How to write a good listing title for second-hand clothes

The pattern that works

For most clothes, this order works well:

Brand + type of piece + key detail + colour + size

• "High-rise straight leg jeans, mid blue, W28"
• "Cable knit cotton jumper, cream, size M"
• "Leather Chelsea boots, black, UK 6"
• "Silk slip midi skirt, emerald, UK 10"

Put the brand first if there is one. If there is no brand, or the label has gone, start with the type of piece. On Rewear the Sell form shows the same tip under the Title box, and if you have already picked a brand, colour or size further down the form but not written them in the title, it offers to add them with one tap.

Use the words buyers search for

People search for what they want to wear, not for adjectives. Think about how you would look for the piece yourself.

• Name the garment precisely. "Trench coat" beats "coat". "Wide leg trousers" beats "trousers". "Shirt dress" beats "dress".
• Add the style word that buyers use: cropped, oversized, high-rise, slim fit, midi, double-breasted.
• Mention a notable fabric: wool, cashmere, linen, silk, leather, denim. Only if the label says so.
• Use plain colour words a buyer would type: navy, khaki, burgundy, cream. "Midnight sky" is lovely on a swing tag but nobody searches for it.
• Use UK sizes where you can, with the size exactly as it is on the label.

Keep it honest

A title has to be accurate, as the rest of the listing does.

• Only name a brand that made the piece. Rewear's Terms do not allow anything described with a brand it was not made by, so "in the style of" another label is not allowed either. Our guide to spotting fake designer clothes explains why buyers check.
• Only name a fabric that is on the label. If there is no label, describe it in the description instead, and say the label is missing.
• Do not hide condition in the title. Choose the condition grade honestly and describe any wear in the description.

Things to leave out

• All capitals. It reads as shouting and is harder to scan.
• Filler words such as "lovely", "gorgeous", "must have", "bargain" or "look".
• Rows of punctuation or emoji.
• Strings of search words that are not about the piece, such as listing every occasion or every season.
• Your reasons for selling. They belong in the description, if anywhere.
• Abbreviations nobody uses. "NWT" is widely understood; your own shorthand is not.

On Rewear a title can be up to 120 characters, but shorter is usually better. Get the important words into the first part, because that is the bit buyers see first.

Before and after

• "Gorgeous dress worn once" becomes "Floral wrap midi dress, navy, UK 12"
• "Mens jacket" becomes "Waxed cotton field jacket, olive, size L"
• "Jeans, good condition" becomes "Straight leg jeans, black, W32 L30"
• "Boots!!" becomes "Suede knee high boots, tan, UK 5"
• "Jumper" becomes "Merino crew neck jumper, grey, size S"

Each of the new titles answers four questions before the buyer has even opened the listing: what is it, what does it look like, what is it made of, and will it fit me.

Titles and the rest of the listing

The title gets the tap. The photos, description and price get the sale. Make sure they all agree: if the title says navy, the first photo should look navy, and if it says UK 12, the size you choose on the form and the label in the photos should say the same.

• Our guide to writing a clothing listing description covers what goes underneath.
• Our guide to photographing clothes to sell helps the first photo match the title.
• Add measurements in cm where you can. Our guide on how to measure clothes shows which ones to take.

When a listing is not getting views

If a piece has been up for a couple of weeks with little interest, the title is one of the first things to look at. Search for your own piece the way a buyer would and see whether your words are the ones you typed. Our guide to what to do with clothes that do not sell has more ideas.

The short version

Brand, type of piece, key detail, colour and size, in plain words a buyer would search for. Only name the brand and fabric if they are on the label, leave out filler, capitals and emoji, and make sure the photos and description match the title.