a series from a huge place like this! I’m still a sucker for new things, but I like to balance it out with second hand so I’m not a complete enviro monster 😂❤️❤️