Thrifting is the new black, sharing is caring, reusing is soothing 💕 Fast fashion says alot about your mindset👀

As a child, you know that first hand embarrassment you get when your mum drags you to the charity shops or market straight after school, just in case you saw any of your friends and got labelled negatively.

From then I had such a negative connotation of second hand clothes and thought negatively about myself at the time too, I was a teenager and I hadn't learnt that lesson.

As a young beautiful adult, I now take pride in sharing clothes, passing them down and visiting markets and charity stores. My family have been doing so for decades upon decades and I feel grateful to have this mindset and belief that thrifting is the new black and it is here to stay. Therefore, nothing is entirely wrong with charity shopping, thrifting, purchasing second hand clothes. 

In fact, I believe it shows us the kind of mindsets we have going around. Its worrying actually, it has a sense of being careless, soulless, empty.

I'm not here to blame, but from outside the box I can say that the social conditioning we have received is so deteriental. You would refuse to believe ...

The problematic side of thrifting✨

Of course, there's no issue with thrifting, anyone can thrift, you can do what you want. However the fact that it has become so very popular and trendy in recent years undermines the point of thrifting. 

As a general rule, resellers and bulk buyers are increasing thrifted goods’ prices by advertently buying items they do not personally need. Therefore, low income shoppers, poor people, people that aren't better off may not be able to afford thrifted prices, which is shocking and concerning. 

It singles out and places a divide between people. In addition, as there aren't many plus size retails, there could be the possibility that they are left with fewer options when thrifting. It can be argued that thrifting is driven by women and therefore the over consumption obsession we ladies have or go through can be REAL👀

TIKTOK, depop, Instagram and more are flooding feeds with hauls of overpriced second hand clothes, the scary thing is the amount of attention it gets and it just gets even more bigger. The fact that so many people are sheeps and sleep walking is worrying.

We have to be conscious of what we are buying, think long term? Will i keep this forever, Would i pass this down to someone else? Is this wardrobe essential? Do these clothes align with my values and integrity? 

I CANNOT with these gentrifiers 

In the online community, wealthy white teenagers have been credited with ruining everything, that's depop, Y2K, even thrifting itself. While it’s an old story, the internet has a way of making it seem new. It is inevitable that retailers and people, namely influencers, will promote and profit from trends that enter the mainstream.

One of my favourite fast fashion places to go to was Urban Outfitters, I still do love it, but from a distance. UO notoriously resell pre-owned items in their stores at extortionate prices. They would have the audacity to sell me a Jamaican strong shirt for £50.

Thrifting is so therapeutically, consciously satisfying.💕

It grounds me

It humbles me

Helps me practise mindfulness.

Staying present and appreciating and making use out of what I already have.

I find that when I do have the time to visit a charity shop, I feel more grateful and appreciative of the item compared to if I was to buy from UO, H&M, PULL&BEAR etc. I also can't wait to get it on, whereas when I buy from fast fashion the idea of just having it is so satisfying that I would really throw it in the back of my wardrobe.

Thrifting helps me be more aware of what I'm spending my money on, i consciously ask myself if i need it or want it, can it be used in the long term etc. Thrifting helps me in terms of decision making, knowing exactly what I need instead of spending so recklessly.

It also sparks an eureka moment for me knowing that I have something at home to style it with to contribute to a bomb a** outfit.

Knowing that you don't have to spend so much money on clothes is a life saver itself. Living in the era of fast fashion and expensive, overpriced clothes, this definitely saves me from anxiety and I'm grateful for that. Story time: I was so stressed about not having a tie to add as an accessory and didn't want to spend double digits on a tie. After I got over the tie, I went to the charity shop and I saw a bunch of ties for £1! All that stress for what!? It was a very humbling moment for me. I put myself under so much stress, spells when alls i had to do was see.

Charity shopping has made me realise that we ourselves create our own panics and we don't even know it. Trying to keep up with trends and what everyone else is doing. NOT COOL!

I genuinely adore when my mum gives me clothes from her wardrobe, it means so to me, I loved my mums style sense as a kid, from watching her getting dressed up, she was swag to me. And now, yes she has that impact on me still, however i have my funky twist. So the fact we can can go back and forth to each other wardrobes and borrow and lend things so is beautiful and wholesome, it can really change and shape someone's day, results, everything! So soothing 😄

Final thoughts

Thrifting takes the load of fast fashion-induced issues off the environment and saves textiles from ending up in a landfill. One of the reasons, I love finding something thrifted, vintage or antique is because your home won’t look like everybody else’s. 

✨EVERY YEAR CHALLENGE✨

I challenge you to thrift more, buy what you need, invest in good pieces. 

Other than that, I'd love to hear your individual thrifting experience.