Thrifting In The City

I’m not sure if I’ve ever made it clear on this blog, but I love thrifting. Thrifting, or vintage shopping, is better for the environment and better for my bank account.

Disclaimer: I only thrift in very specific ways. I never go to the Goodwill or the Salvation Army because if you just want to shop you should avoid those places, since you run the risk of gentrifying them and making it more difficult for low-income consumers to buy clothes. I also rarely donate my clothes since they often end up in landfills in other parts of the world, so I sell them on Poshmark in order to guarantee that they are placed in an individual’s hands.

As far as the environmental claims go, wearing clothes made from non-virgin materials is always better for the environment and slows down mass consumerism (CBS This Morning reported that it takes 2,000 gallons of water to make a single pair of jeans, which, according to the United Nations, is how much water your average person drinks in seven years. 2,000 gallons of water for one pair of jeans. I can’t even fathom that amount of water, much less that amount going to something as inconsequential as a pair of jeans. Tell me that thought doesn’t make you want to walk into the woods and denounce all of society).

*Me, dancing around the dressing room of the consignment store in my hometown. Yes, I bought the dress that I’m wearing*

However, if you buy clothes second hand at a slightly more high-end store, you are being an ethical consumer. My blue velvet pants that are stacked with buttons, my black sequined pants, and my other pair of black sequined pants, were all thrift store finds. I practically lived at the consignment store near my house back home, which is how my impressive collection of jackets in South Georgia came to me over time.

Alyssa and I set out to go thrifting in the city one Friday afternoon, playing great music all the way through. L Train Vintage and Buffalo Exchange are down the street from one another on the Upper West Side, tucked between a few weed dispensaries. L Train Vintage and Buffalo Exchange are the two famous vintage shops in the city that everyone I know partakes in, not to mention is popular on Tik Tok.

We spent a few hours browsing through the racks and shelves, trying on countless outfits like a fabulous, badass vintage Calvin Klein dress, that I put back on the rack after I decided not to spend $45 on it.

I can now thank these two places for my new golden tank top and five dollar geometrically-patterned crop top from a brand that usually retails in the hundreds. Ah, the magic of buying clothes second hand.

*The aforementioned crop top, being worn out of the house for the first time*

Next stop was a place called Naruto Ramen a few blocks away for a perfect meal of curry and sake. Sitting there, you watch the chefs make your meal directly in front of you. It’s a pretty typical New York place where you’re seated wherever you can fit. I always loved the cramped booths of major cities, how you are practically part of the conversation taking place right next to you, but you shouldn’t dare join in on the conversations going on around you or else you’ve invaded someone’s personal space in a city where there is no such thing.