In times of grave economic health, fashion magazines, style blogs and even network news media are hailing a new and viable option for women to look their very best on a budget. And from special reports to style advice, there is the same unwavering advice: Hit the aisles of your local thrift store. But this new and viable option isn’t new to everyone. And it certainly isn’t new to me.
As an avid thrifter for well over a decade, I know of the economic advantages. Hearing the perky newscasters deliver a “special savings report” from behind racks of donated sweaters isn’t some new and marvelous idea. And frugal fashion editors who treat secondhand style as something of a trend have a lot to learn. For shoppers with a tight budget, thrifting is an activity embraced across the class divide.
It's true. You can sometimes find designer names at discount prices.This Lucky Brand belt was brand new, never worn and a lucky find indeed at $4. From Goodwill
As I peruse the aisles and dig through the bins of my local thrift shops, I often pause to take in the surroundings. Age, race and class are of no concern. Men and women alike are clanking through the kitchenware, thumbing through dusty book jackets and methodically sliding hangers, hunting down items they need or want.
Sometimes there’s brief conversation, a shared admiration over the same found oddity. Sometimes there’s a quick laugh over the trends and fashion missteps of yesteryear. Sometimes there is a silent browsing amidst the crowd.
But there always is a crowd. Perhaps this has something to do with the staggering amount of unemployed, underpaid and struggling in our nation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has the national unemployment rate at just over 9% of the labor workforce.
Maybe those savings reports are reaching former naysayers of the thrift option. Or maybe there is just an influx of shoppers who are looking for a certain something that the standard retail environment just doesn’t offer.
Despite the crowds, there is, of course, a particular mindset that conceives thrift shopping as a necessity of the poor, and stigmatized as dirty, dingy and simply unacceptable. But now more than ever, frugality is a virtue. It is sad but true, that we are living in a world that celebrates materialism despite a collapsing global economy. And this is where the thrift store offers a reprieve. The fleeting stock and limitless variety in all of the donated items satiates the shopper’s wants and needs for material goods, without breaking an already burdened budget.

Exercise reminiscent of Jane Fonda, a bargain at under $3. From Goodwill.
Perhaps secondhand shopping is also a topic for social science discussion. There is more to a thrift store than the simple allure of a good bargain. Thrift stores are stocked with personal and retail donations from the community that would otherwise terminally end their usefulness in a landfill. The items are then received, and priced, and the shelves stocked, by thrift store employees or volunteers that who typically work for a company with a philanthropic purpose. This cyclical relationship of giving and receiving is two-way beneficial to the buyer and the seller. The buyer is getting wares for a good price, with the proceeds benefiting a good cause. And all of this, in turn, benefits the community.
Many dedicated secondhand shoppers who frequent their favorite thrifts for clothes, books, electronics, décor and other assorted miscellany have a mindset beyond the mere economical. And that mindset could very well be described as a sort of cultural resistance.
In their secondhand buying habits, men and women from varying walks of life are active shoppers, not just passive consumers. They may choose the thrift store as a means to deny corporate control over their paychecks. They ignore the impulse to spend a predetermined amount money on what is advertised and instead spend a fraction of the cost on what is available at the thrift store. Maybe they won’t find what they’re looking for right away, but when they find the sought after item, there is a satisfaction that it was purchased on their terms.
Sure, you’re saving a few bucks buying a vacuum cleaner secondhand. And maybe you’ll find a trendy dress that’s tailor-fit to you, or a stack of albums you’ve been hunting since their first release in the 70’s. Of course, not every trip to the thrift will yield of haul of incredibly awesome goods. But maybe one day you’ll find yourself in The Salvation Army holding that one item that you’ve been looking for so long, or maybe a little something you never even knew you wanted.
"This quirky 70's needlepoint is adorably imperfect at $2.50. From 2nd Avenue Value Store."

Jackie Jardine is a freelance writer, photographer and self-proclaimed thrift expert. Her blog Let’s Go Thrifting celebrates the secondhand lifestyle with quirky, kitsch and vintage finds from the practical to the obscure.
