Love
it or hate it, shopping is an intrinsic part of our culture. From a young age
we are bombarded with advertisements enticing us to, “try this” or “buy that.”
It is easy to spend all of your money when you live in a society that tries to
convince you that your life can be improved through three simple installments
of $19.99. Sometimes we have to take a step back and ask ourselves, “Do I
really need this?”
As
a society, we often fall into the
trap of thinking, “Wow, I have really worked hard this week. I should treat
myself to________.” You fill in the blank. It can be anything for anyone.
Parks and Recreation said it best with their episode about treating
yourself to the finer things in life.
yourself to the finer things in life.
For me, the blank is clothes, which can be a slippery slope. In this post I want to share with you the best kept secret to clothes shopping- thrift stores. You’re probably thinking this isn’t a very good secret, after all everyone and their mother has been to Goodwill. The thing is Goodwill, although a great resource, is not the only thrift store. For example, just in Knoxville alone there are all sorts of creative thrift and vintage stores like Nostalgia, which is my personal favorite. The point is, don’t rush off to Urban Outfitters to buy the newest trend when you can go get a more original item for half the price at any thrift store.
I
understand that some people are really put off by the thought of buying clothes
second hand. This is all well and good, unless you’re on a budget. Now, if you’
re someone on a budget and you’ re saying this, than it is time for you to don
your big girl panties and face the facts. You can go to any flagship store in
the mall and pay $60 for a cashmere blend sweater, or you can go to Goodwill
and find the exact same thing. For example, I went to Goodwill today and found
a cashmere blend Ann Taylor sweater for three dollars. That’s right. Three.
Freaking. Dollars. What’s that? Pics or it didn’t happen?
Boom.
The moral of the story is, don’t feed the commercial industry anymore than you have to. You will be just as happy wearing a $3 cashmere sweater as you would be wearing a $60 one.
I completely agree with what you are saying here. It is impossible for us as humans to completely say no to things that are continually thrown in our faces such as “better” clothes, “nicer” shoes, a fancy dinner, and so on. The way to satisfy some of these urges while not putting a hole in your pocket is shopping at thrift stores. Yes, I have found many clothes that are a little off putting but like you said, you can really find some treasures there!
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