My Story as a Thrifter
Growing up one of my favorite things to do was go to the local thrift store with my mom. I was the youngest of five so saving money was always a bonus. But it wasn’t just about saving money, it was about the hunt. My mom would find the most spectacular things for me. I honestly thought it was her superpower. It’s almost like she could just materialize the perfect pretty pink shoes or a fun book I had wanted. Soon I started to find things here and there. Things for myself and soon things for others. It became my favorite talent and as I got older I got better at it. I loved personally picking and finding things for myself. I had a list of what I wanted and as if by pure will most things on my list would materialize (the power of positive thinking my friends).
There was nothing more exciting than going to lunch at Wendy’s with my mom then going to the thrift store and searching. Not every visit was successful but it sure was fun to look around. It allowed me to be absorbed into a timeless world. I was surrounded by things from so many decades, tastes, and people with stories. Somethings were older than me by decades. It was fun to wonder about who would own that couch from the 70’s or those old cowboy boots that look like they were worn by a real live wild west cowboy. It was so much fun to just try on funny outfits or crazy gaudy dresses I would never wear. It was like my own personal wardrobe to experiment with and play dress up in. I just always thoroughly enjoyed myself every time I went thrifting. Plus finding something you wanted was so much sweeter since you had to work to find it. It felt like a victory and filled me with giddiness every time I found something I adored.
As I shopped at thrift stores I started dressing differently than others around me. I didn’t care about what was in, if I liked something or wanted something I would search until I found it. My closet was a place of many decades and genres. People at school started to take notice of my very stand-out clothing pieces that seemed almost like a one-of-a-kind compared to what you saw in stores. Mom always raised me to never be ashamed of saving money and wearing thrift clothes.
So when people started to ask where I got my clothes, I told them with a sense of pride about where and how much I got it for. I can still hear my younger self “ I got this at DI for 4 dollars, awesome right?” Soon friends of mine wanted to go thrifting because they liked my clothes so much. I soon became the thrifting queen of our friend group. Everyone claimed that I was a lucky charm and that they only found good stuff when I was there. To this day I still love to go thrifting with my mom and finding treasures.
Listed below are links to some of my favorite places to thrift and my personal Instagram so you can see all the that fun clothes I've thrifted!
https://www.instagram.com/rosieoposie/