The True Spirit of Thrifting
Thrifting has become more popular now compared to ever before. How could it not be? with fast fashion companies filing for bankruptcy and our generation caring more and more about the environment. If anything would be a trendy Instagram pastime, it might as well be a sustainable way to shop. Of course, there are negative effects of anything becoming too trendy, like raising prices due to an increase in demand.
Despite the potential setbacks, thrifting deserves to be a trend, because it is a way to shop with many benefits. Thrift shopping beats a trip to the mall because of the low prices, the ability to find a truly unique piece, and the fact that everything is secondhand and much more sustainable than buying new. The true spirit of thrifting lies in balancing these components.
The thing that is easy to forget now that everyone wants to try thrifting is that it's pretty hard. It takes time, and not every trip to the thrift store will land you that perfect vintage pair of jeans for a bargain price of $4. It's also easy to forget that it's supposed to be challenging, and that is okay. Thrifting is a different way to shop, you need to invest more time and more trips to a thrift store than you would to a mall. Thrifting is not designed for your convenience.
Image Courtesy: Flor Hisas
With thrifting's rise in popularity, people have started thrifting in the same way that they shop in a fast fashion department store. They go into it as they would approach shopping at H&M – and that is going to set you up for failure. No work has been done for you when you step into a Goodwill, no CEO has spent billions of dollars to curate a perfect collection that you are likely to buy. There are no carefully styled mannequins and displays to trick you into thinking you should buy something that you don't need. You're on your own when you're thrifting, free of decisions that have been made before you got into the store. What you find when you're thrifting is based on how hard you look, how long you look for, and an open mind.
It's good that thrifting is hard, because every piece that you do find, you earned, and that piece becomes more satisfying to wear. Since there are so many things to look for, it feels better when you find a piece of clothing that you like. It is a diamond in the rough because you invested your time in searching and it paid off. The pieces that you do find will be original to you, you will likely never see someone else wearing the same thing. That makes the search even more special.
Thrifting is also difficult because the prices are so low. It is easy to fall into the urge to buying something just because it is cheap. The low prices of a thrift store should be a bonus, not the sole reason for buying something. Buying a soft T-shirt just because it is $2 won't make you wear it, and buying something at a thrift store just to donate it again after a little while goes against sustainable shopping.
Thrifting is worth it and it can change your relationship with clothes for the better if you let it. After thrifting, fast fashion stores don't seem interesting enough, no piece is original anymore, and it isn't worth the price or the environmental cost. When you thrift, you find your style. When you shop in a fast fashion store, your style is picked for you.
Strike Out,
Writer: Ana Monticelli
Editors: Giselle Parks and Savannah Tindall
Tallahassee