We are Maven

Maven stocks the absolute best of second hand clothes, shoes and accessories. We carefully select designer, vintage and high street pieces to bring you sustainable and beautiful collections. We are #proudlynotnew and #proudlysouthafrican

How did it start?

Teri & Jane founded Maven. We’re two friends who worked together in advertising for years and years. And years. Always banging on about what we really wanted to do, we knew flogging stuff wasn't going to cut it forever, but it was only much later that our shared love of fashion, great style and helping Mother Earth collided to form Maven.

And what is a Maven, you say?

A Maven is a connoisseur or an expert in a particular field.

“fashion mavens call beige oatmeal” 

The name stuck. We love it.

And then?

Well… we weren’t exactly looking to open a shop. We were kind of thinking more of a swap. But how?

We knew we wanted to get the beautiful, unworn items in our wardrobes back into circulation (on average, 50% of the items in wardrobes are never worn. That’s millions of items of clothing just hanging there, taking up precious space. And headspace).

We love wearing each other’s clothes and swapping items for a season, or a lifetime, and wanted to bring the theory of a circular economy into Maven.

We were reading about and researching the horrifying effects of the fashion industry on the planet (worse than shipping and aviation combined, seriously!?)

We love the idea of playing a role in sustaining our incredible planet. Every item purchased second hand is one less item purchased new. That’s one less item made. If one million women bought their next item of clothing second hand instead of new, we would save 6 million KG of carbon pollution from entering the atmosphere.

And what about the disconnect between clothing brands and the truth about the people who actually made them? #whomademyclothes

That was it. We were in, and what you see here is a culmination of our passion for style AND sustainability. With curated, conscious and affordable style at its core, Maven became Maven and we’ve had a blast in the process.

Kate joined Teri & Jane in 2022 and together we are looking to grow and spread the Maven way throughout the country… and maybe the world 😊  

This is just the beginning of our story and we’re very excited!

Teri, Jane & Kate