My Top Thrifting Do’s and Don’ts
By: Anne Elizabeth
Tags: Thrifting, Sustainable Fashion, Teenagers, Fashionblogger, Fashion

Thrifting is a great way to buy cheap, stylish clothes and be sustainable in the process! I am by no means an expert thrifter (insert foreshadowing to future interviews with fabulous thrifters in later posts) but I routinely go thrifting. It’s a great way to merge my love of shopping and fashion with my efforts to be sustainable. Today I went to the Magic Hat Thrift Shop, around a 15 minute walk from my house. It’s more expensive than the stores I usually frequent, somewhere in between a consignment shop (the most high end) and a garage sale. Since the items were sifted through beforehand, there was no need to beware of stains or funky smells, but the best items had been marked up substantially☹️.

Anyways, read on for my top thrifting Do’s and Don’ts!

Beware of faded blacks! In general, good blacks are hard to find when thrifting. Most of the items are worn-in, and have been washed enough times that some or most of the blacked dye has faded. The result is a faded gray like in the Levi’s I’m holding in the photo above.

Beware of American Eagle! Even though their items are trendy and popular among teenage girls, most of their clothes are very poor quality, and fall apart easily. Also, notice how the clothing does not look great on the rack since there are weird bulges in the waistband and in the pockets. Finally, the material is quite thin. Even for skinny jeans, always look for thicker material, which is a sign of better quality. Despite my bad examples, thrift shops are great places to look for name brand jeans at very low prices.

Don’t buy athletic clothes at thrift shops. Most athletic clothes go through a lot of wear and tear (especially during the pandemic) and become very nasty with use. It’s still worth a peek to see if there are any good sweatshirts or layers (there are a few exceptions), but mostly you will only find unimpressive results.

A great item to buy at thrift stores are jackets. My best find was a $1 Prada blazer. It’s best to look for jackets at cheaper thrift stores, since at curated thrift stores employees sort out the best jackets and mark up the prices. However, with patience and perseverance, one can find a steal.

Before leaving, always stop by the belts. I was in eighth grade before I discovered belts, and my life was forever changed once I stopped having to pull up my pants every 50 seconds. A great belt always adds to an outfit, and it’s a fun collection to have.

Most thrift stores have things they are especially good at, and it is always worth it to check out the nicest, best organized, and oft-times most expensive section. For example, the Magic Hat had a really great selection of bags. I was having severe bag envy over this lovely Coach purse. However, the purse was too small to use as a school bag and otherwise I had no use for it.

A note on trying things on: for the most part, thrift stores don’t have changing rooms. However, take advantage of the abundant mirrors and try some outfits on! I always like to take pictures so I can see how the item looks without too much bias.

That’s all for today!

Remember, as Coco Chanel says “Keep your heels, head, and standards high”,

Anne