Category — Judging Secondhand Wardrobe Quality

March 3, 2012: Go shopping at a charity thrift store and you’re sure to find everyday clothing such as tee shirts and jeans. But you never know what other spectacular items may be waiting for you as you sort through the stacks.

It’s easy to shop for clothes at Sears and come out with a boring wardrobe. Generally, those of us who love dressing secondhand don’t have that problem, but there are other style dangers that lurk when we go out sniffing around for used bargains.

 

For one, we have to be vigilant in avoiding clothing that’s stained, torn or looks worn in other ways. That means carefully examining all items before plunking down your two dollars and fifty cents. For another, and I don’t know how to put this delicately, no clothing has the potential for being as goofy looking as clothing from a thrift store. There are so many strange things at secondhand stores, from sweaters with massive 3-D Christmas trees to MC Hammer balloon pants. Don’t get me wrong—I love goofy, but a little goes a long way.

I enjoy subscribing to Bazaar (a women’s fashion magazine) especially since it costs only $10.00 to have twelve issues delivered to my doorstep. All those pretty pictures give me new ideas about what shapes and different combinations of colors and fabrics might be flattering to me.  

When Bazaar arrived last month, my first thought, before cracking it open, was, “I’ll bet they’re going to tell me that the gigantic, trendy, tote-like handbags that they have been pushing for the last few years (the ones that can cost thousands of dollars) are now OUT of fashion and should be replaced by a little clutch purse. My theory was based on the fact that the oversized bags are both unwieldy and extreme in terms of style and that I’ve seen little clutch purses show up whenever I read about fashion lately. I turned to the last page of the magazine, which is where they have a synopsis of what’s IN and what’s OUT, and sure enough, it stated that little embellished clutches are IN and oversize totes are OUT.  

The fashion magazines are constantly trying to dictate what we all should be wearing. Of course they are. They stand to profit if we buy what they tell us to. What confuses me is why anybody listens to them rather than developing his or her own sense of style.  

Fashion is dictated while style has to do with knowing what looks good on you and sticking with it, even if it’s not trendy. Style is much more daring than fashion because it’s about finding your own path instead of listening to what other people tell you to wear. 

Even though the dictatorial trendiness of Bazaar as well as other fashion magazines annoys me, they do provide me with some new ideas about clothing. I then approach yard sales and thrift stores with those ideas, which I translate into my own style.

I conjured up a pair of beautiful, Italian, buttery Salvatore Ferragamo boots the other day. I imagined myself finding ankle boots, in brown or cordovan leather with some interesting design detailing. My friend and I were nosing around consignment stores when I saw the Ferragamos, in my oddball, skinny foot size. They were on the ½ off shelf. With some new heels, they’ll last me for years. My Internet search tells me that they would run around $1,000 new. My price was $25.00. I’m generally bigger on the rock bottom, cheapest of the cheap thrift stores than I am on consignment shops, because the consignments usually charge much more. But a $1,000 pair of boots for $25 is a fantastic price by any measure. So hooray for the consignments! 

I’m back to New York City this weekend, and will make a point of visiting a few of the really expensive department stores. I do this once or twice a year. While I’m strolling through Bergdorf’s, I have a peek at the inside of the some of the wonderful designer clothing to see how the seams are finished. I also check out how the fabric feels and I try to pinpoint what little details make the pieces more interesting than what I’d find at the less pricey stores. My purpose in snooping is to educate myself so that when I’m rooting around the piles at my favorite secondhand haunts, I can recognize quality. Even though I started making clothing way back in junior high school, a periodic visit to the high-end stores keeps me up on new fabric, construction technology and styles so that I can examine any potential bargains with a discerning eye.