Vintage Coach bags, 100% cotton Abercrombie, the most unique belts, shoes, pieces of jewelry. Wow. I love to shop second hand, don’t play.
The girls are eating up thrifting content on TikTok and Instagram. Take the iconic Lilly Claire, for example, averaging hundreds of thousands of likes and views on her pages, simply for shopping at her local Goodwill. Honestly, I don’t blame people for completely devouring this type of content, it’s so cool to watch someone with a platform go out and find super cool, super cute vintage.
I would be surprised if my local Goodwill didn’t know me by name or have my card number memorized; I am there probably once a week, I cannot even lie. Every time I think, “Oh, let’s just browse for a bit,” I always end up finding seven things I need to try on, and always four or five that I need to buy. Some of my best finds are thrifted.
Some of my favorite finds include:
- Blue Lululemon shorts
- Pinkish-reddish-orangish sweater
- So many Edikted going-out tops
- GAP Zip Up
- USA bomber jacket
- So much more
Quickly, I’d like to give a massive shoutout to my grandma for sparking my thrifting and shopping addiction. Whether she knows it or not, I always feel a piece of her with me when I am spending an hour looking through the Goodwill racks, or my local consignment, Lily’s, for some cute new pieces. She was huge on consignment when I was little, always finding the coolest things for my sister and I. Any time I hit up the Ontario Mall for 2000s Vera Bradley or Coach, I have to update her on the bags I’ve bought. I texted her: “Just bought like 20 bags at the consignment,” and she replied, “Thata girl.” She deserves the credit for my addiction.
Recently, I’ve been super into buying and selling on Depop, as well. It’s just so cool that I can just search “Lululemon leggings” and get hundreds of results for under fifteen dollars, especially considering the retail is damn near one hundred of my hard-earned dollars. Selling is awesome too, I can snap a picture of any given clothing item I have no more use for and sell it right online.
Textile waste is INSANE, especially with the massive use of fast fashion sites like Shein, ASOS, and even Zara. These clothes are mass produced; what do you think happens when micro-trends are out and they can no longer sell? Exactly. Garbage. Piles and piles of textile waste, brand new, poorly made clothes in landfills across the world. So much environmental harm, but I won’t get into all of the nitty-gritty now. This is why it is so important to buy second hand.
I feel like there is such a connotation with thrifting or any sort of second hand being ‘dirty’ or ‘gross,’ but this is completely not the case. I have bought endless amounts of high-quality sweaters, t-shirts, shorts and even jeans from secondhand shops or off of Depop, and I must say there is literally nothing wrong with them. Sure, there’s the occasional stain or odd piece of clothing, and obviously you probably shouldn’t buy used swimsuits or underwear, but that’s common sense.
Everything else? Buy it, pop it in the washer, dry it, and wear it. Absolutely no harm done.
By giving a new life and a new home to an article of clothing, you are actively fighting the fast fashion industry and mass textile waste! Not to mention, vintage is almost always cuter when it’s ACTUALLY vintage.
Even if you don’t think it’s really your thing, try it out! Go to your local Goodwill or consignment store, sure it might look like it’s all old-lady clothes, but I promise if you really look, you’ll find something worth the time and energy. It’s overwhelming, but it gets better! Having a good thrift find is so rewarding, for both your wardrobe and the Earth!
P.S. Thrifting tips coming soon!!