Tired of shopping inefficiently and over-consuming while thrifting? Here are my top 13 thrifting tips and questions to ask yourself while thrifting.
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I’ve found that when I go thrifting, I often end up with a bunch of clothes that I either don’t keep very long or don’t really ever wear. Because of this, I have established my own thrifting tips and questions to ask myself while thrifting to ensure I am purchasing pieces that actually fit my personal style and will work with my wardrobe.
It’s easy to make poor decisions while thrifting. Everything is one of one, creating a constant feeling that if you don’t purchase now, you’ll lose the opportunity, new items are put out constantly and, possibly worst of all for those of us struggling with a shopping addiction, everything is really cheap.
While making poor decisions while thrifting may not hurt your bank account (or the environment) all that much, it greatly impacts your wardrobe and your mentality around shopping.
You see, over-consuming second-hand clothing is just as bad for your mental state (and closet) as over-consuming fast fashion because it creates a mentality of constantly wanting more, cluttering both your mind and physical closet, making it nearly impossible to even get dressed in the morning (you can’t find what you’re looking for, you bought pieces without considering what you already own, now that piece needs another piece you don’t own, and the cycle continues.)
In this post, I will be sharing my top 13 thrifting tips and questions to ask yourself while thrifting.
13 Thrifting Tips
1. Would you buy the item at full price?
Would you have bought this at full price if you came across it at the expensive boutique down the street? Or, if you leave this item at the thrift now, will you end up spending hours (and probably 5x the cost, at least) to hunt the item down online? If you buy this item now, and something happens to it tomorrow, will you hunt it down online to replace it? If the answer to these questions is no, take a second to think about how badly you actually want the item.
2. Would you order it online?
Okay, so right now, this question sounds similar to the one above. But what I really mean is, picture this item in a photograph on a website. Would you be attracted to the item? Would you care enough to actually go through the steps of filling out your information and the cost of paying for shipping (I know describing this process and cost as “hard” is very “first-world problem” of me, but the number of times I’ve added something to my cart online only to abandon it is a reality check of if I actually want the item or not)?
3. Think about it, do you care about this item enough to wait in line, take out your money and interact with a sales associate for it?
Maybe it’s just me, but I won’t check out unless I have an item I love.
4. Put everything you’ve picked up while shopping out of eyesight. Now name the items in your cart without looking at them.
Anything you can’t name is immediately out. No questions asked.
5. Are you buying it because you love it, or because it’s a “good thrift find?”
I cannot tell you how many times I have purchased something at the thrift because I thought someone else would consider it a “good thrift find,” not because I really loved it. If you do think someone else would be more excited to find this at the thrift (and actually wear it), leave it for them!
6. Do you love it, or is it just a designer brand?
Again, I cannot tell you how many times I have bought something because I was just shocked to see the brand at Goodwill – even when it wasn’t a brand I would ever shop at full price! Stop grabbing for labels at the thrift and start considering the item without knowing the brand name.
7. Will it last in your wardrobe?
One thing I definitely want to take the time to learn more about this year is what materials are really made to last. You would think that with a Fashion Merchandising degree that required me to take multiple textile technology courses, I would know this already. But I never loved those courses, and honestly, didn’t care all that much until recently. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to care more about the impact my consumption has on the planet, and I want to make sure I am purchasing items that will last.
So, even at the thrift, take a look at the tag. (The care tag, that is, not to be confused with the label that I just discouraged you from looking at above. Actually, maybe let the tag influence you after you’ve made an original decision on the item. For example, maybe pass on it for quality’s sake if it’s from Shein or Forever 21).
A benefit of thrifting is that you can already see how the item has held up so far. If the sweater is already pilling or the blouse has come apart at the seams, even if it’s something you think you could fix, think twice about it, because it may just continue to deteriorate after repairing it.
8. Does it fit you correctly?
And if it doesn’t, will you pay to get it altered? And I mean actually do it, not just put it in a pile and avoid taking it to be fixed for months (guilty).
9. Make a thrift wishlist, and try to stick to it.
Before hitting the thrift, determine the items you actually need in your wardrobe. And sit with them on a wishlist for a while. After a few weeks, do you still want them and think that they will work well in your wardrobe? If so, use a wishlist as a guide when shopping at the thrift, and try not to stray from the list.
With that said, don’t force an item to work just because it’s on the list. You should still consider all the other factors before purchasing the item, especially 1. if it fits and 2. if the style is exactly what you were hoping for.
10. Don’t settle.
My next thrifting tips is to never settle. If you’ve been wanting an item for a long time, perhaps a more expensive item, don’t settle for a version you found at the thrift if it’s not exactly what you wanted. Will the similar black crossbody at the thrift make you not want the designer black crossbody you’ve wanted for months? Probably not.
11. Can you see yourself wearing this item in your day-to-day life, and does the item align with the image you have of how you want to dress? If the answer is yes to both, that’s a pretty solid yes.
I think we all have an image of how we want to dress, and sometimes that doesn’t actually match how we dress in reality. I recently saw a quote (I mean, someone said it on TikTok, that’s still a quote, right?) that said, “what you do throughout your day is how you live your life”… or something like that. You know how it is with TikTok, you can never find videos again unless you save them.
Anyways, relate that to your wardrobe. What you wear throughout your day (or on a day-to-day basis) is your personal style. And if that doesn’t align with what you want it to be, there’s no better time to change it than now. And I recommend taking a break from shopping to track what you actually wear and love in your own wardrobe before adding more.
But if it does match, make sure the items you are thrifting do too.
12. How would you style the item? Where would you wear it?
Can you think of at least three different ways? How about three different places? Is the item really versatile enough and will it be worn enough to be a part of your wardrobe?
13. Do you already own the items needed to style said piece three different ways?
And how many ways can you style the item with clothes you already have in your wardrobe? If you have to purchase more items to wear something, it probably isn’t the right piece for your wardrobe. The pieces you add should be easy to wear and solve problems in your closet, not create new ones.