Recently we caught up with Emma Morris, founder of Round She Goes preloved designer and vintage fashion market, to discover how specialised preloved fashion markets are helping to divert quality clothing from becoming “fashion-waste” in landfill.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first Melbourne Round She Goes Market! This is an amazing achievement for Emma and her family run business and we wanted to learn all about her journey.
“Originally I started Round She Goes market because I’m a long-time op-shopper and buyer of 2nd hand clothing so I could see the value in it, but I felt there needed to be an alternative to ‘trash and treasure’ style markets with low-balling price points. It was also an opportunity for people not familiar with buying second-hand clothing to shop high quality items and brands they knew, at a great price. I did the first round-she-goes with my sister and a friend at the German Club in Melbourne. It was around the time that Facebook was really taking off (2008) which gave us reach to a greater amount of people and we quickly gained a following, our 1st event was a success!”
Round She Goes presents nine events in three cities throughout the year, hosting a select group of 50-60 pre-qualified stallholders.
“I feel like the idea is still popular and it seems we’ve ridden the waves of people looking for alternatives to the mainstream consumerism. With an influx of fast fashion in around 2014 (which has doubled since our beginning) more people are searching for second-hand and vintage fashion. Education programs like the War on Waste program on ABC had a good impact, bringing a new audience to our events, and even more people are expanding the way they buy fashion in the last couple of years.”
The Round She Goes difference
Emma states the extra work they put in to carefully select stall-holders is their major point of difference and to what she attributes their success. They spend more time vetting the submissions; reviewing applications along with images to ensure there is a great selection of the best items, as well as a good variety of sizes and styles on offer.
“We ask our stallholders why they’re selling, pick the best stuff in a range of sizes & styles to always make sure there’s a broad offering and even a few small businesses selling complementary items like hand-made jewellery.” Emma cites the curation of her events as a key part of why they’re still around all these years later.
Another unique offering, the team have also created their own Online Marketplace for sellers which is the first of its kind in the market scene.
Why only designer brands?
“Designer and high-quality vintage women’s fashion is what we’re offering to customers. High end and high-street. This way we’re able to control the quality of what’s available and avoid fast fashion (which really has no resale value). We also have a donation partnership with Red Cross for anything that seller’s don’t want to take home with them.”
Reasons you should hold a RSG stall
The reasons people want get involved vary from state to state and fluctuate over the years. In Melbourne, Emma reveals the biggest reason sellers love round-she-goes is their brand-name wardrobe clear-outs, whereas Sydney still has a strong following of vintage fashion.
“The reasons people hold a stall are all familiar – wardrobe clear-outs are a fact of life as lifestyles and priorities change for example women who’ve left corporate jobs, had children, we’ve even had women in their later years selling all their great vintage from 30-40 years ago! There’s some real treasure to be found.”
Why you’ll love the round-she-goes shopping experience!
If buying second-hand is still new to you there’s 5 hours of trade to browse and try on items, making it more likely you’ll find something that suits you perfectly. It can be much easier than buying online and the items on offer are guaranteed to be of a high-quality, which you can see for yourself before handing over your dollars.
Important dates! Upcoming Markets
SYDNEY: Saturday 19 May / Marrickville Town Hall
ADELAIDE: Saturday 26 May / Woodville Town Hall
MELBOURNE: Sunday 3 June / Coburg Town Hall
For an updated list of upcoming markets year-round visit www.roundshegoes.com.au
What does the future hold for the RSG team?
In 2016, the team that brought you round-she-goes launched the Makers and Shakers market for local makers, artisans and designers. They currently run eight of these events per year in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide & Canberra.
Image Supplied – Makers and Shakers Market
The idea for this event came about because of the high demand of enquiries by makers of things other than fashion, they quickly realised there was a need to innovate another market for makers of locally made and ethically produced products, particularly in the food and homewares space. They’re also interested in expanding the Round She Goes experience to include preloved baby clothing and more – watch this space!
Markets are booming – slow made movement + conscious consumers
Markets are a convenient way of selling and buying. More and more people are looking for alternatives to high-polluting, unethical production. There is a revolution of conscious consumers who no longer connect with buying from big stores. Thanks to the ethical fashion movement and events like Fashion Revolution Week, people can no longer pretend that it’s ok to buy garments you don’t know the history of. Thanks to the digital age we can easily access information and make more informed and ethical buying decisions.
For more information about holding a stall visit:
www.roundshegoes.com.au– 9 events per year, stalls start at $77*
www.themakersandshakers.com – 8 events per year, stalls start at $140*
(*see website or enquire for current pricing in your city)
All images supplied courtesy of Round She Goes fashion market.
Emma Morris is the founder of Round She Goes Fashion Market. Emma is a former book-publicist, and now runs her events business full-time. Round She Goes operates in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide (and has an online marketplace too). 
Emma feels lucky that her business allows her to live and work in her community, perform a service that aligns with her values, and to spend quality time with her dog, McNulty.
We’ve loved learning about your story Emma! Thank you for sharing your journey and we are so excited for the continued success of your conscious fashion business – Sophie, Editor (Ethical Fashion Review™)
Welcome to the Ethical Fashion Review™
Would you like to see your Brand or Event featured on our site? To submit a business or idea and share your vision for a sustainable and ethical fashion future, please Contact Us.
