Media Room
Members of the media please feel free to use the following infomation and photos, as well as the information on other pages of this site, for promoting The Secondhand Wardrobe and Secondhand Wardrobe Week.
Long Bio of Cheryl Gorn, author and founder of Secondhand Wardrobe Week
Cheryl Gorn is the author of The Secondhand Wardrobe and the founder of Secondhand Wardrobe Week. She is an experienced secondhand shopper, having purchased her first thrift store bargain in 1977. She is also a textile artist who taught herself how to sew when she was four years old. Cheryl is a former museum professional with a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from The George Washington University. She spent part of her working life researching, caring for and creating exhibits about historic clothing. In 1996, she founded and currently owns and operates an educational consulting firm that teaches social studies through hands-on textile art workshops.
Short Bio
Cheryl Gorn is the author of The Secondhand Wardrobe and founder of Secondhand Wardrobe Week. Her passion for fabric and clothing began at the age of four when she taught herself how to sew. She is also a trained museum professional who spent the early part of her working life researching, caring for and developing exhibits about historic clothing. She currently creates textile art pieces and also teaches special programs that combine fabric art and social studies.
Photos
Click the images below for downloadable high-resolution jpgs.
Everything that Ms. Gorn is wearing in these photos–from her sterling and copper necklace and earrings to her Salvatore Ferragamo boots–was purchased secondhand.
Author Q & A
1. What is your book, The Secondhand Wardrobe, about?
Secondhand stores have a variety of goods. The trick is to know how to find the great stuff and leave the rest on the rack. The Secondhand Wardrobe quickly teaches people how to do just that.
2. You write that great clothes wind up in used clothing stores. How does that happen?
It happens all of the time for a variety of reasons. People gain or lose weight or get new jobs and need different clothing. Most people have no place to put the new clothes unless they get rid of what no longer suits them. Also, children outgrow their clothing so quickly that parents often have to get rid of barely-worn items. The too-small things must go to make room for clothing that fits.
3. Most people aren’t crazy about shopping at thrift stores. Are the deals so good that it’s really worth it?
The prices vary a great deal. I not only buy used, but I also look for thrift stores that have the best prices and then wait for sale days. I used this strategy recently and bought twelve items from the same store for a grand total of $21.24. That’s an average of only $1.77 per piece. Along with tee shirts, sweaters, jeans and a hoodie, I also bought a silk shirt designed by Christian Lacroix. When I got home from the thrift store, I did an Internet search and discovered that this silk shirt has a retail price of $300.
4. Is being good at finding thrift store bargains what qualifies you to write this book?
I am good at it and have been shopping the thrifts since 1977, but that’s not what makes me an expert. Everything that I have ever done in my professional life has had to do with fabric and clothing. I make textile art and create and teach educational programs that incorporate fabric and social studies. At an earlier point in my career, I was a museum professional and was responsible for historic clothing collections.
5. In The Secondhand Wardrobe you call used clothing a stylish choice. What do you mean by that?
If I had to pick one word to describe the thrift store shopping experience, it would be variety. Charity thrift stores, which are the focus of my book, usually sell whatever is donated to them. That includes everything from worn-out work clothes to exquisitely hand sewn items that hung in somebody’s closet for decades. It’s up to the thrift store shopper to choose well and to use their own taste to combine items in interesting ways. Used clothing is a stylish choice because style is about making your own aesthetic decisions regarding what you wear. Thrift stores are great places to practice making those decisions because there are so many reasonably priced items to choose from.
6. Did you grow up wearing used clothing?
No, I didn’t. My family had very little money to spend on clothing when I was a kid, and the few items I that had were purchased new. Because I was a growing child who tended to spill food on my clothes, a great deal of my childhood was spent wearing clothing that was either too small or stained.
7. I understand that you created Secondhand Wardrobe Week. What’s that about?
There is a pervasive notion in America that only truly desperate people buy secondhand clothing. I used to hold that belief myself, and it kept me outfitted in shabby clothes while I was a kid. If I’d known that wonderful clothing was available to me, even on my skimpy childhood allowance, I could have had something decent to wear. The point of Secondhand Wardrobe Week is to get the word out that used clothing is a great resource for people who have just a few dollars to spend on their wardrobe.
8. In The Secondhand Wardrobe you write quite a bit about how used clothing is a good choice for the environment. Could you explain why?
First of all, when you buy something used, you are helping to keep it out of the landfill. That reduces solid waste. Also, at every stage of fabric and clothing manufacture, harmful chemicals are used. Whether it’s pesticides that are sprayed on cotton fields or formaldehyde that’s added to fabric so that garments are wrinkle-resistant, there are environmental consequences. Those of us who buy our clothing used are not contributing to the problem.
9. What’s next for you?
I’m writing a book about using fabric to teach world geography to kids. I know that sounds really different from secondhand shopping, but if it has to do with fabric, I like it!
Contact Cheryl Gorn for more information
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