Out with the New and in With the Old at Sanlitun Second-Hand Store déjàvu
There was a time when second-hand clothes in Beijing meant expensive vintage imported from Japan and Korea. Today, as more and more people cotton on to the need to live a more sustainable lifestyle, there are plenty of options for people who don’t want to buy new, from community swap meets to Roundabout’s store to online platforms like 闲鱼 Xiányú and 转转Zhuǎnzhuǎn. Now, there is a substantial second-hand store right in the heart of Sanlitun thanks to the opening of déjàvu.
déjàvu has been around since around 2017 now, with both an online platform for buying/selling second-hand books and clothes (find it on WeChat by searching WeChat ID duozhuayu), and another offline store in Shanghai. The Beijing store is located in the popular Courtyard 4 area that also houses Q Mex and The Local and has already attracted quite a following among sustainably-minded shoppers.
The store is located up a flight of stairs in a high-ceilinged former factory space, with one side of the room dedicated to books and the other to clothing. The books are primarily in Chinese and cover a wide range of topics including both fiction and non-fiction. There is plenty of seating so you can flick through the books before you buy, and a coffee shop where you can pick up a brew to sip on while you browse. There is even an in-store tailoring counter (tailoring is one of the quickest ways to make second-hand clothing feel more “your own”).
People often associate second-hand clothes with vintage but that is not necessarily the case here; instead, these are pre-loved items from mostly high street brands. That’s not to say they aren’t good quality though. All the items are in good condition — clean and with minimal wear and tear — and there are some high-end pieces to be discovered, including cashmere sweaters from Chinese brand Erdos and real leather jackets from Acne Studios and All Saints.
When you find one of those leather jackets, don’t be concerned by the lack of price tag — prices for every item can be discovered by scanning the QR code on each item. To give you an idea of pricing, sweaters and shirts are around RMB 100-300 depending on brand and we found an All Saints leather jacket for RMB 1,500 (usually around RMB 4,000 new).
Courtyard 4 has become a very popular weekend destination since the pandemic, and déjàvu has already started to attract crowds of its own, so we recommend visiting on a weekday to give yourself plenty of time to browse the shelves and rails.
déjàvu
Building 75, Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (down the street to the right-hand side of Q Mex Sanlitun) (185 1582 3202)
朝阳区工体北路4号院机电院75号楼
READ: Embrace Eco-Friendly Living in Beijing With the Bulk House
Images: Robynne Tindall, Dazhong Dianping
