I love a bargain. I mean, honestly, who doesn’t? And, as I’ve mentioned, I like to have a well-stocked wardrobe so sometimes I do shop for quantity. I enjoy shopping as a puzzle-solving exercise, and truly thrill to the hunt. I love finding weird old polyester dresses and lunatic sweaters that I’d NEVER pay retail for but will happily snap up for $3 apiece. I love having stuff that isn’t available at malls, items that help me me look distinct and unique. And I love that I can donate my old stuff to charities that I really believe in (hello, ARC!) and then help them further by buying up the donations that others have made.
And for all of these reasons, I thrift.
What about you? Why do you thrift? Are you broker than broke? Sick to death of hearing how fast fashion is filling up the landfills? Can’t resist the lure of truly inexpensive clothes? Love thinking about the previous life of a garment? Do tell!
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{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the treasure-hunt feeling of thrift shopping and finding something unique–either real vintage or simply much higher quality than I would ever be able to afford new. My family also likes to reuse, rather than consuming blindly and endlessly. But ultimately, I guess it is the bargains that really snare me.
Yesterday, I hit my favorite thrift store. I found a NWT Calvin Klein sweater, a summer skirt (already packed away!), Adidas shorts for exercise, two like-new shirts for my husband (J. Crew and Gap), a nice pair of fleece ski pants for my daughter, some kids' books, and a beautiful set of six wooden salad bowls. Grand total? $30.
This is a great time of the year for thrift shopping, by the way, with lots of folks donating unwanted gifts or clearing out closets to make space for new things.
I'm a girl who loves a bargain too!! There's something that makes you feel victorious when you spot an awesome item without a heft price tag! xoxo
I use to do a lot of thrifting but I had to stop bringing other people's clothes into my home because I was drawing too much bad karma by bringing home items from individuals I knew nothing about. Not knowing where these items originally came from, who worn it and what they were about, especially vintage pieces. So unfortunately, I no longer buy used clothing from thrift stores. If I personally knew the individual who was selling their items at a yard sale or something, yes….I would buy them.
I'd have to say broker than broke
and because I love nice things, high quality, unique items, so shopping at cheap fast fashion stores just doesn't cut it.
I thrift for the exact same reason you do. I love to have options in my closet, but do not want to pay a fortune either. I love how thrifting lets you find that unique thing and the best part it is usually under $10. Also, i just love the actual hunt of seeing what you can find. It is fun to me… I thrifted even in high school (before it was the "thing" lol) for that exact thrill.
Ooh I want to go thrifting now..
xoxo
Amy
http://thebargainhunterextraordinaire.blogspot.com
I love to thrift for shoes (and give them a deep clean) and wonder where they carried the last person that owned them. In particular, heels and unusually fancy shoes- I imagine them carrying some beautiful woman on fabulous evenings out in foreign cities.
Oh, and I have been a grad student since 2002, so there's that… call me a "downshifter" if you will.
First of all, let me say I wish I COULD thrift more. There are VERY few shops around here, most of them with very worn old washed out clothes because of the poorness of my area.
I have about 4 peices in my closet that I have thrifted. I, for some reason, value them over my full-price retail clothing. I'm not sure why? Perhaps just the thrill of the hunt.
I enjoy shopping and dressing, and I enjoy the feeling you get when you score a bargain (and no shoppers remorse!).
I enjoy supporting charities and I DO have a super tight budget with little money to spend. I DO like recycling perfectly good clothing that otherwise would have filled the landfill. I like being a little 'green'. And I like not being in debt, and having savings accounts for retirment and emergencies.
I thrift because by doing so, I can afford better quality clothes! Since I'm in school right now, I just can't imagine paying double-digits for something like a tanktop, a plain old layering tee, or a belt.
Besides the money factor, I just think it's fun to own things that no one else has and work them into my wardrobe to create a look that is distinctly ME.
And lastly, as you mentioned, it is eco-friendly. I recycle, I'm vegetarian, I take the bus instead of driving, etc. This is another way I can help (or maybe just not harm further) the planet.
-Suz from The Chandelier!
Check, check, and check! All of those reasons would apply: I love the affordability and eco-friendliness of thrifting, I love garments with a bit of history behind them, and I loooove the hunt for that hidden treasure. I think for me the process is as much of a part of the fun as the end result. S.
It's the only way I can afford clothes, broke as I am. But on another level I've gotten pretty good at it, and I derive a much greater pleasure from a good thrift buy than from a good buy at a retail store. I picked up a Nine West handbag recently that I'm pretty sure sold for around 100.00. It was 1.50
It's a little embarrassing how thrilling that was.
Also frankly I have a really weird style and I find chain stores can't really accommodate it completely. I dress like a little old lady and if you want ruffly shirts and outsized anchor earrings and sweater guards you're pretty much going to have to thrift.
I thrift for many of those same reasons. I have been on the budget of a grad student for the past seven years so money is tight. I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint, so second-hand shopping makes me feel good for environmental reasons, in addition to the fact that it often helps charities. I also love those unique finds that help to make my wardrobe distinct.
I do have to say that my thrifting missions over the past year or so have been less successful. I think it's because more people are shopping at thrift stores due to the economy and because people are hanging on to their clothes longer and not making as many of the impulse purchases that would have resulted in items being donated.
My reasons are very similar to yours – I like to have a lot of different clothes in different colours to suit my mood. I love the thrill of the chase (finding something that fits me perfectly for £2 is a good feeling), and I like to help charities (hello Cats Protection League
). And I cannot abide waste, so it's good to share (which is why I love clothe swaps too!)
Also though I love to buy thrift because I don't have to worry about where my money is going or what it is supporting. So many high street retailers (in the UK at least) have been pulled up recently for manufacturing unethically and using sweatshops so it's nice to not have to worry about that.
I mainly thrift for the prices and variety! Also love it because it's unlikely someone else will have the same item. Thrifting keeps my wardrobe new and exciting without spending a ton of money!
It makes shopping fun! You don't have to deal with the salespeople or dropping lots of cash just to end up with the same clothes as your friends and co-workers. Plus, I am a bargain shopper – I used to get my fix by finding something 50% off at a department store. But like any addict I need a bigger fix now. That is where thrifting comes in. I get my "high" from finding $130 dresses for only $5 (like the gorgeous red Talbot's dress I scored yesterday). Plus it entertains me for hours for very little money!
I enjoy thrifting for the hunt and being able to find something different. I aslo love being able to breathe some life into my wardrobe for next to nothing. But like others, I'm able to afford a higher quality of clothing due to other people's castoffs. Where I live, you can tell when people are literally getting rid of "last years" clothes.
I have no qualms about cleaning them up and wearing their stuff for Goodwill prices. I've never paid more than $10 for a pair of Express Editors, I can tell you that.
all of the reasons you mentioned, and more!
when i was in high school and grunge was the in thing, the only way to get that truly "cool kid" look was to shop at the thrift store. i already wore hand-me-downs from my brother, so thrifting really wasnt a far cry from that. as my style changed, so did the items i was drawn to at the store — i loved that there were things there that you would simply NEVER see in a store, at a mall, or in a catalog.
nowadays, i still love the idea of having something truly unique, but i am also a lot more conscious of the economy and environment. im not Ms. Moneybags, so i love paying pennies on the dollar for the same look as someone else. and i *especially* love thrifting "trendy" pieces, since they are likely to only be temporary additions to my wardrobe.
now ive got the itch!
I have become a thrifting FIEND! I have a hard time passing up a bargain and can't STAND to pay retail. Plus, on Monday's my fav thrift store has select color tag items for 99 cents! EVERYTHING in the store! I just missed a cute Coach bag for 99 cents this past Monday, I'm getting there EARLY next week!
I thrift for all the same reasons, but mainly because it's cheap and I can keep building my wardrobe without incurring the wrath of the husband for spending too much. It usually helps if I pick something up for him while I’m out too
I find things that I otherwise would not be able to buy. Banana Republic, for example. And also things that are unusual. And I love the thrill of the hunt!
Everything you said.
I feel the opposite of the karma-post though. I love old things because of the history that piece may have (houses fall into this category for me as well). I can bring a new energy to anything I find.
The hunt is the thing ultimately isn't it? I love saying, "You just NEVER know!" I NEVER know what I am looking for, yet I always find JUST THE THING!
Clearance racks are awesome as well. Not quite as thrilling, but hey, 80 percent off is quite the aphrodisiac.
I must admit, it started in high school because I was poor and my friends and I would take the train from Wisconsin to Chicago and thrift all day on like $20 each. I swear, everything used to be $1-2 each (or maybe that's because we were mostly looking for old ironic t-shirts?)
I love the digging and the thrill of finding something really good and special! There are plenty of staples I've bought at thrift stores, but I'm really there to score the unique vintage items.
I've been thrifting for so long, when I go to a regular store… it just feels like cheating… all those options, all layed out in every color and size.
I also do hate fast fashion. I am proud that I have NEVER bought anything from Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, H&M, Urban Outfitters, etc. My one exception is Target. But I figure, it's "local" to MPLS, a LOT of my friends work at their headquarters, and I need to buy white t-shirts somewhere!
Ooh, and Arc's is my favorite too! I try my best to only shop at the ones where the money goes to charity, but sometimes I just can't resist the allure of Unique Thrift.
Mostly because I like to shop and thrifting lets me indulge myself without too much damage. I also have a passion for vintage 50s-60s jackets and I'd rather hunt the real thing than buy a mall-store interpretation.
Sal, I've been curious – do you divide up your "wish list" into things to thrift and things to out-right buy? Thanks!
You nailed all reasons that I primarily thrift. The only extra reasons I can think of right now is that I like having a piece that is individual (or more likely to be) and the thrill of the hunt – finding something amazing in the thrift is such a rush!
I thrift because I love finding a great piece from an even greater price. I love the thrill of finding something you love for cheap. It's fun to be able to see what you might buy that you wouldn't other wise and I thrift because you get a whole lot more for your money. It's got an added bonus of reuse which is oh so important too. My only problem with thrifting is that I don't get a chance to do it nearly often enough!
As a plus size girl (size 18/20) I rarely find any clothing that fits me except for stained tee shirts and sweats, which is not my style at all.
So I stick with accessories. Scarves, bags, that kind of thing. One size fits all for the most part. I shop for my sons there a lot though. Every time I buy one of them a pair of jeans, they outgrow it in about three seconds. So for their jeans, I thrift. They don't mind at all because they like the jeans that have already been washed a million times and are nice and soft.
I thrift for at least 2 reasons.
1. I can find clothes I wouldn't normally find elsewhere. I can often find something I like at the consignment store, not so at ordinary retail stores.
2. There is a really good consignment store really close to my house. One stop and I have loads of clothes to try on. No driving to the city and dealing with malls and traffic.
3. My consignment store is locally owned. I know the money I pay goes to support a family, not a factory far away.
I love the "thrill of the chase," and thrifing has enabled me to add more one-of-a-kind accessories to my wardrobe. It also makes me feel like I'm "sticking it to the man." Who said man is, and what he looks like I couldn't tell you.
I love the thrill of the hunt, and that high that comes from finding a like-new Benetton button-down shirt for $1.99.
- value for the money (would never be able to afford cashmere etc. otherwise).
- quantity & variety (large wardrobe full of Theory/Diesel/Ben Sherman/Cole Haan vs. small wardrobe of Walmart/F21/Factory 2 U? I'll take the former, please!)
- privacy (like Kimberly, I dislike dealing with sales people).
- challange! (I like knowing that not everyone has the patience or eye to do what I do. Sifting through a giganto heap of clothing at a swap meet and emerging with awesome pieces makes me fell like I actually have a talent…)
Anonymous(2): I totally do! I divide the list into specific items, with links and prices, and general categories, like florals, tunics, blazers, magenta items, etc. The latter lives both on my computer, and on a slip of paper that gets carried around in my wallet, so that, when I arrive at my local thrift emporium and am instantly overwhelmed, I can give myself some focus.
Anything general, timeless, or trendy goes on the thrift list for sure! (Trendy since I don't like to spend big on trends, and since most trends are on their second or third go-round anyway.)
I love a good bargain and finding something super for a deal (like my new/old banana republic dark brown suede blazer!)
I love variety but hate clutter so I unload my closet very frequently and just struggle to get rid of unworn items if they cost too much. Cheap equals disposable. I do, always give to charity store and not the garbage can.
I kind of covered this on my year-end recap after doing a "no new clothes and shoes" challenge for all of 2009, but the main reasons I thrift are:
1. to find unique items
2. to find better quality items (really, compared to the stuff in the stores from China, there is some amazingly good quality things in thrift stores)
3. to really get that "thrill of the hunt".
Price isn't really a factor, because I have to remind myself, "Would I buy this at full price? Double this $3 price tag? Or am I just buying it because it's cheap?" You still have to really love items you buy!
I used to thrift a lot, especially when my son was young, and we were completely broke. My husband needed a corporate wardrobe, so any clothing money had to go to his clothing.
I like thrifting, especially for accessories but I do find it hard to find my size in the shops here.
I also have guilt…this may sound insane but we can afford to pay full retail price (just not a ton of it) and so I think I should leave thrifting to people who can't afford anything retail. I was out looking for a black suit for my son (he plays in an orchestra) and so was another mom I knew. Paying anything for a suit that might only be worn twice on growing kids is horrible, but I knew she really needed to get the suit at a thrift shop. I ended up borrowing one from an older boy.
So I guess I thrift for interesting things, but in my area, there is so much poverty I feel like I shouldn't.
Christine
I've thrifted for most of my life (literally; my mom started dragging me to thrift stores when I was 6), both out of necessity and for other reasons. For me, it's always been "normal" to wear old clothes, which turned into frequenting thrift shops for one-of-a-kind pieces as a young adult. Right now I do it for those reasons, plus the fact that it just helps reduce the amount of mindless consumption that most retailers cater to nowadays.
I'd rather reuse something that has been discarded by someone else, than it end up at the dump!
♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com
i love to thrift for several reasons:
1. love the thrill of finding a unique item
2. the low prices
3. the "recycling" aspect of it
4. and knowing it's not "trendy" or someone else will have the exact same thing
I thrift:
1. To find unique items. It's really a treasure hunt!
2. To lessen my reliance on the offerings of giant corporations and sweat-shop goods.
3. To give myself the raw materials for deconstruction and embellishment. I like to experiment and don't mind doing so on a $5 dress.
Thrifting has been a way of life in my family; it's how I was raised. All of my clothes as a child were thrifted or hand-me-downs from friends or cousins. (Except for my church dresses; my mom would splurge on those at the Polly Flinders outlet!)
Since I began buying my own clothes in high school, I've done the majority of my shopping at thrift stores. The value just cannot be beat. Now I'm so used to thrift prices that I feel crazy buying retail. (Except shoes: I prefer new shoes and my larger size is hard to thrift anyway.)
My most awesome score: a gorgeous dove grey honest-to-goodness Armani suit for $3.50!
In my undergraduate years my body drastically changed from thin and lanky to a curvy hourglass so I went from more of a tomboy/casual style to wanting to wear more feminine items like dresses, skirts and cardigans. This coincided with a time when the fashion trend was to wear loose, longer shirts and skinny jeans… definitely something that didn't work with my body type!
One day while at the Goodwill Thrift store just around the corner from my apartment in LA (this was about 4 years ago now) I decided to make a foray into the clothing section… I'd been a collector of many things since the age of 7 but hadn't worn thrifted/vintage fashion much. On that day I found the perfect black & white polka dot 1950s dress, a red leather boxy '50s purse and a red belt to tie it all together. After that I've never looked back– now I wear vintage and thrifted items every day.
My main reasons for wearing vintage: I carry on the history of the former wearer and save their beloved items from the landfill. In the time of Ikea and Urban Outfitters blandness, I also will never be wearing the same thing as someone else, all my items are unique. Also, the price point is right– I can own dozens of coats rather than just one, I can buy a whole season's worth of clothes for what you'd pay for one pair of jeans or a few shirts at a department store or boutique.
My favorite era is the 1950s but I wear items from the 1940s-the early 1970s, sometimes 1980s items that echo earlier decades.
In the future I hope to own 365 vintage dresses, one dress for every day of the year!
It's funny because I don't really question why that often. I started thrifting when I was 15, so now I've been doing it for 20 years! That's kind of crazy.
When I first started it was to buy ill-fitting stuff that looked different. I used to dumpster dive a lot 20 years ago also.
Now I could honestly afford much more expensive items and I've plonked down $200+ on summer dresses in the semi-recent past but what seems to be most important to me is using what's already there. I'm vegan and I'm trying to tread lightly (although I'll buy new shoes and unders).
So, (1) using what exists is the first thing. Even if you're buying some org cotton item from H&M all the production of fabric and travel of the garment, etc. makes a much bigger footprint than an existing item.
(2) better made clothing. Most of the older stuff is lined and has better construction. I often wonder what we'll do in 10 years when all the stuff from now is shittily made and all the stuff from the past is old enough to fall apart.
(3) the financial aspect is third on my list of priorites with (4) "unique" items being 4th!
I can't count how many times I have bought something new (retail), only to have it shrink or pill or not fit right. I rarely have that problem thrifting! And I have less guilt if I don't end up liking something or wearing it very much. I can take chances with my style at thrift store prices! I am frugal at heart, so thrifting satisfies my need to shop!
Can I answer "all of the above?" I adore thrifting for all of those reasons: the guilt-free indulgence, the benefit to my community, the low prices, the thrill of the hunt, the uniqueness of the finds. Like other respondents, I'm a grad student and on a tight clothing budget, but my love of thrift stores definitely goes much deeper than that.
Thrill of the hunt and we don't have much money to spend. We rarely buy new, so thrifting really helps us out. I used to sell thrifted designer clothes on eBay, and it was so much fun seeing treasures I had found for pennies go into bidding wars!
No time for that anymore, but I still love the hunt. I think it might be the fact that I am pretty unrestricted in what I buy at thrift stores. I can go in a few times a week, spend a tiny amount, and come out with a goodie or ten – affordable shopaholism much?
My recent problem, however, or maybe it was always there, is that I have trouble with fit. All these nice clothes and rarely will I find something that is perfectly flattering on me. Refashioning has helped with some, but I really have to fill in the gaps with new, retail clothing, or make some things myself – and that's a whole other story!
I don't thrift shop.
I'm not too worried about bringing other people's karma into my home, but I am worried about bringing in other people's moths. Not to mention odors and stains. It just ooks me out.
But I'm happy to be a contributor to thrift shops through frequent closet purges.
I have yet to thrift, but I do consignment shop. I like the availability of cute cheap clothes, and frankly, I'm living on a gigantic pile of student debt, so cheap is GOOD!
i too love the hunt, but i also love finding particular items i know i CAN'T in retail stores–bulky grandma sweaters from ll bean in the 80's, men's oversize plaid shirts in that completely perfect plaid, little boys tee shirts with hilarious logos, vintage skirts that sit high on the waist.
I'm poor poor poor, and I hate the idea of unused clothing going to waste! I guess you saw those articles about the clothing H&M shreds rather than sell below cost or donate? That kind of stuff makes me want to vomit.
I love looking and what I really like is finding vintage designer pieces or really old sixties or fifties dresses which is very rare these days.
1. Clothes are my hobby, and thrifting means I can try lots of different things without bankrupting myself. Which brings me to …
2. Am broke most of the time. Thrifting is cheap.
3. Buying new clothes makes me feel guilty – thrifting is environmentally responsible!
4. The thrill of the hunt.
5. It makes me try things I would never normally try, because the prices are so low or because I come across something unusual.
6. Thrift fairies! I love the serendipity of thrifting. It's the universe at work.
7. The thrift stores here are all charity shops, so my money is going somewhere worthwhile.
A xx
Aside from underclothes and an occasional tee-shirt, I almost never buy retail anymore (I buy new shoes, but get them from eBay). I'd never be able to afford the kind of clothes I can snap up at Goodwill for 29 cents (sometimes, for fun, I'll limit myself to just the 29-cent rack). Also, the clothes are not what I'd find at the mall–they tend toward interesting and a little funky. As you say, Sal, I think the low price helps me be more adventurous than I'd otherwise be. AND, it's great for the planet!
Thrill of the chase, desire to support local business, urge to wear something unique – that has stood the test of time, hunt for gems at a price I'd never be able to afford otherwise, interest in reuse and in not supporting landfills of clothing. So many reasons! But, you know I love shopping in its many forms.
Good question! I thrift because 1. that's the way my Mom raised me, 2. I'm a college student. Right now, I'm only allowing myself seven fifty to spend on clothes a week. (This makes sure I don't buy clothes I don't need or really like, and makes me become more clever in my spending habits.)
I am not a thrifter. I think I am too lazy and I always feel s sense of ADHD when I am in thrift stores. I leave feeling overwhelmed and in need of a Zen garden to stare at. I admire people who can find treasures in thrift stores.
For me, there's thrifting and there's vintage shopping. Thrifting is cheap clothes. Vintage is well-made clothes in achingly gorgeous designs that make me sigh and touch them with reverence.
I thrift for nearly all my regular clothes, primarily because I have like, zero money for clothing right now. Aside from replacing socks and underwear, I can't afford to go shopping more than a few times a year. And usually then it's still for practical reasons — clothes don't fit, they're too ragged to repair, or the style is no longer appropriate for my age or activity. Sometimes I'll hit up something like an Old Navy or a WalMart for basics, like half a dozen layering tees. But I mostly thrift.
Honestly, if I had the energy I'd probably make most of my clothes. But $5-10 for a long sleeve undershirt is a much better bargain then spending the entire day drafting the pattern and sewing one.
The other reason I thrift is environmental and social. Fashion is an industry of waste. In order to fuel itself it has to encourage consumers to discard the previous season's clothes. This is partly why women's clothing is poorly made, intended to only last a season of wear. While some men's clothing is much more durable.
I understand this about the industry, but that doesn't mean I want to support it. I'd rather see clothes reused than thrown out after they've been used for one season. I just don't feel comfortable adding to the wasted resources by continually buying and discarding new clothes. I also don't feel comfortable feeding into the more! more! more!, buy! buy! buy! culture our country has developed.
Over the past decade we've been told it's our patriotic duty to shop, to solve everything from 9/11 to the recession. It's as if shopping has become the replacement for relevant action, like a panacea for problems. I'd rather see people show for fewer new clothes, shop with intention, shop for quality, and shop at indie designers; instead of continually consuming mass quantities of cheap generic clothes.
(I hope that's not too political. Those are just my personal practices.)
I shop vintage when I have a special event, like a wedding or a specific party. I have some gorgeous vintage clothes from the 50s and 60s that I faun over. The workmanship is amazing and I like to think of the stories the clothes have. It's like an honor to wear them, like someone lent me a museum piece.
That feeling is part of the reason I shop vintage. The other is that my proportions make it very very difficult to find dresses that fit. I find that vintage styles work better with my body. Also, for my budget I can't afford the kind of design and quality I want in modern off the rack.
ack! sorry. I didn't realized I was signed in with my private admin account instead of my regular public user account. The "Erratic & Obsessive" is me, "E and O."
Like Sarah R., I am plus-size and have trouble finding thrifted clothes to fit me (this, despite the fact that I regularly donate nice clothes and assume other plus-size women must do the same.) But I thrift for my kids all the time. When my daughter decided she wanted to wear nothing but dresses, that's where I went!
I have thrifted as long as I can remember. I find it addictive, once you find something great, you keep going back to the hunt.
It means I can try different styles for the fraction of the cost and is easier on my wallet and the environment.
I look at it like this: I don't want to spend a fortune on my wardrobe, but I DO want the freedom to drop a hefty amount on a single unique piece. Thrifting therefore offers me a way to bring down my average cost per item to prevent me from feeling guilty about the splurges. So for me it's sort of a numbers game. And then, I also really love the treasure hunting aspect of it.
I thrift because
- I don't like high street waste
- I prefer vintage styles to modern ones
- I like the idea of not seeing people wear the same stuff as I do
- I enjoy the process of finding a truly special item
- it's more economical!
LOL, my sister-in-law makes me go.
Actually, I do like it because of the cheap factor. Also, I agree with everything E and O said about thrifting, though I may not think of it consciously.
Like a lot of the other ladies expressed; I like the thrill of the hunt, leaving with bills still in the wallet, and the feeling that you've found some truly unique things.
♥
I love the challenge of finding unique stores where you least expect them to be. For example, a lot of my dresses I will get at thrift stores cause there's a story behind them, their unlike what you can find anywhere else and for the price you purchase items at – it's easy enough to spend additional money altering it to make it your own.
Yes, the price is a perk too. The more unique things I find in a thrift store for a low cost, means more items that I can buy for the price of 1 regular priced item at a retail store.
I like it for a few reasons:
1. It's social. My mom and I go together, and we're friends with the regular volunteers/customers at the best local shop.
2. Bargains. I had the most beautiful graduation dress from the thrift store! It was a Morgane Le Fay, and I'd never have been able to afford it new. I can't stand cheap clothing, but really can't afford anything in regular stores nowadays.
3. Unique items. I found the most beautiful enameled buckle the other day. With $2 worth of elastic, I have an amazing new belt.
I thrift because I am a poor art student, but more than that, I love the thrill of the treasure hunt. I have closets packed with vintage finds and probably 5 items, tops, came from a "vintage shop" – I love finding the 1950s dress getting swallowed up by a rack of discarded items from the 2000s, 90s, etc. I still remember the first thrifting trip I took part in. My older cousin took me and her kids to a local goodwill. She came from the thriftiest of thriftiest parents and she was carrying on the legacy. That day I got an amazing tiered 80s black skirt. And that day completely changed my outlook on fashion (even though I was still quite young) and definitely shaped me into the person I am today.
Love to thrift, but due to my size I've never find anything.
I don't thrift…I eBay. Too impatient for most thrift stores these days. I like to zoom in on what I really want.
Get ready to be shocked…
I don't thrift! I've bought one thing from a thrift store in my entire 28.5 years, and I ended up donating it back because it didn't fit right. There's something about used clothes that feels dirty to me. And, I'm not a big fan of digging. I like to go to a nicely folded pile, pluck my size from the middle and be on my merry way… even if it costs me $40 more for that sweater.
I never thought about what attracted me to thrift shopping! Reading everyone's responses has been a revelation. I love to look at vintage things online but rarely run across any in the thrifts I like best. What I didn't realize until now was that you couldn't pay me to wear vintage clothing. I love it but I wouldn't wear recognizable vintage. I actually like fast fashion. I think of clothing as ideas. So, thrifts for the affordability but also the opportunity to keep up with the direction of fashion through carefully selecting used items. I don't look for deals on current expensive labels, either. I only look for a good representation of the idea. I can sew and do alterations so I often select items and de-vintage them. My husband says I remanufacture to suit me.
I also like thrifts because there are so many individual ideas juxtaposed and not a store full of the same silhouettes and palette.
At the same time, I have trouble with too much visual stimulation and I chose very small thrifts, usually church run, where the stock doesn't change all that much from time to time. So the new additions stick out. I love clothes but don't like shopping. An hour is approaching my limit.
I'm not socially conscious about shopping as many folks here are. I don' choose the church thrifts because that's what they are. I don't aim to have a small footprint or worry about landfills.
When I want clothing, that's what I want, pure and simple. I like the possibilities of it.
I didn't start thrifting until I was in my late thirties. My family didn't use thrifts while I was growing up. They also consumed very little. The kind of people who had one toaster for 30 years. My mother had 2 dresses. Most of their drawers and cabinets and closets were near empty. Home from college on a vacation I saw a second hand store had opened in my hometown and I went in there, curious. I bought a heavy lace ecru dress and my mother was horrified at the idea of the germs. I don't care a thing about germs. I guess I should clean everything I buy but I never do.
As a person who lost a lot of weight, thrifting was the only way..
Now I am HOOKED! I have bought maybe 3? things at regualar retail stores in the past 4 years. I love the search and of course the deals, which means I have a ton of clothes.
Now Im always on the search for fun things to alter! I like the treasure hunt….
I love to thrift for a few main reasons. Firstly, I'm on a tight budget right now. Secondly, I refuse to pay the ridiculous prices that most shops are charging for second-rate merchandise these days. Third, I LOVE having one of a kind pieces all to myself, and lastly, thrift shopping is way more fun than regular shopping!
I started buying in thrift stores and consignment shops in graduate school and never lost the habit. Being able to find a gorgeous, high-quality item for 1% of its original retail value has never lost its appeal. . .
I'm also more and more "sustainable" in my frame of mind, and giving clothes a longer useful life appeals to me. So much better to donate and to re-use than to toss. Where I live, the county's recycling program runs a yearly "Choose to Re-Use" program, and a few years ago the slogan was "I wear re-wear." Happily.
I don't generally thrift (although having said that I'm wearing a wrapover top today that I bought from a charity shop – one of the few exceptions!). I go into charity shops a fair bit, but am usually looking for books / mugs / knitting needles / other bric a brac sort of things. I was brought up going to charity shops and wearing hand-me-downs and don't object to it (and do agree with the green arguments for it), but it just isn't proving particularly workable or useful at the moment.
Although I'm a very 'average' size (UK 12), the intersection between what I like and what any given charity shop has in my size is usually extremely small if I bother to check … so now I've mostly stopped bothering. Plus, if I do find something I like, it's probably £4 at the charity shop but a couple of doors down the street I could buy it for £7 new – and if I go and get it new I can try on different sizes and colours and it won't be faded and worn.
Apart from coats, I don't find that the clothing I find in charity shops is any better than what I can get from the high street – and the prices are usually close enough to comparable that I'd rather buy things new so that I can get the right size.
I'd like to add, though, that I do usually buy and wear things forever and find a way to recycle them when they really are gone (like turning things into cleaning cloths / knitting them / giving to a charity shop if they're still in very good condition but no longer fit / textile recycling bins as a last resort). I can consume thoughtfully. I'd like it if I could buy more stuff that already exists rather than new stuff, but find mostly the selection just isn't there and it really isn't worth the time spending hours looking and coming away with nothing. I get the impression that thrift stores in the US are much much much bigger than their standard counterparts in the UK (presumably therefore you're more likely to find things) – can anyone confirm or deny that?
I want to know how Tina Z. gives thrifted shoes a deep cleaning. I got plantar warts a few years ago from a pair of thrifted shoes (despite swabbing them out generously with rubbing alcohol), and since then, I'll only thrift things that I can put in the wash or have dry-cleaned.
A combination of all of the things you've mentioned! Alas, I've moved and my wardrobe isn't as rotating as it used to be because thrift stores in London are merely places to sell hipper-than-thou kids £40 sweaters from the 1980s, le sigh. However, charity shops have the potential for reward, you just have to work harder for it; like a smaller, more spread out version of Savers or Good Will.
I love bargain-priced clothes, and I love finding things that aren't available in stores.
I shop consignment and thrift stores because it's my drug of choice…I mean there's nothing like the high of finding a Michael Kors purse for $1, designer shoes for $2 bucks and tons of designer brand clothing for $1.25 each. Yes, it does happen. Sure I have to dig, but it's well worth it. Most of the items still have the tags attached. Who can beat that. This week I found a ton of designer hand bags at the goodwill back lot and spent a total of $10 and change. Can't beat that.
I thrift when I feel broke but also when I'm not. I love that I'll find something that no one else has and if it's a crazy piece I can just imagine the life story it's had.
I also thrift to see the look in my friends' eyes when I pick out something peculiar and then their look of surprise when I work. it. out.
I LOVE to thrift/consighnment….
2 weeks ago at goodwill they were having their 50% off sale and I got a large leather coach bag for 5 dollars. I wore it into a consignment shop and they offered me 35 dollars for it!
I Love it!
I live to thrift!! I especially like what you said about buying something fun and different that I wouldn't pay full price for, but love to have it around.
However, I buy alot of good staple items too. I just love shopping, and don't have the income to afford my tastes, so thrifting is the perfect answer!
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