CNA Lifestyle

By-appointment shopping in Singapore: How it works and which stores to check out

Perhaps the antithesis of convenient add-to-cart consumption, there are a handful of shops here that offer in-person by-appointment shopping, where all the attention is on you, you, you. We tell you what it’s like and where you can go to experience this.

By-appointment shopping in Singapore.

Celine Tan 11 Jun 2024 07:27AM

THE REOUTFITTER SHOP: PRELOVED DESIGNER AND VINTAGE APPAREL

If there’s one thing about making an appointment, turning up physically and trying on items to make sure you love them, it’s that it makes you more mindful about what you’re splashing moolah on.

It’s something close to styling consultant and The Reoutfitter Shop founder Sera Murphy’s heart, as she started her brand in 2021 as a way to sell her styling clientele's gently-used designer, premium, cult and vintage label apparel, in a bid to promote fashion that was more circular and less wasteful.

“Because there is the step of making the appointment, I do think it limits the ‘panic shopping’ that so many of us do, which is when you think you urgently need something when you could in fact just rewear what you already have in your wardrobe, said Murphy.

“But our challenge is also that people don’t have a ‘preloved first’ mentality. We’re hopeful the positive shopping experience with preloved clothing will change minds about how fun and efficient shopping for clothes can be!”

For a niche business like Murphy’s, the by-appointment system, where customers can book a time slot to try on clothing, works wonders, as “realistically, finding staff to physically be at a store for a set amount of hours without guaranteed traffic is very difficult”.

It gives Murphy – who has two young kids she wants to spend time with – and her employees some flexibility. They host one to six appointments per week. Customers can also shop at their online store. 

Dealing in preloved and vintage clothing does present some limitations, which is that even when customers make an appointment and are keen to buy, they may not necessarily find the right piece in the right size.

Shared Murphy: “It is totally okay not to buy, because I genuinely believe that you shouldn’t buy clothes you don’t need or really love. That’s a specific challenge to preloved because we don’t have all sizes and styles in every garment, so sometimes customers leave empty-handed. But we’ve hopefully made a positive connection, and they’ll consider us in the future when we do have something for their specific need.”

Make appointments at https://www.thereoutfitter.com/.