Thrifty drag queen reveals how she buys her fabulous fashion second-hand to save money – including pink PVC thigh-high boots for under £40
A glamorous drag queen is leading the way for affordable and sustainable – but still fabulous – fashion by purchasing pre-loved clothes to wear for her performances.
Cherry Allen, 19, hopes more people will swap high street fashion for second-hand items and believes thrifty shopping is becoming trendy.
But that doesn’t mean compromising on her style.
Cherry said: “You’ll also be surprised by the pieces you find – there are so many unique things available on places like Gumtree and in charity shops that you’d never find from fast fashion brands.
Cherry, who is due to begin studying Fashion Branding and Promotion at Nottingham Trent University in September, first became aware of drag aged 13.
She said: “I was scrolling through Netflix one day and found RuPaul’s Drag Race.
She added: “I practised a lot in my bedroom with my makeup and listening to music to practise dance routines.”
Three years on, she was ready to make her public debut.
She added: “My mum and my gran came to support me during my 15 minute performance and it was really nice to know they were in the audience.
“I wore a pink Barbie bodysuit, which I bought second-hand, while lip-syncing Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande on stage.”
She added: “The good thing about drag is that you can just have fun, have a dance, sing a song and enjoy the experience.
“Some friends were there too, and they had a fun time and were really proud of me.”
She said: “At the time, I had a paper round which I made £20 a week from so I had very little money to put an outfit together.
“I had two outfits for the night – and each of them cost under £20. One was the Barbie bodysuit with boots and the other was a red slip dress, which were both from Gumtree.
Now there’s no stopping Cherry. So far this year, she has done four performances, with more lined up, and she also shares her drag looks on social media.
She said: “I’m always creating new outfits for Instagram.
And she loves vintage looks too, with clothes from 2000 back in vogue.
She said: “I’m also very into trends and right now Y2K is back in fashion – the slogan T-Shirts and low-rise jeans and juicy couture tracksuits.
Pre-loved websites have provided some of Cherry’s favourite wardrobe pieces.
She said: “I think my favourite item that I’ve found were my pink PVC thigh-high boots which I bought from Gumtree.
She added: “I’ve had them so long that I’ve had to get them re-heeled a couple of times because I just can’t part with them.
“I also got a pair of pink platform heels from Gumtree for £15 which I love too.”
She said: “Fast fashion is very bad for the environment so shopping second-hand is very important for sustainability.
“It’s also a lot cheaper than buying new clothes and, with the cost of living rising, we all have less in our pockets to spend.”
She added: “It’s definitely something more people are becoming conscious of and choosing to do.
“Shopping for pre-loved clothes doesn’t mean you can’t find some great pieces – there are really unique items out there to discover.
“It’s all about reducing waste. As they say, ‘one person’s trash is another person’s treasure’.”