When I say that thrifting changed my life, I don’t mean in
the sense that now I have a closet, dresser, and then some, full of awesome
new-old clothes. This is true, but definitely not what I mean.
It’s no secret that shopping is therapy for many of us, men
and women, and helps us to cope and pick up our spirits a little by purchasing
a new addition to our wardrobe. Initially, this was true for me as well. I
enjoyed finding things and being able to add them to my closet. However, I
never thought in much detail about how, where, or what they’d be worn with. I
always bought a piece because I liked it, and I knew I could wear it with one
of my many jeans, jean skirts, or shorts that were all fairly neutral and went
with anything. Thus, I was not nearly apart of the fashion world. Yet.
Now flashback about 12 years. I’m in middle school, with
somewhat of a self-image problem. I’d look in the mirror and see sweatshirts and
jeans, t-shirts and very boring, run of the mill shoes. There was really
nothing special about the girl who stood mirrored in front of me, and inside
she felt as though she’d had image issues and wouldn’t look right in anything,
much less real, sophisticated clothes. There wasn’t much to her, and she was so
far beyond a plain Jane, she was just plain.
Flash forward to now. I don’t much
fancy plain bagels, let alone a plain appearance. True, there are some days
when I just want to wear a tee and jeans. However, I’d better make sure that
it’s a fun, pretty, or intriguing tee, fun shoes, with some addition that gives
depth, otherwise I’m not really adding much. In fact, often times this takes
away from ones appearance.
I never used to be a fashion forward person. I enjoyed
fashion magazines; I liked looking at all of the clothes, designs, and outfits
I didn’t think I’d ever be able to wear. I didn’t envy the people in the
magazines, exactly, but I thought how very confident they looked sporting
whatever latest trend they were wearing. When I started college, I walked in
with my high school wardrobe. Since then, I’ve learned to firmly believe that
every stage of your life should have a new wardrobe and you should dress the
part that you play in life. If you’re starting college, shop hip. If you’re
going into your senior year, spruce it up a little and throw in some business
casual touches, but keep it fun and flirty. If you’re graduating college, toss
the band tees and mini skirts—unless, of course, they’re by Free People. This
is my theory now as I embark on my journey in my senior year of college, and
also as I start a new path, one that I’ve wanted to go down for a very long
time.
So how has thrifting changed all of this? It’s opened up an
entirely new world to me. I had a conversation with Tess about two weeks ago, and
she made an observation that it seems like I wouldn’t be wearing half the
things I do now without thrifting. It’s true. I walk into a place like Savers
now, and a plethora of options, and opportunities, lie in front of me. It used
to be overwhelming, but now I walk in knowing what I’m looking for and what I
want. 
As time went on, I’ve learned to toss anything gray, brown, or black if I
have too much. I’ve learned to shop for color, because not every shade looks terrible on me. I’ve made a lot of mistakes too,
but learned from them. Thrifting has allowed me to make those mistakes on a
budget, and to explore things I normally never would without breaking my bank.
You could walk into a thrift store and find something vintage from the 1950s,
or find something new with tags that you normally never would have purchased.
It truly is a different world, and an exciting one.
In a funny sort of way, thrifting has pushed me to be my
better self. What I mean by that is this: the girl that I flashed back to is no
longer existent. In her place stands a confident, playful, simply delightful if
I do say so myself, kind of quirky and weird young woman who knows who she is.
I attribute that mostly to Tess, but also to my thrifting experiences. I’ve
recently started cleaning up my act as far as diet goes as well, hence all of
the super healthy recipes on the blog. It’s worked, and I’ve started feeling
better about myself and freer from the constraints that my outside appearance
placed on me prior to this. Fashion has pushed me to consider how I want to present
myself, and how I feel doing it. More specifically, thrifted fashion. It’s
become a passion to find something new and fun and pair it with things I
already have, when outfits just click and look far beyond anything I’ve ever
worn, I get a warm, happy, giddy feeling that wells up inside me. The
confidence soon follows that. I’ve learned to accessorize, I’ve learned to
dress for my body shape (and sometimes to break the rules), and by learning all
of this, and I hope to inspire others to do the same. You can’t beat walking
into a store and finding a two-dollar top and a five-dollar bottom, with
three-dollar shoes (I’m not kidding, I finally found Jellies the other day for
$1.99, and studded Oxfords for $3.99!) and feeling confident that you’ll look
good and spend less than ten bucks. The best part? If you’re uncomfortable
about the term “secondhand” (we refer to it as vintage secondhand love), no one
else besides you needs to know it was thrifted. How
awesome is that?
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| Old me |
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Better me! |
Therefore, this is my message to all
of the girls, and women who still may feel this way, who don’t think they can
be awesome and dress it too:
Stop. Take a step back and realize how extraordinary you
are. You can be whoever you want, no one else’s approval is needed. Take today
and start the rest of your life, take today and put an end to your low
self-esteem. Boost your confidence and realize that there are so many people
out there who support individuality and will applaud your stance in the world.
Let your first move be through creativity, and let your inner self radiate
outwards. Don’t be afraid to be who you are, and don’t be afraid of trying new things.
It’s all worth it, trust me! Do you, and do it the best that you can.
