Maastricht Secondhand

Of the many endearing qualities of the Dutch, the one I most appreciate is their frugality. It’s comforting to know that my cheap, student mindset is shared by the general population. But unfortunately, for the person who needs or wants a new item of clothing without spending too much money, the center of Maastricht appears to offer very little. However, there are quite a few good secondhand stores, many of which are but a short walk from Vrijthof Square.

My search began, naturally, on the internet. With some scrawled directions courtesy of Google Maps and a good idea of Maastricht in my head, I hopped on my bike to seek out these “tweedehands winkels” and see what they had to offer.

Of the eight secondhand shops I explored, what surprised me was their diversity. There is everything from the extremely cheap, haphazardly organized “junk” shop – to the higher end stores with design-minded lay-outs, mannequins and the whole shebang. Still, in almost each shop it’s possible for the budget-minded to find something unique and inexpensive, or at the very least to browse a diverse selection of clothes and sometimes more.

The stores
For the most budget-minded and therefore, most Dutch-minded of customers, there is a nice handful of stores to choose from. Biron Tweedehands Kleding, marketing to women both young and old, is the most established of all secondhand stores I surveyed in Maastricht. (It has been around for 23 years!) Prices range from EUR 3 to 40, and the owner declares the best quality of her store to be her honesty and personal contact with the clientele. Also, all of its clothes are bought locally from women here in Maastricht.

Mattie’s Kringloopwinkel and Regin’s Kringloop also fall into the budget price category, but they are the only ones that sell books and household necessities, among other things, in addition to clothes. Regin’s Kringloop has a small collection of clothes for both men and women, and sells an array of shoes and boots to fit any occasion.

The clothes sold at both places are extremely cheap and include everything from bright-blue plastic pants to cheap wool scarves. Finding something for EUR 1-5 is not difficult by any means, although certain articles such as jackets are logically more expensive.

The only definitive mid-range store I found was Giensch, a very stylish and reasonably priced place which has something for everyone, both men and women, young and old. Although the source of the clothes is a “secret of the boss”, the best quality of Giensch, according to the staff, is that its merchandise is “first class, second hand.”

Three of the eight stores figure in the mid-to-high price range, although it is still more than possible to find a bargain in either of them. In Bêta, for example, you can find clothes from EUR 20 to 500 and everything in between. The store owner has been building up her collection of clothes for 26 years through a fashion collective in the region. She markets to women who are conscious of the importance of reusing and recycling, and who don’t want too spend too much money on good quality clothes. The best quality of her store is “the good brand-names and the beautiful presentation on the outside which matches what is on the inside,” she declares.

Cadence is similar to Bêta, marketing to women (but especially to students) who want quality clothes for prices which range from EUR 10 to 60. Cadence’s uniqueness is in the period of its merchandise, all of which is from the 1980s or older, and in its extensive selection of boots and shoes.

Secondhand 4 All also falls into the category of mid-to-high end stores, but it is nevertheless possible to find a bargain here because there is so much to choose from.

Marketing to middle and high class men and women, store owner Fernand Leunissen describes the best quality of his store to be its good labels (including Dior, Prada, and others) for about 25 per cent of what they cost when newly bought.

Finally, the one truly high-end store is Traders Pop Gallery. Hidden on a side street off Bredestraat, its clothes come from all around the world, from America, Peru, Belgium and South Korea among others. It features a good selection of many popular brands, although some things are prohibitively expensive such as the selection of EUR 50 cotton t-shirts. However, it is the atmosphere of Traders Pop which is most unique. With art exhibitions upstairs and an eye-catching, minimalistic layout downstairs, this place does the best to draw you in.

There’s a certain, distinct joy to shopping in secondhand stores. Obviously, nothing is new. Unlike buying something newly made, you know that someone, somewhere, at some time found some quality in this or that item. On the other hand, at some point that quality must have lost its value or the seller wouldn’t have sold it, would they? Of course, it goes without saying that the variety of styles, fabrics, and even decades which you find in secondhand shops range from the purely laughable to the downright edgy, but it’s up to the customer to decide which is which.

• Biron Tweedehands Kleding – Sint Annalaan 50
• Mattie’s Kringloopwinkel – Glacisweg 67/A
• Regin’s Kringloop – Tongerseweg 57
• Bêta – Mergelweg 6
• Giensch – Brusselsestraat 1
• Secondhand 4 All – Alexander Battalaan 38
• Cadence – St. Jacobstraat 7
• Traders Pop – Heggenstraat 16

By Joseph Brooks

Joseph Brooks is a student on exchange at the University of Maastricht, originally from the US. When he returns to his home university in Minnesota, he will complete his Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics.