secondhandwardrobe.com » Secondhand is Better than New

Another Take on Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Cheryl — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:54:53 +0000

I recently dropped one pant size and had to replace all of my jeans. For around thirty dollars, I bought six pair at my local thrift store. That’s less than I would have paid for any one of them had I bought them new.

Except for a few tee shirts, everything else in my closet still fit. For people who lose a more significant amount of weight, shopping at used clothing stores can be a real financial lifesaver. As we near the end of Secondhand Wardrobe Week, I suggest that you have a look at this article by Julia Hillegass. She describes how secondhand stores helped both her wallet and her wardrobe when she was facing similar clothing challenges.

All Malled Out

Cheryl — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:34:01 +0000

The other night, after months of really bitter cold, my husband and I broke down and went to the enormous mall (we’re talking 1,700,000 square feet of retail space). Neither one of us likes going to malls because the point of them is to part people from their money. But on this particular night, we really needed to get out of the house. Because of the extreme cold, there weren’t a lot of choices.

It had been so long since we’d visited this place that I’d forgotten about the volume and variety of stuff being sold. Stuff for your home, stuff to wear, stuff to cook with, and especially stuff for bored teenagers who spend a lot of time wandering around the mall learning to become consuming adults.

On my regular thrift store jaunts, I’m constantly scratching my head, wondering why so much barely used or brand new clothing winds up there. The rare trip to my local mall reminds me that other folks have very different spending habits than I do. Will the recent downturn in the economy start to change that? It certainly has for some people, but that’s another topic for another day.

Meanwhile, I have to admit that I succumbed to the temptations of the mall on that cold night. I bought one book from the dollar store.

Old Friend

Cheryl — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:20:30 +0000

63 Years Old & Still Going Strong!

I bought a used vacuum right after my husband and I got married, 22 years ago. The vacuum was already 41 years old at the time. It set me back $35.00 and worked wonderfully up until a few weeks ago, when it started consistently breaking new belts. I hauled it out to my car and took it to one of the few repair shops in town. The service cost much more than the vacuum did when I bought it, but was less expensive than buying a new one. And of course, that’s what the repair shop people wanted me to do—buy a new one. They tried to sell me when I first walked into the store and again over the phone before they fixed the old one.

Aside from it costing more to buy new, I just hate the thought of filling the overcrowded landfills with anything that still has use. Now that it’s been fixed, the vacuum works like a charm and has plenty of good years left. The next time it needs to be repaired I’ll be shopping around. Not for a newer model, but for a different repair shop.

Let Someone Else Enjoy It

Cheryl — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:58:57 +0000

The other day a friend of mine asked me what she should do with her daughter’s wedding dress. The marriage was brief and unhappy. The daughter doesn’t want the dress, of course, and the mom, my friend, also doesn’t want it, but it’s been hanging in her closet for years now. She’s been hoping to give it to somebody who could really use it.

I suggested that she donate it to a thrift store, where lots of people can try it on. It’s much more likely that someone who needs the dress, loves it, and just happens to fit into it will discover it there than if it stays in her closet. She can get those bad memories out of her house, get a tax deduction and provide the thrift store of her choice with something that they can sell.

Talk to the Kids

Cheryl — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:34:52 +0000

I was one of those teenagers who really suffered because my family couldn’t afford to dress me like the other kids at school. I wasn’t picked on because of it, I just felt uncomfortable every single day. I wish I’d known that there was an alternative so inexpensive that even I, a kid with just a teeny bit of my own money, could have afforded it.

Now I jump at the chance to speak to groups of teenagers about how they can find wonderful clothing at thrift stores. The kids never have much to say. Some of them are grossed out by the whole idea. But I’m sure that some stay quiet because they don’t want the other students to know that they wear used clothing.

I’ll keep giving these talks because I understand how valuable it is to know that you can dress well even when your finances are tight. I also keep hoping that some of the kids will learn that donating is a much better alternative than tossing still-good clothing into the trash.