A secondhand revival
On restoring what others overlook
One of the things I like about LA is that there's no shortage of secondhand stores. I can be quite patient rummaging through rails and rails of clothes – my mind goes off daydreaming at the same time as me trying to figure out how a piece deserves a space in my life.
Ever since bringing Casa Branda more to life each day, I’ve been finding myself to be much pickier than my teenage years of going wild for all things new and trendy. I now know a bit more than I did then, and for that I'm grateful because I'm not as beholden to labels as I was. I’m practicing to be more discerning, understand how an object fits within my life, and not simply blinded by something “pretty”.
I went to Wasteland twice last week. The first time felt like a waste of my time, finding nothing that I felt I actually need or even want, even if there are loads of “good brands” as we know them from mainstream sources. I left feeling somehow defeated, but also at the same time relieved because I didn’t settle. The second time I went again to try to pass time. After sliding countless hangers from one side to another, I finally found my perfect piece: a neglected and shrunken mohair jumper from Isabel Marant, the Drussel Ombré Jumper, for $58.
Happy that nobody else saw an opportunity the same way that I did, I instantly took it off the rail and thought of a good life I can resuscitate it back into. My mind wandered into this baby shampoo sitting back at home for me to use, and how I can use it to relax the fibres of this stressed out jumper. After having done the same thing to my Muji Labo cardigan through using the tool I built to consult on the proper steps of reviving it, I now feel more confident to incrementally save garments as much as I can – up until I’d need professional help of course.
Looking back, I've probably always done this without realising what it really was. During lockdown I went through a phase of buying old bags from Depop, cleaning them up with leather paint and wax, and reselling them. One was a vintage Gucci with bamboo handles from the 2000s. I was gutted when it became a well-known piece again not a year after I sold it. Eventually I moved onto house objects, roaming charity shops in the British countryside collecting Wedgwood and things like it. I described it as 'modernising vintage', where old objects still look relevant to this day. It was always just instinct, and I'm only now starting to understand the pattern.
Now that I look back on the things I’ve done so far I realise that I’ve always had the interest in me, I just didn’t know how to properly channel it because I didn’t really fully understand the bigger picture at the time. But now with the tools I’ve built, one thing is clear: I want to promote object longevity and actively choose to have them in our lives because we feel genuinely connected with them.
Restoring the jumper
Even though I had a rough idea of what to do, I wanted to double check. The label says “Handwash in cold water with appropriate detergent. Dry flat on towel.” But what does appropriate actually mean? When I did homeroom at school, I learnt how to cook and make coasters. Nobody taught me how to wash my clothes properly, let alone how to revive a shrunken mohair jumper that someone else had already given up on.
This is the gap I keep coming back to: care labels tell you just enough to technically comply, but not enough to actually help. Especially if you’re the second or third owner and the damage is already done.
So I asked the Casa Branda assistant. It walked me through what to do: soak it in lukewarm water with a gentle cleanser like baby shampoo, let the fibres relax. Then, the part I didn’t know: you can use a conditioner with natural ingredients to soften them further. The same way you’d treat your own hair.
I left it for 30 minutes, then lightly rubbed some Firsthand Supply conditioner onto the fibres and rinsed. I laid it flat on a towel and shaped it back while still damp. In less than half a day, the fibres had released their tension and the jumper could stretch again. Softer, roomier, finally relaxed.
I think about the previous owner sometimes. Whoever washed this wrong and decided it was ruined – I don’t blame them. A few years ago I would have done the same. The difference now is that I know what I’m looking at, and I have the tools to do something about it.
