Thrifting: A New Wave of Fashion and Why It’s Great

Back some months ago I was writing about the Y2K craze that started to catch like wildfire all over TikTok and Pinterest. It’s inevitable, because nostalgia for previous times becomes popular every 20 years or so (sometimes there are exceptions, such as the 80’s.) Something I’m excited to see people go crazy over is thrifting! I’ve been thrifting for years, and I’ve always told people that they’re missing out by not partaking in it. So if you’d like to know all the reasons you should thrift and how to do it, read further and I shall tell you.

Why should you thrift?

It’s good for the planet. Thrifting is essentially recycling clothes that would otherwise be thrown into an ever-growing landfill that further pollutes our beautiful planet. If you’re passionate about the environment like I am, this is a good alternative to contributing to mass consumption. 

It’s good for your wallet. Thrifting is relatively cheap. Sometimes vintage items can be expensive depending on how rare it is, but usually it’s not something that’s gonna break the bank. Our economy at the moment isn’t great. It’s hard to afford anything and I suspect that’s also a big reason why people are turning to thrifting for their clothes. So if you’re having a hard time affording the big brand names, don’t sweat it. A lot of those pieces are overpriced anyway.

It’s ethical. One of the biggest conversations being had in the fashion industry nowadays is our ethical consumption of clothing and how said clothing is being made. Fast fashion brands such as SheIn and Romwe have become immensely popular because of how cheap their clothes are. But what many don’t know, whether or not they care or if they’re too young to understand, is that those clothes are produced off of very cheap labor overseas. This is morally conflicting for a lot of people, and many of them view thrifting as a protest against capitalism taking gross advantage of underpaid factory workers. Our generation is very passionate about being advocates for social change and it comes down to the very clothes that we wear. When you thrift, you are pushing back against the toxic side of fashion.

It’s creative. I love how many doors this craze has opened for people to express their creativity in fashion. Instead of the same Fashion Nova uniform that we see in mainstream media we see outfits that are carefully constructed by people that care about originality. The experience feels more organic and less heavily researched and commodified by large clothing corporations. 

It’s fun! I can’t express the elation I feel when I find a really solid piece in a store that has no idea how good it is. It’s also a great activity to do with your friends. 

So at the moment I’m just a little bit obsessed with the throwback styles I saw growing up in the aughts, and luckily a lot of that kind of clothing you can find in thrift stores! You can also find wholesale bundles online that will give you mixed pieces for different styles (I would stay away from sites like Depop, because people will often put up pieces way over their value on there.) I think this wave of fashion has been my favorite so far, because there are just so many benefits. It makes me want the old CD player I used to take to school in elementary back, or my old Nokia phone. Do you remember Nokia phones? Ah, what a time. It makes me wanna rewatch Spy Kids.