Shipping
Where do you ship from and what countries do you ship to?
All orders are shipped from Portugal and can be sent to any country within the European Union.
Unfortunately, worldwide shipping is not available at the moment.
When will my order be shipped and how long will it take to arrive?
Orders are shipped once per week, on Tuesdays (or the next business day in the case of a public holiday). If the shipping day is delayed for any reason, I will share updates through instagram, so make sure to follow there!
After an order is shipped, delivery times depend on the type of postage and destination:
To Portugal (Mainland):
CTT Correio Normal - 3 to 5 business days
CTT Correio Registado (Tracked) - 1 to 2 business days
To Portugal (Islands of Azores or Madeira):
CTT Correio Normal - 3 to 15 business days
CTT Correio Registado (Tracked) - 2 to 15 business days
Rest of European Union:
CTT Blue Post (Tracked) - 3 to 5 business days
These are average timeframes, but orders may take longer to arrive due to public holidays or periods of high demand.
Do I have to pay customs duty fees?
There are no customs duty fees for shipping goods between EU countries. Value Added Tax (VAT) is already included in the price of each piece and reflected at checkout, so you can rest assured there won't be any unexpected fees for your order.
How can I get free shipping?
Free tracked shipping is available for all orders over 60€!
What happens if my order gets lost?
Please be mindful that deliveries may be delayed due to public holidays or periods of high demand. If you haven't received your order after 25 business days, please send an email to info@sullenvintage.com with your order number so I can contact the carrier for more details. If your order is deemed lost after investigation, you are entitled to a full refund.
If an order is returned due to an incomplete/incorrect address provided by you at checkout or as unclaimed, I will contact you through the provided email as soon as I receive it to request the correct details and payment to cover the costs of a new delivery.
Sizing and care
How do you measure clothing?
All the measurements are taken across the garment while laid flat and not the full circumference around the body.
For areas like the chest, waist, hips or thigh you can double the flat measurement to estimate the full fit or compare the measurements to a piece you already own with a similar fit.
For pants/jeans consider the rise measurement, as it affects where the garment sits on the body and that will impact the waist measurement (in a higher rise the waistband sits closer to your natural waist, while in a lower rise it sits closer to your hips).
How can i be sure something is my size?
Every item has a recommended size in the product title and description to help with sorting and easier searchability on the website. These recommendations are usually just general guides.
These guides are based on the measurements and fit of each piece, rarely on the item tags, as vintage sizing is often inaccurate by modern standards, so be sure to check the individual measurements in each product description to ensure a proper fit.
Keep in mind all the measurements are taken with the garment laid flat and not the circumference around the body.
The clothing looks smaller in pictures, are the measurements accurate?
Most of the clothing is adjusted and styled for the product pictures, so be sure to check the recommended sizing and measurements to ensure a proper fit.
Keep in mind all the measurements are taken with the garment laid flat and not the circumference around the body.
Are the clothes washed before they are sent?
Every piece is washed and steamed, except for deadstock items with the original tags attached (which are only steamed) and some "dry clean only" items such as leather pieces and structured wool coats, for example. These items are sanitized using a disinfectant spray and a surface clean whenever possible, but a professional cleaning is recommended once you receive your order.
If these clothes are used, do they all have flaws?
All of the pieces available are handpicked and most of them are either like new or in very good condition. As all items are secondhand, it's only natural that some of them may have minor flaws or some signs of wear. Any notable flaws will always be described as accurately as possible in the product descriptions and shown in the product pictures.
How should I wash/take care of my pieces?
Look at the care label in each piece whenever possible, this is the best guide for maintaining your pieces over the years. For more specific issues, I have a few tips available in the "garment care" section of the website.
General questions
Can I purchase a gift card for someone else?
Yes, you can send a gift card directly to someone else!
Before adding a gift card to your cart, select the "Send to a friend!" option and add the recipient's email. You can also include a personal message and choose when they receive it.
Gift cards are valid for one year from the purchase date.
How can I stay updated on the newest pieces?
I post new drops on Thursdays and occasionally throughout the week! You can follow on Instagram @sullen.vintage (where new drops are always announced) and subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of this page to be the first to know when new pieces are available and to get special discounts!
Why would I want to buy used clothes?
Every year, around 92 million tons of textile waste end up in landfills, that's the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes being dumped every second. Textile production is also responsible for roughly 20% of global clean water pollution, making it one of the largest contributing industries worldwide, second only to animal factory farming.
Overproduction and overconsumption has lasting environmental consequences, disproportionately affecting countries in the Global South. Excess unsold or discarded clothing from the Global North is exported under the pretext of charitable donations, only to overwhelm local systems and contribute further to its environmental destruction, depletion of clean resources and other ongoing patterns of exploitation.
Choosing to wear secondhand and avoiding fast-fashion whenever possible helps reduce demand for new production, lowers your environmental footprint, and keeps usable clothing from ending up in landfills.
Why do you sell leather, wool and other animal products?
When buying secondhand clothing you don't always get to choose the raw materials you encounter. Rather than discarding pieces made from leather, wool and other animal materials (that would inevitably end up in a landfill), it makes sense to give them a second life without supporting the companies that profit from animal cruelty by producing them in the first place.
As an example: on one hand, the most common and most affordable faux leather options made today aren't biodegradable. They're made from synthetic fibers that can take over 500 years to break down completely and, as a finished garment, they usually don’t last nearly as long as a well maintained real leather piece (usually lasting around 5 years on average, compared to something that can last for generations if it’s cared for). On the other hand, buying brand new animal-based materials for aesthetic purposes is cruel and absolutely unnecessary for the suffering it causes. However, if someone were to pass one down to you, it would likely last a lifetime and keep you from having to repurchase a faux version every few years, which would inevitably end up in landfills each time. Sourcing and wearing secondhand pieces that already exist in the world and extending their lifespan, regardless of material, seems to be the least damaging alternative rather than looking at pieces from either of these options as something disposable.
I urge you to think consciously and draw your own conclusions about what we choose to purchase and wear, and how that is an intersectional issue between factors such as sustainability (secondhand vs new), animal welfare (animal based vs synthetic), human welfare (fast-fashion vs slow-fashion) among many others. And of course, consider how comfortable you feel with any of the options available to you, depending on accessibility, affordability, personal views, etc.
Why do you sell synthetic fabrics and not just natural fabrics?
As mentioned in the previous section, when buying secondhand clothing you don’t always have control over the materials you come across. Choosing to wear secondhand pieces, regardless of material, and extending their lifespan is the least harmful option rather than treating something as disposable based solely on its composition.
If a piece made from a synthetic material already exists, even if nobody wants it, it will continue to exist for decades or centuries until it breaks down, so it’s far better to put it to use and keep it from going directly to the landfill.
I have vintage pieces to sell, do you purchase pieces/do you offer consignment?
At the moment, sourcing in small quantities directly from the general public or offering consignment isn’t feasible due to the logistics involved. It also wouldn't be possible to cover a fair price for your pieces, plus shipping, and then post them at the same price range as the current items (that already include taxes, processing fees and packing materials). Therefore, most of the inventory available comes from B2B wholesale, bulk suppliers and raghouses.
That said, if you have a large quantity of vintage or unique-looking clothes (that fit the general style of the pieces available) and would be interested in donating them in exchange for a gift card, send an email to info@sullenvintage.com with your details, the amount of pieces you have, pictures, and any notable flaws they might have. I'll review your pieces to see if they are a good fit for the store and reply as quickly as possible.
info@sullenvintage.com
@sullen.vintage