Cow Liverpool
If the haphazard chaos of charity shops puts you off buying pre-loved clothes, Cow Liverpool is your place to start. Spaciously laid out with well curated rails, it feels more like a vintage boutique than a secondhand free-for-all. And you don’t need a particular eye for picking out the gems; they’ve already weeded out all the dross and left you with just the highlights.
Cow is particularly good at meeting the current trends, whether that’s Matrix-style trench coats, shearling jackets or sturdy Carhartt dungarees. It sells women’s and men’s vintage clothes, and upcycled, reworked clothes from vintage materials. There’s also secondhand and new retro-style jewellery, homeware, and accessories such as bags, hats and sunglasses.
With its ethical, environmentally-friendly ethos and crowd-pleasing collections, it feels like a cross between Oxfam Originals and H&M. Cow has several shops throughout the North, including one in Manchester and an online store.