Clothes are a necessity for our everyday lives, so it’s a surprise that they can be pricey. It can be overwhelming to walk into a retail store, such as Target, looking for something cute for school, a date or a party and find that most t-shirts cost $20. It can be especially hard to find fashionable and affordable clothing with only a part-time salary. Fashion can seem like a dreary topic due to society’s pressure to dress a certain way or to a certain standard. A lot of people might think dressing nice is not achievable due to all the high-fashion micro trends, but you can easily join the luxury of fashion with thrift stores.
The Pros of Thrifting
According to TheRoundup, the world produces 96 million tons of textile waste a year, clothing and textiles make up at least 7% of the total amount of waste in the global landfill. Thrifting is the recycling of clothing, whether we just buy the piece of clothing and wear it as is or renew it and make it something completely different. Thrifting is good for the environment because it keeps the clothes in use other than the fast fashion we throw out after a couple of months because it’s out of style. Thrifting also gives us unique clothing that we might have not found in a retail store which helps you stand out and show your individuality.
Thrifting Tips
Having an idea in your head of what you’re looking for, whether it’s style, material, color or a specific item always helps while thrifting so you don’t get overwhelmed when you first walk in. You should always utilize the whole store: men’s, women’s and children’s sections. Sometimes, thrift stores will mislabel items, such as putting crop tops in the children’s section. The children section would also be good for tighter fitting clothing to get a figure-flattering look.
Look for staple pieces: something that you can restyle multiple times for different aesthetics, looks, and weather. Staple pieces could just be your most basic sweater where you layer more articles of clothing underneath it. Make sure to look for clothes that you will wear often, whether it’s based on the color, material, design or brand of clothing. You wanna make sure you are spending your money on clothing you will be able to wear and style. Since thrifting has some vintage clothing, make sure to check for dry rot which would make your shirt rip easily. You can easily check for it by giving the shirt or jacket a little tug before you purchase. While thrifting for clothing, it’s important to look at the price tag and the brand of the clothing. You wanna make sure you are paying a reasonable price for everything you buy since it is used clothing that could have a little wear, but if you really love the piece you should buy it because you might not see it again. Goodwill and Plato’s Closet also have sales throughout the month that range from 20-70% off if you are a part of their free point program.
The Dont’s of Thrifting
Here are some things to do to be mindful of other people and keep thrifting fun:
Taking from plus size areas for baggy clothing limits their shopping experience while thrifting, you can buy baggy style jeans to get that type of look.
Don’t limit yourself to one thrift store all the time, if you can get to multiple stores in one day. Switching it up from the type of store or the location of the store, like going to wealthier neighborhoods and shopping at their local Goodwill could have more brand names and fabulous finds.
Don’t be afraid to buy something quirky, as long as you like it, other people’s opinions do not matter!
As a whole, thrifting is a fantastic resource to explore many different styles, aesthetics, and fabrics of clothing for a lower price. You can easily fill up your closet with an array of different colors and styles, or just one signature look from your local thrift store. It helps keep waste off the Earth and has you looking fabulous!
