Libsy is the New App That Facilitates Regulated Thrifting in Egypt

At a certain point, when you come of age in the 21st century, you will perhaps realise that you don’t actually want to look like everyone you know. You may, instead, want to form your own mythical concept of a ‘unique style’. Then, before you know it, you’re leaving your favourite bomber from those regular fast fashion brands behind in favour of your grandfather’s old ratty jacket. Besides being cooler, your grandfather’s jacket is the more ethical choice. It’s less production, less taxing consumption, and it avoids putting money in the pockets of morally bankrupt fashion brands.

Upon coming to this realisation, the Egyptian population gradually exhibited an interest in secondhand clothing. Going to Wekalet El Balah, Botrous Ghali, and wherever other thrifting destinations the cool girlies on TikTok point us towards has become a new norm - the new “Let’s grab coffee.” It has, however, become too difficult to keep track of all the vintage resellers on the market. That’s when ‘Libsy’ appeared.

Libsy is a new marketplace app, dedicated to facilitating the buying and selling of vintage, preloved or new accessories and clothing in Egypt. The application is currently available on both Android and iOS, where anyone can sell and anyone can buy their clothes. Big vintage curators, like online shop S_Old, have already joined the app.

Libsy was founded by Lara Soliman when, upon her return from a decade of working abroad, she felt a void in her life where Depop used to be. “People are veering away from fast fashion,” Soliman tells CairoScene. “There’s now a bigger need for preloved items and local brands. I think there’s a big need to shop in a way other than going to the mall.”

To sell on Libsy, all you need to do is create an account, upload at least three images of your item, categorise it sufficiently so that it fits seamlessly into the app’s algorithm, and wait for it to attract buyers. The online marketplace is organised rigorously by an exhaustive amount of tags that help you sort through hundreds of items of clothing until you find exactly what it is you want. If you like a garment, and think it can be priced better, you can also place bids to try to make it yours.

“You have the option to favourite items and follow closets, as well,” Soliman explains. “I like the fact that it’s not just a buy-and-sell app, it’s also a social media platform for self-expression and creativity.”

When you purchase an item on Libsy, the Libsy team picks it up from the seller and subjects it to a rigorous quality check to make sure the item is identical to the listing, and in good shape. Only at this point is the money released to the seller, and the item moves on to the shipping process.

“Those vintage resellers that are active on Instagram, going out of their way to build these small businesses, are a huge inspiration to us at Libsy,” Soliman says. “We really want to empower people to continue doing these kinds of things; we’ll do the 'heavy lifting' for them - logistics, etcetera - while they get to focus on curating their closets and building their own personal brand.”

Since anyone can sell on Libsy, the app allows access to the vibrant closets of Cairenes as a collective. It makes various types of fashion accessible to everyone - you don’t just have to follow trends anymore. If you see a girl at a party and you absolutely love her top, there’s a chance you can find her top on Libsy in a couple of weeks. “I think the fashion scene in Egypt is simply amazing. There’s so much creative potential there waiting to be fully explored,” Soliman says. “There are so many positives to secondhand shopping. Besides decluttering and making a little extra cash off of items that are just gathering dust in your closet, you’re contributing to a circular economy and adding dimension to the fashion world in Egypt.”