The Style Conundrum

Clothing manufacture is a big polluter of our planet, yet we have to wear clothing for our entire lives.  

Clothes also wear out, so they need to be replaced too.  You can’t just buy one set o clothing to see you through the rest of your life!

So how do you become a more careful and conscious clothing consumer?  

Reading this blog will certainly help you make better choices, so, therefore, fewer mistakes, which cost not only your back pocket a lot over time, but also our planet.  Having an image consultation such as my 7 Steps to Style program is another way to arm yourself with the information you need to really make good and sustainable fashion choices too.

1. Where You Purchase Your Clothing and Accessories From
2. How long you keep your items 
3. How you dispose of unwanted or worn out items

These are just three of the things you need to consider when becoming more conscious about your fashion and style choices.

So how do you stay stylish and also only leave a gentle footprint on this glorious planet of ours?

Start with the 5 Rs of Sustainability

Reduce – Reuse – Repair – Re-Vamp –  Recycle

1. Reduce Your Impact

Consider Your Fabrics

How sustainable are your fabric choices?  As much as a cotton tee may seem like a cheap and good option, is this so?  Did you know that the environmental cost of cotton production is very high as it’s a water-hungry crop?  If you live in a drought-stricken country like Australia, you realise that water is a precious precious resource that should not be squandered lightly.

So when choosing a cotton garment, it needs to be high quality, in a garment shape, colour and style that I love, and that I plan to keep and wear repeatedly for at least 5 years.  My denim jeans that are worn multiple times a week for years are a good and sustainable cotton-based fabric choice.

The cheap tee shirt in a lower-grade cotton that will sag and stretch out of shape and then shrink in the wash is not a good one!

Knowing which fabrics disintegrate more quickly is also important, I’ve learned that anything with more than 3 different fibres will not wear as well as a garment made from fabrics with 3 or less fibres mixed together.  

But then there are fabrics, such as acrylic, that even when 100% one fibre,  wear very poorly, and your garment will be looking shabby and old within a handful of wears!  Do not bring anything acrylic into your wardrobe!

Recruit only the best

Here is another thought, one that I’m sure you’ll agree with, is that by acquiring only the right items for you  (just as an employer is keen to recruit the right employees who have the right skills and abilities for the job which they are to perform) is essential.

If you don’t think about recruiting the right colours, shapes, and styles of clothing to your wardrobe to start with.  If you don’t really consider the comfort of the new shoes you are about to purchase, then it’s post-recruitment that you suffer the consequences of a poor choice.

Shifting the emphasis from what to do after you’ve made a bad purchasing decision to one that is upfront, only bringing the best into your wardrobe will make it a much more sustainable place with so many fewer regrets!

Do You Love it More?

This is a great test to see if something is good enough to come into your wardrobe – ask yourself do you love it MORE than what you already own, as you are going to give something away (one-in-one-out) if you bring this new item home with you.  If you can’t think of anything in your wardrobe you love less than this new thing, then it shouldn’t be coming home with you!

What’s the Source?

Who is making my clothes and accessories?  How are they treated?  Am I happy to be contributing to their livelihood?

There are many lists of good and poor clothing manufacturers which you can look up to see who is naughty and who is nice!

Will It Need Special Care?

Does a garment require dry cleaning or some sort of special care?  This is adding additional environmental and time costs to it  – the dry cleaning chemicals, the time and effort to hand wash – how will this impact on your wear of the garment?  If you’re anything like me, you may choose not to wear a garment, knowing it has special cleaning care requirement, and so decide that the garment is “work” and so ends up unworn in your wardrobe, even ironing for one people stops them from wearing a garment more frequently).

2. Re-Use What You’ve Got

You certainly don’t need a new outfit for every special occasion. Why do we think that we do?  Are we so worried to think others will think less of us if they see us in the same clothing more than once or twice?

It’s great that even fashion icons are now lauded for wearing the same garment and accessories more than once in public!  Vintage is fashionable and sustainable too.

Wear it Again and Again

How many ways can you think of to style the same garments?  So many of us wear the same clothes just one way, rather than seeing if we can find multiple ways to wear them, in different combinations and outfits – giving them a much greater lifespan and use than they would otherwise get.  

I love to challenge myself to put together new and different outfits with what exists already in my wardrobe (shopping your wardrobe) and you’ll see the same garments appearing in outfits over multiple years here on Inside Out Style.

3. Repair What’s Broken

Instead of throwing out, because your sweater is a little pilled or a hem has come down on a garment, can you repair it?  It’s not hard to sew on a button, make a small alteration and to fix that zipper that keeps coming down.

4. Recycle What You No Longer Love or Wear

Pre-Loved Shopping

This is a great option for giving clothes that were not wanted by one person a new life in another’s wardrobe.  Making decisions more quickly about your purchasing mistakes and letting items that can’t be returned to their source  to the world of thrifting and or resale will ensure they get more love and wear, than holding onto them in your wardrobe or a long time before letting them go.

Remember fashion is like milk, it goes off over time, so allowing your fashion mistakes to be someone else’s fashion finds more quickly will ensure they have a more sustainable life.

5. ReVamp

One of the things I often look at when doing a wardrobe audit and assessing clothes, particularly those that have been loved and that are no longer fashionable, I think about if there is a way to update them, to revamp them into a more modern shape or style (particularly if there is still good wear left in the fabric).

Often a dart here or there, and an altered hem, or a change of buttons can make an older item look like new again.

Upcycling

If you have the talent, that means, the imagination to upcycle older pieces of clothing, this is a great way too to help build a more sustainable fashion future for us all.

Thrift store shopping can be fun and you can cop a lot of things you’d never expect to find. If you are in FL or TN, check thrift store in Panama City Beach, FL. They help men overcome drug and alcohol addiction by offering inpatient services at Haven House Addiction Recovery. Support a great organization while doing some sustainable shopping!

As the days get longer, we tend to be more energized to get active and accomplish things. Spring cleaning is the best way to take advantage of that sudden spurt of energy and get your home ready for the warmer months ahead. Spring cleaning is the time when many homeowners deep-clean, declutter and organize their entire home. Things that you probably don’t do regularly, like store seasonal clothes or wipe off all the kid’s toys, should be on your spring cleaning list.

The Marie Kondo KonMari decluttering method is still a popular style after gaining popularity last year. This method declares that many of us have material items that don’t add value to our lives. When following the KonMari tidying up method, you must hold each item in your hand and assess the emotional attachment to that item. Does it bring you joy? If so, you keep it. If not, you donate it.

There are many ways you can organize and declutter. If you have small children, you might want to store clothes that they’ve grown out of and make a list of new items they might need. In the kitchen, it’s finally time to throw away the loose lids and broken cups. Need a deep-clean of the carpets? Now is the time!

Benefits of a Clean Home

If you’ve ever cleaned your entire home on a Saturday and subsequently felt like you could take on the world, there’s a psychological reason for it. According to a recent CNN article and licensed psychologist Michael Tompkins, we get a mood boost from “mastery activities,” or tasks that give us a great sense of accomplishment.

In addition, physical clutter can actually become mental clutter. According to the article, clearing out visual clutter is known to reduce stress and open ourselves up to making clearer, better choices in all areas of life, including relationships, health, and our career. Essentially, we’re in a better position to reach our potential when we’re not surrounded by clutter. This is why you feel like you could achieve anything when you’ve accomplished a day of decluttering and cleaning.

Whether you believe in the psychological benefits of spring cleaning, there’s no denying the benefits to your home. As you live your life throughout the year, it’s natural that your house accumulates a bunch of stuff, including layers of dirt and germs. Most people clean their homes regularly, but things like baseboards, windows, and deep-cleaning of appliances tend to get put on the backburner.

A once-yearly deep clean not only gives your home some much-needed love, but it’s also a time when many homeowners do small repairs. Taking care of those small repairs will ensure that your punch list doesn’t keep getting longer.

When to Start

The spring season officially begins on March 19 and lasts through mid to late June. There’s no exact date that tells us when spring cleaning should officially begin, but it’s called spring cleaning for a reason.

First, determine how in-depth you will go. What’s your plan? Will you do a quick and simple spring cleaning? Or is this the year to get out the touch-up paint and go all-in with a total home refresh? Either way, keep in mind how much cleaning and organizing you want to do. If your list is long, it’s probably best to start as soon as you can. You may have to dedicate a few weekends to finish the job.

It’s also a good idea to start scheduling any professional services now. If you’ll be having your carpets professionally cleaned, get that on the books so you have a date to work towards. Window cleaning and household cleaning services will likely also be booking up around this time. This is a helpful resource if you’ll be donating several carloads of boxes or any large furniture pieces.

Once you’re ready to clean and organize, the best method is to go room by room. Starting in the bedrooms where you might have to spend more time organizing and decluttering is a great way to give you some momentum. Tackling those larger projects, like the kitchen, will give you that greater sense of accomplishment.

As you go through the house, having a plan will ensure you are not left with giant piles of stuff around the house with no energy left to finish the job.

• Everything should have a designated “home” so cleaning up is easier
• Use baskets or bins to add storage (you can find these at Goodwill)
• Keep a donation box or pile in every room and then consolidate at the end
• Do the baseboards all at once (it’s not fun, so just get it done)

Simple Hacks

Some years, all you need to do are a few simple things to give your home a refreshed spirit. For those who live in an apartment or condo, anyone who recently renovated their home, or germaphobes who always have a spotless home, your spring cleaning will go by fast. For those looking for quick hacks to make their cleaning easier, here are a few tips:

• Open windows throughout to circulate fresh air
• Make your own all-purpose cleaning solution
• Use a Magic Eraser for baseboards or stubborn scuffs
• Use empty pantry boxes to store smaller items, like instant oatmeal packets and loose tea bags
• Disinfect your cleaning sponge by heating it for a minute in the microwave
• Use a halved lemon to get rid of hard water buildup on bathroom or kitchen faucets
• Designate a spot for everything in your house
• Find small baskets and boxes at a thrift store for organizing drawers (if they’re out of sight, they don’t have to match)
• Wash your pillows in the washing machine

Pre-Spring Cleaning Tips

There are some things you can do to get your house ready before you begin spring cleaning. Prepping your spring cleaning tools will ensure you can be efficient and sanitary as you’re cleaning.

• Have your household cleaning supplies ready
• Get boxes or bags ready to collect trash and donations
• Schedule professional services
• Make sure the essential systems of your home are functioning properly (HVAC, sprinklers, gutters, window locks, etc.)

Drop off your spring cleaning donations at a thrift shop in Panama City Beach, FL. There are 80+ community locations where your no-longer-needed items can be dropped off, which in turn gives new life to clothing and other items that would otherwise be thrown away.

Have you noticed that every thrift store and neighborhood Goodwill smells the same? And that the clothes also smell the same? With the help of science, we got to the root of why. (And we have tips to help you get rid of it.)

That vintage store smell: We all know it, that musty, grandma’s attic-y smell that licks your nostrils the moment you cross the threshold of any vintage, consignment or used clothing store, no matter how high- or low-end. Where does it come from? And more important, how do I get it out of my purchases when I get them home?

John Mahdessian, owner of Madame Paulette, a dry- and specialty-cleaning concern in New York that restores high-end vintage garments, says of that smell, “It’s a musty odor, a smell of decay. It’s funky!”

Katie McDonnell, owner of Nomad Vintage in Manhattan’s East Village, differentiates between good and bad vintage smells, and steers clear of buying anything that falls into the latter category.

“Good vintage smells a wee bit musty, but more like a whiff of wool or your grandmother’s attic,” Ms. McDonnell said. “Maybe just the slightest hint of a cigarette smoke from a party; more like a life well-lived than anything gross.”

Vintage items that truly reek, she warns, “can, like bad-smelling food, portend all sorts of other problems — damage, moths or other bugs (shudder).” She also notes that the garment may simply be made from a fabric that retains odors, holding onto them stubbornly even after washing.

But what makes those smells so universal? To find the answer, it turns out, we must only turn to Depeche Mode’s 1984 classic, “People Are People,” because that smell? That smell is us.

The Science of Vintage Smells

Modern prophets though they may be, Depeche Mode can take us only so far in explaining why should it be. Enter Science. Specifically, the analytical scientists at Procter & Gamble. P & G, the parent company of Tide, Gain and Downy, devotes no small amount of time and research dollars to the issue of awful smelling clothes, or malodor, as it’s more formally known.

I sent a bundle of vintage clothes I purchased at random to be tested at the P & G labs. Mary Johnson, a principal scientist at Tide, explained the testing methods: “Each item was placed into a headspace sampling bag and sealed. Then, using an automated headspace sampling system, the bag was filled with nitrogen to equilibrate at room temperature for two hours before headspace was collected onto a thermal desorption unit (TDU) tube packed with 35-60 Tenax-TA adsorbent resin. The headspace samples on TDU tubes were analyzed via thermal desorption in a chromatography mass spectrometry system. Chemical identification was performed using mass spectral libraries.”

Did you follow all of that? Me neither. Essentially, they put the clothes in a big resealable bag, shut it up, pumped it full of some nitrogen and then did a bunch of tests on the resulting gas to determine what the smells were coming from.

Here’s what they found: 12 of 18 of the key malodor molecules that contributed to the bouquet of that vintage smell were derived from body soils, which is a gentle way of saying your skin, your sweat, your oils. Distressing! But, perhaps, not nearly as distressing as the list of odor descriptors that accompanied the compounds. Sweet, sour, oily, herbal. Fatty. Whiskey, nutty, cheesy, sweaty. Stinky feet. Fermented. Bready.

The source of the remaining compounds that made up that vintage smell were environmental contaminants like car exhaust, gasoline, dry cleaning solvents, food and perfume or, as the team at P & G put it, “the odor molecule peaks form a record of the odors” that the garments were exposed to over its life.

So How Do I Get Rid of It?

When it comes to removing that vintage odor, machine- or hand-washing is ideal. While it may be tempting to outsource the work to a dry cleaner, it’s a temptation you should resist. Dry cleaning is simply not as good at odor elimination as wet cleaning, and that’s especially true when it comes to odors caused by perspiration and other body soils.

Mr. Mahdessian explained that “cleaning and odor remediation are two different processes. Cleaning will remove all residue dirt and debris from textiles of most compositions whereas odor elimination involves either masking, encapsulating or changing the molecular structure of the odor molecule that attaches itself to the fiber.” Ms. McDonnell said she had not found dry cleaning to be effective in removing strong odors. Her advice? “If it smells bad, don’t buy it unless it will hold up to a rigorous washing.”

There are some best practices to follow when laundering vintage clothing, or anything that’s especially rank-smelling. Machine washing will be the best choice for most garments, and if you go that route, stick with cold water, don’t overstuff the machine and opt to air dry the clothes, or machine dry using the no- or low-heat setting. High heat drying can amplify lingering smells.

That vintage store smell, complex and bready though it may be, can certainly be removed from your clothes. The bigger challenge is to force your brain not to think about what this means your clothes will smell like when they turn up in a vintage store 30 years from now.

Do you want to explore unique crafts and home goods? Visit thrift stores in Panama City Beach, FL to get the desired goods at one place.

Excellent Reasons for Shopping at Thrift Stores

Many of us donate items regularly to thrift shops. We do it because we want to support the associated cause, help others that may be struggling to stretch a limited income, or we just want a charitable deduction for our tax return.

A recent article in a Sedona, AZ newspaper pointed out that many tourists that return annually frequent the local thrift shops. In addition to the usual reasons for thrift shopping, many looked for items that weren’t available back home. They found items in Sedona that they couldn’t get at home and they found them at a discount, to boot.

Thrift, resale, second-hand, consignment shop, or whatever you call it, here are 10 reasons we should all shop at thrift stores.

1. To Support Charitable Causes

Many thrift shops are operated by charitable or non-profit organizations. Local churches, hospitals, and private schools often have resale shops to support their causes.

We know that donating items to these organizations will help support them. We can support them even more by shopping there, too.

True, not all resale shops are associated with a non-profit; some are actually for-profit businesses, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t use them. Many for-profit thrift stores do share some profits with local charities, and even if they don’t, they do prevent usable from going directly to the landfill.

2. To Save Money

People with limited financial resources often use thrift stores and re-sale shops to stretch their budgets. Isn’t frugal living a good idea for everyone? Why should anyone pay more for something than they have to just because they can? Instead of paying full price or even a sale price for a new item, you might get the same or similar item at a resale shop at a steep discount.

If you cut coupons, hunt for deals, buy in bulk, or have other frugal habits, doesn’t it make sense that you would also look for bargains at a charity shop? Money not spent—regardless of where you don’t spend it—is money you can save for other goals or use for other expenses.

3. To Reduce Waste and Help Save the Environment

According to definitions by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, salesclerks at thrift shops have “Green Jobs.” That’s right: These are environmentally friendly jobs since these stores collect and recycle items that would otherwise be waste.

When people donate items which others purchase, they are keeping these items out of a landfill. Everyone involved is helping the environment. The items purchased can be reused or new uses can be found for them.

My son’s girlfriend will take old ties and create fashionable purses with them. Those old Father’s Day gifts get recycled into something beautiful and useful.

4. You’ll Find Gently Used or Never Used Bargains

The items my wife and I donate are gently used and still have plenty of life in them. We donate them because we don’t have a use for them anymore. Some people donate items that are essentially new, occasionally still with tags on them.

The are countless stories of people buying high-end clothing or accessories at a resale shop at a fraction of the cost of buying new. You can get the status item without the status price.

My wife found a used Janome sewing machine for $15 in a second hand store. $20 for a new bobbin and a minor repair and she had a sewing machine that would have cost several hundred dollars new. Unlike the new sewing machine I bought her when we were first married, she actually uses this one.

5. To Buy Items You May Not Use Much

Have you ever needed an item for a special occasion or a job but didn’t want to purchase it new? If you’re having a party and need a punch bowl or a few large platters, or if you’re looking for a special tool or small appliance, check out the local resale shop. Yes, you could try to borrow it from your neighbor, but he is still mad because you didn’t return his drill for three weeks the last time you borrowed it. You could try renting the item, but someone has to have it for rent, and renting isn’t always cheap.

At your local thrift shop in Panama City Beach, FL, you may be able to pick up that item at a fraction of the cost of purchasing new or renting. When you are done with it, you can lend it to your neighbor or donate it back to the resale shop.

6. One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure

People like to browse at thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, and auctions for hidden treasures. A crystal vase, a valuable painting, an expensive watch, or some other hidden gem could be hiding among all of the everyday items in the store. What the donor may not have recognized may be your chance to score a real treasure.

We have a friend that collects Fiesta dinnerware. It is expensive to buy at Macy’s and could be very costly to get a set of 6 or 8 place settings. By regularly picking up a piece or two at auction, a couple more at a flea market or resale shop, she has cobbled together a large set at a fraction of the cost.

7. If You Forget Something on Vacation

Ever go on vacation and forget to bring something? Maybe you got there and realized the weather was warmer or colder than you expected? Perhaps you even planned on just picking up an item at your destination rather than lugging it from home? Admit it, we’ve all done it.

Often, we’ll just run to the first store—any store—and purchase something we don’t like, something that’s an ugly color, doesn’t really fit, or worse yet, isn’t on sale. Why not check out a thrift store for that light jacket or sweater you didn’t bring? Need a dress or a sport coat for an unplanned dinner out? Check a resale store before you pick up a new item.

8. To Find Unusual Items You May Not Find Near Home

Items that may not be common in your hometown could be common and inexpensive where you are vacationing. Maybe you live in a warm climate but would like to pick up a nice sweater or long sleeve shirt: Check out a resale shop the next time you travel in the north. Items common in the desert southwest are not easy to find in New England. You’ll find a larger selection of used skis in Colorado or Vermont than you will in Florida or Texas.

9. To Buy Exercise Equipment

Thrifts, resale shops, and consignment stores are full of items originally bought with the best of intentions. Exercise equipment is a good example. Retail stores know that everyone makes New Year’s resolutions and many of them are related to exercise and weight loss. New exercise equipment goes on sale in December and January to take advantage of these good intentions.

People buy this equipment with the intention of starting the New Year off with an exercise and/or weight reduction program. You know as well as I do, these plans often fall by the wayside. The exercise equipment is left to collect dust or piles of dirty clothes. The odometer on the exercise bike sits frozen in time at 7 miles. Eventually this equipment ends up at a resale or consignment shop. This is your opportunity to pick up good, nearly new equipment at a fraction of the original cost.

10. To Resell Items for Profit

Entrepreneurial shoppers buy used items to resell on internet sites such as eBay. Thrift shops and consignment stores can be great sources for bargain items that can be resold for much more.

Savvy buyers use their smart phones to research the item they are considering purchasing. It’s easy to research the value of any object, whether you are buying it for yourself or for resale. Your smart phone can give you that information instantly and on the spot.

In addition to not overpaying for an item, a little research helps you to calculate value where others can’t see it. With a small repair, a new coat of paint, or a little sprucing up, an otherwise worthless item can be made into something of value that you can resell.

Surplus and Salvage

If you can’t find what you want or what you need at a thrift shop, you can always try a wholesale club such as Sam’s or Costco. But, an even better (i.e. cheaper) option may be a surplus and salvage store. These stores sell essentially “new” merchandise that they obtain from closeouts, bankruptcies, salvage, insurance losses, etc. The inventory of these stores is constantly changing, and if the store is part of a chain, each store in the chain could have different merchandise.

Marden’s is a chain of surplus and salvage stores throughout the state of Maine. My wife and her friends that sew love to browse there for fabric that they can purchase at very low prices. They can spend hours in one store and then head off to another because the selection is completely different.

Bottom Line: Know What You Are Buying

Just because you can get something cheap doesn’t mean you should buy it. You should always know exactly what you are buying and purchase items you are familiar with. If you know about crystal, art, or expensive clothing and accessories, purchase these when you find a great deal. For items you are not as familiar with, use your smart phone to help determine the value.

Be cautious when deciding when and where you meet a stranger if the transaction has to be carried out in person. If you are not comfortable giving our your charge card information or paying cash for the transaction, PayPal may be a great option or both buyer and seller.

If you know what you are buying and it is a great deal, go for it. Don’t delay. My wife saw a large set of sterling silver flatware at a consignment store offered at a great price based on the price of silver. She decided to wait, think about the purchase, and check back at the store later. She went back a few days later and the silverware was gone, sold to a person that recognized the value and didn’t delay.

Edelawit Hussien is one of those people who manages to put together incredible looks every. single. day. When I walk into the office, I see Ede and think, without fail, “Damn. That’s such a good outfit.” The 22-year-old has many titles, among them producer at Milk Makeup, filmmaker, and unofficial DJ of our office birthday parties. For the purposes of this story, however, her most relevant title is thrifting genius. As an admittedly impatient and hapless thrifter, I knew from the second I met Ede that I needed her guidance, and being the generous icon that she is, she was more than willing to share with me and you.

When did you start thrifting?

I started thrifting when I moved to New York to go to NYU. There were so many thrift stores around the campus in the East Village. Tokio 7 was LIT. I haven’t been there in awhile, but I remember them having really good Comme De Garçons and Junya Watanabe. And then there was also the Beacon’s Closet that’s really close to Parsons. There is so much good thrifting in the city, so that was a great area to get my start.

What’s your technique when it comes to thrifting?

I think it’s really difficult to have too much of a plan when thrifting. You can’t really restrain yourself in terms of time — it’s a lesson in patience. I will say, though, that I’m not the type to go to those huge, mega thrift stores and sift through things for, like, hours. I have a certain amount of patience, but not enough for that. I like going to stores that are a little curated and that pay attention to the particular kinds of items that their customers are going to be looking for.

Take me through your favorite vintage spots and finds.

I recently travelled through Europe and I made a point to go to thrift stores in every city that I was visiting. Out of all of the things I did in each city, thrifting was so nice, because you’re getting to know people [from that city].

When I was in Stockholm, I had a few friends take me to this thrift store called Humana. It was a bit curated and definitely targeted towards younger customers. I bought this bright pink puffer jacket by some Italian brand. It’s still under debate whether it’s pink or red, actually, but I was super happy that I bought it. I spent twenty minutes asking my friends whether or not I should get it, but I’m so happy I did.

Then, when I was in Berlin, a friend of the friend who I’d stayed with in Stockholm took us to this place called PICKNWEIGHT, which is curated, but as big as one of those massive thrift stores. I think it was in Kreuzberg. That whole neighborhood had a lot of cool thrift stores. I really took a lot of time in there because it was racks on racks on racks. There was a section where you could fill a whole bag, weigh it, and pay. I was looking for a white ‘60s bag and found this amazing one in the three Euro bin. I feel like you could buy a whole wardrobe out of that store and the pricing was super good. Berlin is a very affordable city. The thrifting is well-curated, but not marked up.

We then went to Paris and I went to this thrift store across from the Supreme store in Le Marais and it was A1. They were playing Young Thug and I was like, “Wait, what’s going on?” That thrift store is tiny, and it’s definitely more expensive than the Berlin stores, but the selection was so good. I got a tweed skirt there. It had a matching jacket, but I didn’t get it, which I’m mad about. I might have a friend who’s there right now go back and get it for me — it’s the whole look that matters!

What’s your technique when it comes to thrifting?

I think it’s really difficult to have too much of a plan when thrifting. You can’t really restrain yourself in terms of time — it’s a lesson in patience. I will say, though, that I’m not the type to go to those huge, mega thrift stores and sift through things for, like, hours. I have a certain amount of patience, but not enough for that. I like going to stores that are a little curated and that pay attention to the particular kinds of items that their customers are going to be looking for.

What are your essential thrifting tips?
1.) Don’t rush. If you’re the type of person who’s easily swayed by other people’s opinions, this is something to do by yourself. I personally don’t like going to museums with other people, and thrifting is like that for me, too. If someone tells me that something looks good on me, I’ll buy it and then have buyer’s remorse. So I go by myself and it’s kind of therapeutic for me, to just look through a bunch of stuff and then find my golden ticket.

2.) Don’t go in with a plan or a goal of finding a specific, particular thing. You can’t have this narrow idea of what you want because it just doesn’t work that way. This is why thrifting is a great metaphor for life. You have to work with what you find. If you are looking for something specific, don’t be afraid to go on a website like Etsy or Depop, because they’re actually very good and I’ve found great deals on there before.

3.) Be willing to go to smaller stores. When a thrift store blows up, it’s hard to find the good things. There’s one that I know of that’s super lowkey, but I’ve found the best things and it’s just in a basement in Bushwick. Be willing to check out the small businesses rather than the chain thrift shops.

If you’re someone with an eye for good deals, you can purchase high-quality items at thrift stores in Destin, FL and get the better deals.