You would have to live under a rock to not have noticed the recent surge of thrifting in the fashion community, especially among Gen Z. Since the pandemic, young adults have been trading in malls for Goodwills and fast fashion for clothes found at a Salvation Army. But why? It’s not exactly like the clothes found at thrift stores are necessarily the height of fashion or aligning with the most recent trends. There are a few reasons. Let’s break them down.
A Love for the Past
After the pandemic, many people longed for a sense of nostalgia. Many people, especially Gen Z were looking to what was familiar. Disregarding the abnormality of the time in general, the pandemic fashion sense had a mind of its own consisting of a mix of brightly colored preppy, indie, and grunge styles. While the trends were embraced with open arms at the time, they quickly fizzled out in the latter half of 2021 when 90s style started to make a comeback. Within the last few years as more people have shed the final layers of 2020 fashion they worked so hard to acquire, many people are looking back to styles from the 1950s-90s to pad their wardrobe, and what better place to look than the thrift store?
via Warner Bros.
Originality
A massive pro for the thrift store is the fact that if you find a vintage piece, most likely, there will be seldom people who you’ll also see wearing it. This gives people more sense of originality in their style as well as diversifying the industry. Thanks to fast fashion and mass production as a whole, you can often find at least 10 people within a ½ mile radius wearing the same thing as you. Half the fun of fashion is being able to be uniquely you but oftentimes people have to compromise their style to whatever the factories are mass producing. Now that is not to say that everything in stores is bad, and a lot of outfits have to do with how you style them. However, it can be incredibly disheartening when you put on your outfit only to find that the girl next door looks like a carbon copy of you. By mass producing, companies have stripped away people’s right to individuality. The thrift stores allow for people to find pieces that speak directly to their style and oftentimes allow for people to be more uniquely them. While this does have its drawbacks because sometimes you cannot recommend a piece to someone else because it is no longer produced, but that is the price you pay when you choose to thrift over your classic shopping.
via Getty Images
Sustainability
Now, of course, there’s the big guy. Sustainability. Thrifting is easily much better for the environment than shopping traditionally because it is giving new life to old clothes. A lot of people will find clothes in a thrift shop, try them on, and realize that maybe that exact shape or style isn’t for them. But then they go on to tailor the piece to fit their needs. This is a much better alternative than buying countless brand-new pieces and then hardly wearing them. Similarly, thrift shops were initially created to be a cost-effective place to shop for those who were not as fortunate as others. So, by design, the prices are much lower than in a regular store. By thrifting and buying clothes at this discounted rate, you eliminate the amount of purchases being made towards the fast fashion industry. This in turn not only makes thrifting more fiscally responsible, but more ethical as well.
While we can recognize that thrifting is not for everyone, you have to recognize that, generally, its pros massively outweigh the cons. Next time you’re considering going on a shopping spree, try looking around your local thrift shops first. Your wallet, your closet, and the environment might just thank you.
By Abigail Moynihan
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