Shift to Thrift

Ahh thrifting.. What is thrifting you may ask? If you've ever heard someone say they're going to go thrifting, you might be wondering what they mean. Simply put, thrifting means to go shopping at a thrift store, garage sale, or flea market where you'll find gently used items at discounted prices. 

For some, the idea of thrifting, buying used clothes, is such a turn off. Why? Well, it’s because people often tend to think and confuse thrifting with being “gross.” Truth is, all you need to do is wash the clothes you buy once or twice and they are good to go. And if that’s not good enough, go and get them dry cleaned. It’s a cheaper and a much more environmentally friendly option, so what’s with all the stigma?!

Thrifting is often where you find vintage. People will pay the highest prices for “vintage” items from overpriced stores, yet they’ll refuse to go to a thrift store. Thrifting is quite literally vintage and so many people make the mistake of wasting hundreds of dollars on “vintage” pieces when all they have to do is go to a thrift store or even a consignment store.

It is so normal for all of us to indulge in fast fashion. We buy from commercial, overpriced stores without hesitation, but used clothes scare us away?! Little do so many people know, fast fashion is terrible for the environment. The way the clothes are made, how they are made, who they are made by, etc is all so inhumane and unhealthy for our earth and no one even realizes. It is a much better option to buy recycled clothes rather than giving into the commercialized and corrupt processes of production that these corporate stores use.

All you have to do to find some good pieces is look around! There are some really good thrift stores in the city, but if you are looking more locally, I would recommend Helga’s in Northport, Plato's closet, Island Thrift, Community Thrift, etc. And if you can’t find any stores near you to your liking, there is a wonderful app called Depop where independent sellers open shops where they recycle and remake clothes- which is just another form of thrifting. It is all environmentally friendly and typically very affordable. There are even more places then just the ones listed- just do some more research of your own and ask around!

Let's all be kind to the earth and buy more vintage.