Secondhand September is here and these celebrities, from Sarah Jessica Parker to Jameela Jamil, champion preloved styles.
Today’s resale fashion market is surging with unprecedented speed. In recent years, the U.S. secondhand apparel sector grew by 14 percent in 2024 — five times faster than the broader clothing market, expected to reach $59 billion this year, up from roughly $50 billion in 2024. Globally, estimates place the secondhand fashion market’s value at around $210 billion in 2025, projected to triple to about $580 billion by 2035.
Luxury resale, too, is thriving, with valuations set at approximately $38 billion in 2025. As demand climbs, brands are launching recommerce initiatives like Zara’s Pre‑Owned and Madewell’s Preloved, signalling a shift from novelty to systemic integration. Thrifting has emerged beyond budgeting; it’s become a storytelling medium, with curated “cool‑girl closets” transforming resale into narrative‑rich experiences.
This commercial dynamism is feeding a cultural one: celebs are no longer just endorsing reuse — they’re leading the way, lending authenticity to secondhand fashion’s new mainstream.
Celebrities who love wearing secondhand
These are some of the celebrities who’ve been vocal about their love of secondhand fashion.
Jameela Jamil
Fronting Oxfam’s Second Hand September in the U.K., Jamil has built her public identity around calling out wasteful fashion habits. She frequently uses her platform to normalize outfit repetition. “I only ever buy anything I plan on wearing until I’m 80,” she said, underscoring her long-term approach to style. She admits she owns “so much vintage” that she has “worn items again and again over almost two decades.” She rails against throwaway fashion culture with characteristic bluntness: “Whoever decided it was scandalous to repeat an outfit is frankly an insecure, wasteful, clown.”
Billie Eilish
Eilish has made thrifting and rewearing central to her climate advocacy, speaking passionately about the creativity secondhand offers. At her Overheated climate summit, she called thrift shops “a giant warehouse filled with endless possibilities,” praising the freedom to dress without labels or rules. She put this into practice on the red carpet, re-wearing her 2020 Oscars Gucci ensemble at the Costume Designers Guild Awards. “Wearing only new clothes all the time is unnecessary and unsustainable,” she explained, adding, “If I love them, I don’t want them to just live in an archive. I want to wear them!” Her blend of playfulness and pragmatism has made her a generational spokesperson for fashion that is both expressive and conscious.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Known for her fashion influence, Parker has been vocal about reducing waste in her own household. After watching the documentary The True Cost, she announced, “I will only buy secondhand clothes for my son, James Wilkie.” She also re-wears items she acquired from the Sex and the City and the And Just Like That… series’ wardrobes — much of which was sourced from secondhand platforms.
SZA
The singer often incorporates thrifted pieces into her public image, frequently appearing in vintage T-shirts that connect her artistry to her values. She’s spoken about finding inspiration in the individuality of preloved clothing, using it as a way to resist homogenized celebrity style. By choosing thrift for both casual wear and stage looks, SZA signals that sustainability can be cool, creative, and deeply personal.
Alicia Silverstone
Silverstone ties her secondhand ethos to her iconic role as Cher in Clueless, imagining the character today as someone who “would be down” to shop sustainably at places like The RealReal, Eslla, or Mate’s T-shirts. She has long advocated for more eco-friendly practices, from vegan food on set to the sustainable pieces she incorporates into her own wardrobe. For her, preloved fashion isn’t about compromise but about aligning values and aesthetics. In interviews, she describes it as a seamless extension of her lifestyle, one that merges glamour with responsibility.
Drew Barrymore
Barrymore has spoken often about her lifelong habit of scouring flea markets, and she continues to celebrate the thrill of discovery. Her finds extend well beyond clothes — vintage furniture, lamps, and art are part of her regular treasure hunts. She now leans on resale platforms like ThredUp to source clothing for her children, demonstrating how secondhand shopping has scaled from personal style to family living. Barrymore frames the experience as joyful, a practice rooted in creativity as much as sustainability.
Anne Hathaway
Hathaway revealed her shift toward secondhand during a Good Morning America interview for her film Colossal. Wearing a fifteen-dollar dress sourced from a flea market, she explained, “I’m trying to be more sustainable with my fashion choices, so I’m trying to wear vintage wherever I can.” She has since repeated outfits for major appearances, quietly redefining what red-carpet dressing can look like. Her candid embrace of affordability and sustainability has made her an unexpected champion of rewearing.
Eva Mendes
Mendes often recalls her first premiere appearance in a $6 Goodwill gown, a choice that reflects her playful relationship with fashion. She likens thrifting to an archaeological dig, explaining, “I can feel when there’s a little something, you know, where there’s gold in the hills, and I really zero in. That’s the fun part for me.” When Mendes isn’t shopping secondhand, she frequents sustainable labels, like Stella McCartney.
Winona Ryder
Ryder has become synonymous with vintage, often arriving at major Hollywood events in pre-loved gowns. She once admitted that “most of my wardrobe is vintage and I’ve worn dresses to the Oscars that I got for ten dollars,” before asking rhetorically, “Why wear something just once if you love it?” Her repeat-wears have made headlines for decades, cementing her as one of Hollywood’s earliest and most consistent advocates of sustainable style.
Janelle Monáe
Monáe’s thrift story is rooted in her early career, when limited funds didn’t stop her from making bold style choices. “If I’ve got $500, I was spending half of it in the thrift store, and I wasn’t saving my money,” she said. Today, she frames those choices as formative, crediting secondhand with shaping her creative aesthetic. Her futuristic stage costumes may come from luxury ateliers, but her grounding in vintage still informs her fearless approach to dressing.
Helen Mirren
The Oscar-winning actor has spoken about her unconventional travel ritual: she rarely packs clothes, choosing instead to shop at thrift stores when she arrives. This practice blends practicality with spontaneity, reflecting her confidence and sense of humor about fashion. By relying on thrift shops around the world, Mirren shows that sustainable choices can be stylish, resourceful, and refreshingly unpretentious.
Florence Welch
Known for her ethereal stage presence, Welch consistently embraces secondhand fashion as part of her performance persona. Vintage lace dresses, silk gowns, and embellished coats often anchor her looks, reflecting both environmental values and artistic expression. For Welch, re-wearing and thrifted fashion are inseparable from her identity, giving her style a timeless quality that aligns with her music’s mysticism.
Macklemore
His 2012 hit “Thrift Shop” became an anthem for secondhand style, transforming thrift stores into cultural landmarks. By rapping about “popping tags” with just $20 in his pocket, Macklemore elevated resale culture from niche to mainstream. More than a gimmick, his advocacy has continued in interviews, where he emphasizes that thrift shopping offers individuality and financial accessibility. His influence is visible in a generation that treats resale as aspirational.
Timothée Chalamet
Chalamet has leaned into secondhand fashion with both subtlety and spectacle. During promotion for A Complete Unknown, he wore a vintage Levi’s jacket that once belonged to Bob Dylan, purchased at auction for more than $25,000. The choice wasn’t only homage — it was a statement about the cultural gravitas embedded in secondhand clothing. By bringing vintage into high-fashion moments, Chalamet bridges resale with red-carpet relevance.
Bryce Dallas Howard
Howard is known for styling herself on the red carpet, often sourcing gowns from consignment shops and The RealReal. She has described the process as empowering, giving her freedom to prioritize sustainability without sacrificing glamour. Her reliance on secondhand isn’t simply practical — it’s a way of making fashion personal again, shifting the focus from trends to individuality.
Paris Hilton
Hilton brought her archive to Vestiaire Collective, offering nearly one hundred Y2K treasures to raise funds for wildfire relief through her 11:11 Media Impact foundation. The sale included rhinestone-studded denim jackets, Louis Vuitton handbags, and Juicy Couture tracksuits — items that sold out in less than a day. Reflecting on the project, she said, “I’ve always embraced taking risks and having fun with fashion. I hope the pieces in my closet inspire others to experiment with their style and celebrate originality.” Hilton proved that her iconic wardrobe still resonates, and that resale can be both nostalgic and philanthropic.
Jessica Chastain
In partnership with Vestiaire Collective, Chastain opened her closet to fans with pieces worn at premieres and talk-show appearances, including a Carolina Herrera gown and a Dries Van Noten velvet dress. She explained, “I’ve worn these pieces during significant moments in my life, and I appreciate the craftsmanship that went into making them. I hope others will enjoy these pieces as much as I have. I’m delighted that these items will find a second new life.” Proceeds supported Women for Women International, tying fashion to global advocacy.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Huntington-Whiteley offered a curated edit of her wardrobe on Vestiaire Collective, donating all proceeds to Dress for Success. She spotlighted a Galvan cocktail dress, saying, “My green sequin Galvan cocktail dress is a real showstopper. I’m at a stage in my life where I really think about the pieces I buy and put on my body: Where is everything manufactured? Does the brand have integrity? With Galvan, I can trust every piece has been in the hands of the fashion industry’s best.” Her sale reinforced resale as both glamorous and thoughtful.
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