Craft of Resale: An Exploration of Resale-Ability for Circular Wardrobe Economies

Drawing on empirical data from eight wardrobe studies conducted with Copenhagen-based resellers in the winter of 2023/2024, this article introduces the concept “craft of resale.” Building on Fletcher’s “craft of use”, Campbell’s “craft consumer”, and selected literature on practices related to “doing” resale, the article presents the somewhat self-explanatory but arguably undervalued idea that the circulation of pre-owned garments can be strengthened with “resale-ability”: a crafty way of consuming that involves the savviness required to buy, use, and resell garments, enabling some users to realize their own “circular wardrobe economies.” Perceiving resale wardrobes as practical exemplars of circular miniature economies to learn from in the transition toward a slower and less resource-extractive fashion industry, the research suggests that “clothing competence” and “resourceful usership” are not limited to play a decisive role in determining garment lifespans during use; such “fashion-abilities” are equally important when it comes to ensuring their next lives on the resale market. Consequently, craft of resale might have a crucial role to play in letting usable garments stay in circulation, continue to be used and reused, making the research contribute to the growing scholarship of fashion in a circular economy (CE).