Society has one huge problem: Overconsumption. Lululemon this. Uggs that.
Think about all of the clothes you have bought over the years, just to be forgotten, thrown in a bag, and sent to either a landfill or a second hand store.
Social media and pop culture play huge parts in this world wide curse. Every few months, we welcome a new trend and throw away the old ones, sometimes literally.
Influencers, celebrities, and our everyday peers have a huge impact on our wardrobes and possessions, and it’s not always positive.
We are constantly doom scrolling on social media, being filled with society’s opinion of what’s right to wear, what’s wrong to own. We need to learn who we ourselves are, not try to conform to the latest trend.
The perfect way to solve this problem is by visiting your local second hand or thrift store. Recently, thrift shopping has become a trend in and of itself, but unlike most, it’s an economically and environmentally good one.
There is an overabundance of tossed out clothing, most of which is lightly worn.
Sure, you may come across quite a few options that someone’s dad wore to work too many times, but when you know where to look, you may come across the perfect gem.
Instead of clicking ‘add to cart’ every time you see something you want, consider if it’s been a trend before. Like baggy jeans and cargo pants for example. Many people wore them in the 90s and early 2000s before yoga pants and low rise jeans took their place. If you peruse the jeans section in a thrift store, I’m sure you will find something similar to the ones on your digital shopping list.
Another way thrifting can save you money is with Halloween and Spirit Week outfits. As kids grow older, they tend to buy less of the bagged, pre-made costumes in favor of creating their own.
However, the pieces for these costumes can be quite expensive at times, not to mention hard to find when it isn’t Halloween.
I encourage you to look for your costume pieces at a second hand store, even if you doubt it will be there. Someone in the world has probably owned an odd piece of clothing that may benefit you and help complete the perfect dress-up look.
Thrifting also allows you to embrace your creativity more. Think about it, tie-dye, painted jeans, altered t-shirts. Do you really want to spend a ton of money on something you are going to paint and/or cut up when you could buy something similar for a significantly lower price?
You are keeping one less article of clothing from ending up in a landfill and getting the perfect canvas to paint, cut, and dye to your liking.
I know you may feel awkward wearing clothes that have belonged to other people before, but it’s no different than borrowing a shirt from a friend or wearing your older sibling’s hand-me-downs. At the end of the day, if they weren’t in good condition, the stores wouldn’t place them on the racks. Not to mention clothes are quite easy to wash.
However, clothing trends aren’t the only thing we allow to be influenced by society. Movies and TV Shows, jewelry, and collectibles are also victims of the trend rotations. Sure, you may not find these things in your local Goodwill, but let me tell you about my favorite place on earth: the Peddler’s Mall.
During my most recent visit, I took the time to truly analyze what people were filling their booths with. It’s like a never-ending festival. The booths are filled with hand-crafted items, vintage jewelry, and don’t get me started on all of the collections.
If you are a movie fanatic and you love to collect relics, the best place to go is the Peddler’s mall. Most of the things you find are relatively new and their prices are far cheaper than the originals. There are booths filled with CDs and Funko Pops, as well as any other minifigures you may want to add to your collection.
If you are needing an upgrade in your jewelry box, I would consider giving this place a visit. There is a wide variety of hand-made jewelry and passed down, vintage jewelry. Whether it’s bohemian clay earrings or a beautiful necklace that looks like it came from someone’s very sweet grandmother, I’m sure you will find something that fits right into your style.
Thrifting has so many benefits. It saves you money, it saves our planet, and it can be quite the stress reliever as well.
You can still fit in or stand out to your liking without giving in to the big brands.
No one is going to check the tags on your clothes to find out if it’s a knock-off, and if they do, know that they are contributing to the problem, not you.
Make it your New Year’s resolution to thrift more, what a great way to spend your year and money.
