Thrift Fashion (& Why You Should Indulge In It)

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Thrift fashion and style are no fad.  People have been “thrifting,” or buying things second hand, for years.  These days, it is becoming a mainstream way for many people to stock their wardrobes.  I have been a thrifter since the day I purchased a Winnie the Pooh shirt with multi-toned green stripes back when I was 9 years old.  Yep, I had good taste even back then – Pooh Bear was all the rage!

My style has since evolved, but I will continue to advocate for thrifting because it is stylish and sustainable.  I believe in the positive power that thrifting has.  It has the potential to help salvage our world by helping to lessen the amount of pollution we create through the fashion industry.  It is also giving clothes and different items a new lease on life.  These aren’t just words I’m making up, though.  Here are 5 reasons why thrift style will be around for a long time.  Hopefully for forever!

Money

Buying second hand clothes means saving money.  You can find some pretty nice name brand and vintage clothes for a fraction of the price that it costs to buy them new!  Something that isn’t as well-advertised is how thrift shops employ people from diverse backgrounds, helping to improve their lives by giving them meaningful work with just compensation.  Their employment is important for them personally and our economy as a whole. Saving money while shopping and helping create jobs makes thrift stores a great place to consciously spend your money.

The thrill of the hunt

Thrifting is like a box of chocolate.  You never know what you’re going to get!  Every trip to a thrift store is like a treasure hunt.  You may have an idea of what you want to purchase, but once you start searching every rack (hint hint – one of my thrifting rules), you’re bound to find more than you bargained for, in a good way!

Mainstream media is catching on

Have you seen the “Top Thrifters” lists circulating on the web?  Major sites like Buzzfeed are letting the world in on the secret niche of top thrift fashion content providers.  Fellow thrift bloggers like Troy of Thriftanista in the City and Ayana of Thrifting Diva are being seen by millions now because even Buzzfeed sees the power of their reach and the beauty in their thrift style.  You go, ladies!

Hashtags

There’s a hashtag for everything these days.  With the numbers that thrift hashtags bring up, it is easy to see its popularity on social media.  There are even several super successful instagram shops that specialize in selling second hand clothes finds.  Buyers go on to share these find with popular thrifty hashtags in the captions of their posts.  Here are some of my favorite thrift fashion hashtags with the number of times they’ve been used on Instagram.

• #thriftstorefinds – 166,000+

• #thriftshop – 589,000+

• #thrift – 936,000 +

• #vintagefashion – 1.7 M +

• #vintagestyle 3.7 M +

Variety in Thrift Fashion Finds

Vintage Find / Modern Find

Vintage period pieces and modern trendy pieces all in one store – it can happen.  On one aisle you see a dress from the 70s with no tags (which likely means someone hand-made it from a pattern) and on the next aisle you find a BCBG dress.  The possibilities are truly endless since people donate all types of items to thrift stores.  What’s your preference – vintage or modern?  Either way, you’re bound to find the best of both if you take your time and thrift like a pro.

If these reasons alone aren’t enough to make you want to head to your nearest thrift store right now and discover your own fashionable treasures, you should follow me on instagram and subscribe to the newsletter to get reminders about just how awesome thrift fashion really is.  Thrift fashion is here to stay!

xoxo dolls & dudes,

Addie