Meet the woman behind Liverpool’s first permanent clothes swap shop

Jess Rose was working in the Philippines when she first decided she wanted to help people find a way to rehome their pre-loved clothes, which is why she opened The Loop.

Jess, owner of The Loop, says:

“They’re such a mass producer of fast fashion over there, it made me realise I wanted to do something to combat that,”

“But that was 10 years ago and things like Depop were only just emerging so I didn’t really know where to start.”

When Jess moved back to live in Liverpool, it was a visit to Red Brick Market that finally put her idea into action.

She adds:

“There are quite a lot of pop-up swap shops and I always attend them, but I thought there was a real space for this to be a permanent fixture and I wanted to get in there before anyone else did it,”

Now Jess runs the city’s first permanent swap shop, The Loop Liverpool, where people can simply drop off their unwanted fashion items then take their pick of the rails whenever they’re ready for a wardrobe refresh.

The concept has really taken off since it launched in September last year, although Jess says the opportunity to launch The Loop did take her by surprise.

Jess says:

“I went for a wander around Red Brick Market one day and out of curiosity I asked at the front desk how much it cost to rent a space.

“They warned me that spaces never came available but I put my name down anyway and about a month later they got back in touch to say a miracle had happened but if I wanted it, I had to get on it really quick.

“I didn’t have any funds to start a business, so I had to rally round everyone I know to ask them to put some money in and to give me clothes because I didn’t have any stock either. 

“Everyone just chipped in, I put in everything I owned and things my friends owned. I was going round to their houses and going through their clothes saying ‘I’ll take that’!”

Jess says the concept of The Loop Liverpool is simple:

“You can just walk in and buy anything in the shop, or if you do want to do the clothes swap you just bring in items you don’t want anymore on a Saturday when I’m there. You pay a £5 service fee and in return you get five stamps to spend, on a card like a coffee loyalty card.

“Those five stamps will get you any five items from the shop at any time, weekdays or weekends.

“You don’t have to redeem your stamps there and then, you can do that any time, so you might want to pick one straight away and come back a week later for another when there are new things in the shop. You just tuck it away for when you want a treat.

“The stock is changing all the time so I see people coming back for a rummage because they just want to see what’s new. People ask, ‘what’s coming in?’ but the answer is ‘whatever’s brought in’ – it’s as big a surprise to me as it is to customers because I don’t buy anything.”

Jess says most customers bring their items in to The Loop ready to re-sell:

“If they give me a bag that’s all folded, clean and smells super-fresh I can put it straight out, or if you can tell it’s been at the back of the wardrobe for a bit I’ll tend to take it away to the laundry service. But by and large people are really good with what they bring.

“What’s crazy is, about half the things in my shop still have their tags on, they’ve never even had their first outing. Often it’s because people mean to return clothes to a shop and then the window of return time passes so they’ll just bring in a massive bag that’s never been worn.”

After initially giving herself three months so see how the business went, she’s now watching it grow and build a base of regulars.

Jess says:

“People have been genuinely so supportive, and that includes the whole Red Brick community. Everyone supports each other, and even the other stallholders were bringing me clothes when I was getting set up. 

“I think people just really understand and love the concept. Everyone’s got a pile of clothes they don’t really want and you think, I’ll list it but then never get round to it. 

“Just bring it in, get it out of your hair and then you’ve got your stamps tucked away for whenever you feel like coming in to look for a new dress or a jacket or accessories. It’s put away for a rainy day, and by the time you get to it, it’s like free shopping!”

You can follow The Loop on Instagram.

Get the latest style news in Liverpool here.

Find out what’s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide. 

From the best hotels, beauty spots, days out, food and more up North – visit thenorthernguide.com and follow The Northern Guide on Instagram HERE.