Rural second hand shops where you can find real treasures

The Ruha (Clothes) in Szentendre is a shop where you can buy and sell between wardrobes without adding new pieces to the system. After all, everyone has beautiful but unused clothes, shoes and accessories in their wardrobe – how simple is that? Stylist Lilla Lendvai believes that there is enough clothing in the world and that you can find everything from fast fashion to high-end brands without buying new. In Ruha, we have the opportunity to find things that transcend trends. And with clothes coming into the store from all over the country and the world, you are unlikely to see a single piece of what you have bought here on the street.

In Pécs, not far from the historic city centre, you will find one of the best second hand shops in the region: the Lowside Garage. A neon sign along the Tettye stream will help you find the shop. Entering the room was like stepping through a time portal: vintage motorbikes, furniture from the last century, old posters, industrial artifacts. The team could not even deny its passion for antiques. While we are in the front, picking through the better and better second-hand clothes, they are tinkering with engines in the back. There is everything for the eye; jeans, jumpsuits, shirts, hats, boots and jackets for men and women. Only unique pieces, according to the owners’ taste. The motorbike line is also strong in the second hand section, but there’s plenty to choose from even if you don’t have a two-wheeler in the garage.

Reused is halfway between women’s boutiques and kilo thrift stores, offering unique pieces, selected with an expert eye. This lovely little shop in Szombathely operates on a consignment basis, so anyone can bring in clothes they haven’t worn but are still in excellent condition. That’s how a shop becomes a real crowd pleaser, and the owner has great taste! The founder, Delinke Kovács, was working as a personal stylist when the pandemic put an indefinite end to his job. Then came Plan B: opening of a mini-boutique that contributes to sustainable fashion and helps shoppers find unique pieces.

Even as a teenager I loved thrift stores, and that hasn't stopped over time. To this day, I have many preloved pieces in my wardrobe. Then I read more and more about the harmful effects of the fashion industry, and about sustainable fashion, which also includes second-hand shopping. But I didn’t just want to give and take the clothes randomly, I wanted to put a concept behind it, a name. This is how Reused was born” – says Delinke.

OMG Designer Store’s latest project, the Second Love Store, was born out of a circular approach to fashion, a love of design and art, and a desire to build community. When you enter this friendly little shop in Sopron, you don’t need to dig deep into your pockets to stock up on Hungarian designer goods, second-hand and vintage clothes – but chances are you will leave satisfied!

“Apart from the fact that we can choose from brands that we might not be able to buy new, the special feature of the Second Love Store is the rework” – says Krisztina Sütő, the idea owner. In other words, the products in the shop are offered for reconsideration and redesign, and the recreative pieces are judged and even put up for sale in the OMG Designer Store.