There are few people quite like Bay Garnett. Over the span of her 25-year-long career, she’s earned her crown as the Queen of Thrift – rummaging around in charity shops long before ‘pre-loved’ was a trend.

This is the woman who inspired fashion house Chloé to make a homage to a vintage banana top that she styled on Kate Moss in 2003, one of her “ultimate favourite shoots”.

As a long-time contributing editor of British Vogue, she has collaborated with the likes of Jürgen Teller, Bruce Weber and David LaChapelle, creating wonderfully winsome editorials that merge high fashion with low.

And in 2023, the 50-year-old stylist continues to pioneer the art of secondhand shopping. We chat one sunny morning when she is at home in London with her two rescue dogs, the place where she feels “most at home”. Gearing up for Oxfam’s Secondhand September as senior advisor of the charity, Garnett is encouraging everyone to clear out their wardrobes, donate and buy from charity shops for the whole month (and beyond). “Being more sustainable can be more expensive, but shopping in charity shops can be cheaper,” she says. “Secondhand should be for everyone.”

For Garnett, clothes are never superficial; rather, they are an “incredibly powerful” tool and can offer a serotonin boost. Besides her work with Oxfam, she is also set to release her new book, Style And Substance: Why What We Wear Matters, in November.

Revealing the sartorial stories of the likes of Stanley Tucci, Sienna Miller and Bella Freud, the book is a gloriously eclectic celebration of self-expression.

“The things we wear reaffirm how we feel about ourselves and what we want to project into the world,” she says, “My mood changes depending on what I wear and I love the memories and stories we create through clothes.”

Fully immersed in the Bay Garnett universe, she shares with me her fashion memories, thrifting secrets and the one item she cannot live without…

“Go with something in mind. If you have an idea of what you are keen on finding, it will make a real difference. A lot of people go into charity shops without approaching them in the same way that they might if they were going into a department store or shopping online. Have that same sense of purpose because it will put you in the zone and help you build a connection with what you’re looking for.”

“I love the King’s Road Oxfam, Red Cross and Cancer Care in Chelsea. There are so many great ones in New York too. I love those ones that are kind of total surprises where you don’t know what you’re gonna find. They’re probably my favourites.”

“My banana print top, I can’t get rid of it. Some pieces I’ve had for 30 years that I might not wear again, but I just can’t part with. Like a velvet blazer with a crest on the pocket that I got from the market, which is 80s Russell & Bromley. It’s totally out of shape but I just love it.”

“I went into Shelter charity shop on Turnham Green Terrace and I bought a secondhand Whistles lilac sweater for £20. Then I got a tweed men’s blazer from the British Red Cross.”

“Anita Pallenberg, who’s a friend of mine. She taught me so much about style and I always just loved the way that she put things together with a knit sweater and pair of pumps, very stylish, but not overtly punky. Jackie Kennedy and Nico were always so inspiring with 70s tailoring. Charlotte Rampling. Marlene Dietrich’s 1940s glamour – that was just so stylish.”

“I’m still drawn to fuzzy mohair with the big collar. But now as I get older, I’m more drawn to the classics, like a good quality cashmere roll neck. I love finding a cashmere sweater or men’s shirt in a secondhand store. I love a blazer; it feels less dressed up now than it did when I was younger. I still get the same kind of pleasure from clothes. It’s more pared down, less playful, but I don’t enjoy it any less.”

“Buy something you really love! I think it’s really important that you buy something that you’re actually going to wear and then wear it everywhere and keep it forever.”

Dress for the world you want this September by pledging to shop secondhand and donating all your unwanted clothes to Oxfam. Find out more in store or here.

Images: courtesy of Oxfam