Norman Park‘s Round Two store giving unused clothes a second chance

Sick of selling your clothes through Facebook or at markets? This store in Brisbane’s south has come up with an alternative way to give old clothes a new lease on life.

Lauren Nicolle beginning to set up her new shop, Round Two Preloved Clothing a rent a rack store for pre-owned clothing in Norman Park, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

A thrift store landing in southeast Brisbane is planning to “break the stigma around second-hand shopping” with an efficient way to give old clothes a new lease on life.

Round Two is the love child of Lauren Nicolle, 27, who had always wanted to start a clothing store with a twist.

After two years of looking for a property to bring her idea to life, Ms Nicolle finally found the perfect spot for her second-hand clothing store.

Interested sellers can rent a clothing rack with Round Two and sell their items in-store, with the proceeds going straight back into their pockets. Sellers would also be able to choose the pricing for their items.

“At some consignment stores, you have to pay for your space to be there, and then the company takes a percentage. We don’t do that,” Ms Nicolle said.

“We just take the price of the rack to pay off all of our overheads, and then all of the rest of the money goes straight into the customer’s pocket, which is great.”

Round Two would also have a charity rack, where proceeds from donated clothes would be given to a charity of the month.

Lauren Nicolle at her new Round Two store at Norman Park. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Three rent-a-rack options would be available starting from 30 clothing hangers, then 45 hangers, and up to 100 hangers which could be split with friends and family. People can rent a space in the store for up to four weeks.

“Our ethos is breaking through the stigma of shopping second-hand. In this day and age, there is such a strong focus on people promoting fast fashion, whether that be influencers or branding,” Ms Nicolle said.

“So we really want to promote shopping second-hand where you can find really nice clothes, especially with the cost of living (crisis).”

Ms Nicolle stressed there were multiple benefits that come from a “rent-a-rack” concept.

“It is so much easier than selling things on (Facebook) Marketplace these days because you want to give (your clothes) a new life. Half the time people don’t show up, and you’re dealing with so many messages. And then if you go to a one-day market, you have to be there the entire day,” Ms Nicolle explained.

“It also means our stock is constantly changing. If you come in one week then we will have a whole new range of clothes the next. We have a strong focus on circular fashion.

“So we take all that hard work out of it for you. So all people really need to do is rent a rack and label their clothes, bring them in, and then we take care of the rest, from the selling to the tidying.”

Round Two is expected to officially open its doors in September this year.