The Benefits of Secondhand Shopping + Some Tips

When you shop for things secondhand, there are 3 benefits that come to mind that have brought a lot of joy to me personally. I work at a thrift store and since being hired into that, I've found that it saves the environment, it saves your wallet and it still allows you to experiment with different styles of clothing and accessories. 

I'd say that the biggest thing I love about secondhand shopping is the environmental factor. Now don't get me wrong here, I do still shop at a small handful of regular priced retailers, but even then, I personally feel like we need to at least be more aware of the amount of waste we produce- especially with fast fashion in particular. Now just for full transparency here, I did recently buy a trench jacket from H&M, but I feel like that was a purchase worth making because it fit more into my budget plus the fit was perfect. So perhaps there's nothing wrong with fast fashion on a general scale if you go into those places with a list or idea in mind of what it is you're looking for. I just feel like one has to be aware of their shopping habits and be smart about that in order to avoid those massive amounts of waste. 

So believe it or not, high quality fashion doesn't have to equal expensive prices. The thrift store that I work at gets a lot of great quality items in a couple times a week, and they tend to sell well (and they also tend to leave fairly quickly). You get a large range of brands from Coach, Michael Kors and Kate Spade all the way down to other department store brands- I've even seen those fast fashion brands like H&M, Forever 21, Charming Charlie and Old Navy. I once found a handbag that someone bought that was actually from Matt & Nat, and knowing how their company is more sustainable/vegan friendly, I thought that was pretty cool because you don't see companies like that pop up very often. 

Now of course, I believe that fashion is meant to be fun, so I know that it doesn't really matter where you shop at because at the end of the day, all of these different shops both high and low are meant to be there for experimentation. However, I personally love buying things secondhand because you get a wide variety of styles and brands, and as the seasons change, so do the trends. So at the end of the day, you do what works best for you and stay true to what your style is. If there are any tips though that I could leave for you, it's to enjoy the hunt when you're inside a thrift store. I'd also recommend that you don't go overboard if you're on a budget and to save where you can. Most thrift stores do have great sales, especially at Goodwill, so try to pay attention to what color price tags are on sale as those change weekly. Also, if you're anything like me and you tend to buy things on impulse, make a list beforehand and stick to that list as best as you can.