How to Thrift Your Personal Style

When building your personal style, starting with the thrift stores is the going to be the best decision you could ever make. First off, it's cost efficient. So you don't have to push back your phone bill to another month just so you can get those pants you tried on from the Urban Outfitters at Perimeter (not speaking from experience, just a totally random scenario...). Secondly, it's a slow environment. So it's normal to sit/stand there and marinate for hours on your decisions, and you will not get looked at crazy. Where as, a department store can be more fast paced. So standing next to a rack for more than 5 minutes may annoy another customer or may look like you're up to no good ahaaaa. Most importantly, it's good for the planet! I'm sure you know this by now, that most clothes take forever to decompose in landfills. So giving old clothes more life drake voice, helps to decrease the amount of clothing that are sent to those landfills.

It may seem overwhelming, but don't worry. Below I'm going to share some tips on how you can find or build your personal style at the thrift store.

The Clean Out

Gather all of your clothes. Then, try them on. Create two piles; a pile of the clothes you want and don't want. With the clothes you don't want, you can donate, give it to a sibling/friend/cousin,or sell it to someone on depop. Now with the clothes you do like, try them on again and be more strict with your decisions. If they're a little too short don't make an excuse cause chances are you're never going to wear it because of that slight problem. this time make sure you actually like these clothes and you're not just keeping them around because of how long you had it.

Narrowing Down

From the pile of clothes

you want, figure out what it is that you like about each item.Is it the fabric? The silhouette? The Length?

Write down the description of the items, along with the measurements of each items, and your personal

measurement too; if you want to be even more precise and have the time.

Research

Google/Pinterest/Tik Tok the list of descriptions you wrote down so you can get some inspo/ an idea of how to style or other ways to style that piece of clothing. Also, search up people with similar body types to also get inspo on new items you probably didn't have in your closet. Screen shot all that you like. Create a folder will all of your screenshotted inspiration in your phone.

Before You go Thrifting

You want to make sure you choose a day that you have a lot of time. here are somethings you should bring: Your phone with the screenshotted inspo, a clothing tape measure, and headphones.

Time to go thrifitng!

ok, it's the day you're going to thrift. You are going to want to wear clothing that are easy to take off/put back on. If you are nervous and new to thrifting I would suggest to trying curated second hand shops or boutiques firs,t to get a feel.. but if you're just ready to go at it/ somewhat used to thrifting, go to a thrift store.

Review

Once you're at the thrift store, take a moment to briefly look over your inspiration, so you don't forget what your looking for. i'd say every 30 minutes - an 1 take a look at that folder again to keep your memory fresh.

Thrift away!

yay! now it's time to thrift! get those headphones out and that playlist or youtube video and press play. While going through every single rack of clothing (yes, every single rack. It will be worth it). Measure each piece you see before trying it on so you can know if it's worth the time/hassle of trying it on.