I know that there are some other thrifting/charity shopping/secondhand shopping enthusiasts on the forum and I would love to talk about this approach to wardrobe building. I am interested in both your abstract thoughts on the ethics/philosophy of secondhand shopping, and your practical strategies in this area.

I am a huge fan of secondhand shopping. I estimate that about 2/3 of my wardrobe was purchased secondhand, though this varies by category (in rough order from highest to lowest proportion of items secondhand: sweaters, skirts/dresses, tops, pants, shoes). Some items are from local thrift/charity shops but in the past ~3 years or so as I have developed a more specific idea of the styles, colors, and fibers that I am interested in I have turned more to online shopping, especially Ebay. From a practical perspective my major strategy for ensuring success at buying secondhand items online is don’t buy anything without knowing the measurements.

For me the pros of secondhand shopping are:

*I can build a wardrobe with more, higher quality items than I could otherwise afford.

*I can find styles and colors (and, frankly, quality) that may not be readily available at retail.

*I can add new things to my wardrobe without causing more strain on the Earth’s resources (basically the “reuse” component of “reduce, reuse, recycle.”)

*I enjoy the hunt (I find it relaxing) and the thrill of the find. I also find it interesting to find unusual, quirky items and think about the stories behind them, even if I don’t buy them.

But I see the cons of secondhand shopping too:

*It facilitates having a large wardrobe possibly with a high level of churn. From the outside, one’s wardrobe might not look different from the “fast fashion” model of consumption. To put it another way, the “reduce” component isn’t necessarily there. So, am I really walking the talk from an environmental perspective?

*Any type of item can show up at any time — floaty linen tanks in January, wool coats in July. Buying out of season is often a good strategy, but this creates the risk of assembling a collection of items that are great individually but don’t really work together as a seasonal wardrobe.

*Also the fact that any item can show up at any time facilitates a habit of shopping constantly — always looking for the next find, always thinking about consuming. (Yes, one could decide to just…not — but for me there’s definitely a FOMO component.)

I have been pondering the ins and outs of secondhand shopping since realizing through the capsule wardrobe challenges I’ve done on YLF that tops are a major weakness in my wardrobe. It occurred to me that I don’t really have a strategy for shopping for this category of clothing. (I think I’ve just sort of expected them to show up when I’m thrifting…but, partly because I’ve turned to more online secondhand shopping for toppers, I don’t go to thrift stores as much lately. So, all that has added up to big holes in my wardrobe!)

I’ll leave it there for now. I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts on the pros and cons of secondhand shopping, as well as your strategies for success. I realize there also folks who do not care for secondhand shopping at all — please feel free to chime in. But, let’s all please try to keep the discussion positive and non-judgemental.