Across the vast landscape of clothing resale platforms, they all seem to have one thing in common: labels are important, trends are king. It’s a fantastic place for people to transition away from buying new and instead shopping secondhand, but what about those who are part of the DIY/analog revival? For those who want unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of handmade, vintage, or secondhand slow fashion – we have Lucky Sweater.
Their app is divided into six major categories: Curated Thrift, Slow Fashion, Me Made, Vintage, Outdoor Gear, and Kids Slow Fashion. There is also a group called G(end)er Swap that serves as a safe space and clothing exchange for LGBTQ+ communities. Within these groups, you’ll find respective clothing available for swap and/or purchase, member-submitted outfits & looks, and posts from individual users about brands, trends, favorite finds, or just to shoot the shit. It feels very early-MySpace for those who remember. It’s algorithm- & ad-free social sustainable shopping, and it’s very refreshing.
Curated Thrift: Secondhand clothing that’s too new to be vintage, but too good not to share.
Slow Fashion: Long-form, sustainable clothing from a list of (many) approved brands.
Me Made: Handmade items by members of the community, often based on popular indie patterns which is very cool.
Vintage: At least 20 years old (so Y2K or older) and in good condition.
Outdoor Gear: High quality, durable gear for outdoor adventures. Some items may have been repaired or upcycled.
Kids Slow Fashion: Kids clothes from the aforementioned approved brand list that is well made enough to be passed on several times once they’re outgrown.
So, the deal with Lucky Sweater is that it’s free for anyone, but there are membership levels that increase your access to these groups. (More on that below.) Initially, at the free level, you get access to two of the above groups, and can shop/save items, look at groups, and peruse at your leisure.
Hot People Swap & Trade Sustainable Fashion
Not only is the inventory unique, the clothing sustainable, and the community thriving – but on Lucky Sweater you also have the opportunity to skip the money altogether and trade. In fact, it’s the preferred transactional method, and LS only recently allowed the option to purchase anything at all! The community was built as a respite away from late-stage capitalism, where people can support each other and nurture communities without the heavy weight of conceptual monetary value. You can now offer your items for sale, but the price isn’t displayed unless you go looking for it.
By loading up your own digital closet with items you’re interested in selling or trading away, you can then make trade offers on other people’s items and have your offerings readily viewable for the other party. If they see something they like, they can approve a trade and you send each other the items! Your profile has an “ISO” list (In Search Of) where you can list items you’re extra interested in acquiring in trade.
It’s honestly such a simple and great idea, but how does it actually work? I went digging for people’s reviews and found that the vast majority of people seem to have a great experience. In fact, there is a girl in my town that has over 130 trades! (You can see on user profiles how many successful trades or sales they’ve had.)
This also means that you will frequently be looking at a listing and see that the seller has specified what they’re looking to trade for. Sometimes it’s the same piece of clothing in a different size, or other times, they just list their style or vibe and it’s up to you to decide if you have anything they might be interested in! Be sure it’s in your closet, so the seller can see what you’ve got to offer.
The Goods Drop on Tuesdays
To once again set this app apart from every other shopping app, Lucky Sweater scoops up all of the new closet additions from its users over the week and makes them available for sale on Tuesday at noon. Subscribers get a 3 hour head start and start at 9am. Why do they do it this way? Unsurprisingly, the answer is community. They do it so everyone has an excuse to get together on the app and search each other’s offerings. It’s also probably a nice, tidy way to keep people regularly returning to the app, but I legitimately feel like that’s a passive benefit. These people are community-first, and are applying that ethos anywhere they can.
An Authentic, Supportive Community on the Internet: It Can Be Done
Lucky Sweater began as a group on Instagram called STSF (“Sell Trade Slow Fashion”) made up of people who wanted to circularize their sustainably produced clothing collections by selling to and swapping with each other, thereby making their clothing even more sustainable. During COVID lockdown, one of Lucky Sweater’s founders, Tanya Dastyar, found solace and support in the fashion swapping group and couldn’t believe the authenticity and genuine friendship found between other members.
The sense of community was so strong and authentic that it crushed the toxic stereotypes of internet communities and inspired them to create Lucky Sweater.
The structure of the app seems a little odd until you understand the focus on social interaction and community. Lucky Sweater is definitely a “social shopping app,” but while other social shopping apps might cap out their social capabilities at allowing you to like & comment on each other’s closets, Lucky Sweater wants you to meet people, swap knowledge, trade clothes, hype each other up, and find your people.
While stumbling through the vintage section, I came across a post from a person who was announcing the creation of a Plus Size/Fat Welcome Group for vintage lovers which, if you’ve ever been plus sized and into vintage, is a welcome sight. After reading the post, I noticed that not only does this group have a designated space on Lucky Sweater, but they’ve also expanded to a Signal group! Real people making real connections with other people over a shared love of sustainable style. What more could you ask for?
Look on the Web, Exchange on the App
While Lucky Sweater has a great website and the ability to look through clothing online, the bulk of its power is in the app (available for iOS and Android). However, if you find something you love and need while perusing the website, you can initiate a sale or trade with a QR code that will bring the item up on your phone and it mentions that it will also show you your saved items.
When I shop, I generally prefer to do so on the website as opposed to an app on my phone, so I appreciate the availability of the website. I should also note that I haven’t had any luck trying to select and sort by my size. There’s always an error on the website, but on the app, it’s smooth & functional.
Subscriptions Give Access to More Clothes & Communities
As I mentioned earlier, there is a subscription level at Lucky Sweater that grant you access to additional groups, clothing, and communities. You start out as a free subscriber which gives you access to two of the groups listed above. Within those groups, you can participate in community chats, peruse clothing for purchase or trade, and view user-uploaded looks and styles for inspiration. Free account holders also pay a $2.99 protection fee with each trade.
If you wanted access to all of the groups, you can become a Sustainer with a $7.99/month or $75.99/year fee. This allows you to freely roam all of the groups, shop all of the things, and see all of the cute outfits. They give you a free week-long trial that, honestly, is pretty addictive once you realize that the end that trial means you have to pick only two groups out of the seven available. Plus, with a Sustainer membership, you get slightly cheaper trades because the $2.99 protection fee is covered by your membership.
Overall, my impression of Lucky Sweater is very favorable. I’m excited to make my first purchase, I’m a little intimidated but eager to start up a closet of my own, and super interested to see where this novel idea takes the team behind Lucky Sweater. It’s daring and difficult to divert from the norm, and Lucky Sweater’s selective, curated offerings and focus on trades makes it a pretty revolutionary platform. I remain utterly impressed at the number of users, and legitimately shocked at the rate of use within that userbase – I think something’s happening here.
