The cheapskate's guide to trendy shopping
By Lindsey Rivait
Editor at Large
September 26, 2007
 Thrift store shopping was not popular while I was growing up. Almost everyone’s moms shopped at thrift stores, but we didn’t know where exactly all of our clothing came from. If a classmate saw you with even a Bi-Way bag, you were mocked ruthlessly for being “poor,” never mind that their striking green sweatpants suit came from the same place.
Now it’s cool to be cheap—or at least it’s cool to over-spend on cheap-looking attire. Fashion designers have adopted the worn-out thrift store look into their brand new clothing lines. Fake vintage T-shirts are popular at stores like Old Navy, Hot Topic and Bootleggers. The logos may look faded and cracked, but that’s all in the screen-printing pattern. Why would anyone pay so much for a vintage knock-off? The knock-offs don’t even have the same comfortable feel that thrift store shirts do. Why have thrift stores become more widely accepted in our lives? What was once just a haven for students looking for Halloween costumes and money-conscious parents is now a meeting place for all that is chic.
Where does it come from?
In most cases, thrift stores collect their merchandise via donations or from purchasing bulk quantities from charities. For example, Value Village, which is part of Savers Inc., a for-profit thrift store chain, obtains its merchandise by paying non-profit charities for donated clothing and household items. Value Village then turns around and resells the items in their stores. The Salvation Army, another popular thrift location, has donation bins located all over the city for citizens to easily donate unwanted goods as well.
Items that are suitable for sale are displayed in the store. Other items are sent to developing countries and material wholesalers for recycling. This merchandise is then sold at local markets or shredded and recycled into rags.
Smart shoppers
 Thrift stores aren’t just for the needy anymore. The trendy smart shoppers have taken over. Some people thrift shop to find cheaper clothes. After all, why should you pay $80 for a pair of jeans when you can get the same pair for $8 second hand—and they’re already broken in!
Thrift stores have a lot of merchandise in them so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed upon spotting rack after endless rack of T-shirts, sweaters and pants. Patience is key in finding your treasure. Sometimes it’s necessary to comb through everything in the store. It can be time-consuming, but it can also be very rewarding.
You’ll find a better selection if you visit a thrift store on a weekday during daytime hours. Sale days can get crazy. If you go in the afternoon, all the good stuff will already be snatched up. All that will be left behind is chaos.
One of the plus sides about thrift stores is that there are no pushy salespeople bothering you. There is a problem in other shoppers, though. These people can be malicious. Keep in mind that other shoppers are also hunting for the perfect item, so it’s good to work quickly and scoop up what you want before someone else can grab it. It’s also a good idea to check the area near the dressing rooms for discarded items. The garment may not have fit someone else but it could work well for you.
While many items are in good condition, you should make sure to double-check seams and zippers, and look for holes. Some stores smell old and dusty, kind of like the aroma of your grandmother’s basement, so you’re going to want to wash your new items very well.
Before washing your new garments, however, be sure to check the pockets. I’ve found everything from American money to used Q-tips in pants pockets, neither of which you really want going through the washing machine.
In addition to saving money, shopping for second hand goods also helps to save the environment. By purchasing from a thrift store, one is helping the store buy more merchandise from charities. It also makes sure that these items, which would otherwise be thrown away, are reused. Buying second hand also ensures that one is not supporting companies who make their garments or items in sweatshops.
Making your own profit
 Thrift stores also attract resellers—people who buy items for cheap and then resell them to pawn shops, consignment
In addition to reselling, many people make a living scouring through stores for interesting articles of clothing and reconstructing it into something new. They then sell the reconstructed items on eBay. Such eBay fashion icons include the popular Shrinkle (a.k.a. Amy Doan), based out of California. Doan began selling reconstructed T-shirts on eBay and has moved onto creating her own designs from scratch. Her eBay selling has garnered her much attention, resulting in her running her own fashion shows and having her designs featured in such publications as Vodka Magazine, Access Unlimited, and the San Jose Mercury News.
Additionally, New York fashion designer, Yana Gorbulsky (better known as Supayana on eBay) started making her profits from reconstructed shirts before moving onto making her own designs that are worn by such celebrities as Alex Borstein from Family Guy and Lacey Buehler from the Real World. Gorbulsky sells her wares on eBay and on her website in addition to boutiques throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Taking the idea of reconstructed vintage clothing to the next level is Holt Renfrew’s label, Preloved. Preloved, founded by former model Julia Grieve, sells garments reconstructed from vintage clothing and bed sheets. Preloved obtains their materials from rag houses and then gives it a new life. The line sells for considerably more than the eBay wares, but each item is one-of-a-kind and environmentally friendly.
The spark of deconstructing and reconstructing shirts and other items of clothing comes from the DIY (Do-it-Yourself) ideas from the punk movement in the 1970s. Bands did their own recording and made their own merchandise. Costs were kept low because people made things themselves instead of going out and paying twice as much for someone else to do it for them or to buy it in a store.
The idea of DIY speaks to environmental concerns as well, going back to the idea of reusing old, worn-out items that would otherwise be thrown out and breathing new life into them.
Designer trends
 If you’re not into the thrift store scene, there are other ways to look in style. Designer jeans are now pre-frayed and faded and may even take on a brownish dirty hue. They’re bleached up the legs, worn out at the knees, and are painted to look even more broken in at the top. These jeans look like you’ve been wearing them for years, but guess what—they’re brand new! Congratulations, you just bought a brand new pair of jeans that are falling apart for $90!
Moreover, vintage T-shirts have also been made popular over the past few years. Cashing in on this trend are websites such as threadless.com and bustedtees.com who offer original designs inspired by retro ideas. Vintage T-shirts also allow us to reconnect with our past. Even if it is a sparkly iron-on transferred onto a Hot Topic T-shirt, we can still feel a little nostalgic over things like Fraggle Rock and other popular iron-on designs. Representations of old bands, cartoon characters and TV shows help us to remember the good memories of our past.
Even by walking into discount chain stores like Wal-Mart or Giant Tiger, you’re hit with ACDC, Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones logos printed on T-shirts. Clearly the majority of the people buying these shirts haven’t seen any of these bands in concert. It is important, however, that if you do choose to wear T-shirts displaying band logos or pictures from old TV shows that you educate yourself on the subject matter. Otherwise you’ve crossed over to the realm of the poser, even if you were trying to be ironic by wearing a Dallas T-shirt.
Fashion is a form of communication. By wearing vintage or novelty T-shirts, we’re inviting other people to talk to us, to make a connection with us based on what we’re advertising on our shirts. Clothing helps us display to others how we want to be seen, but we don’t want to look like we’ve invested too much in appearances alone. Vintage or even faux-vintage apparel can be the perfect match for these circumstances.
I guess what this all means is that shopping at a thrift store, or at least looking like you do, is trendy. That is, unless you actually need to buy your clothing there. For those of you looking for more information on where to buy second hand, check out www.valuevillage.com and www.thriftstore.ca.
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