As the revival of op shopping and thrifting clothes returns to fashion, I happily endorse the movement, with no questions asked.
My ventures into chasing the consignment train started about two years ago after my introduction to the world of tertiary education.
I have now become an advocate for the movement and strongly advise anyone to try it, while saying a word or two about sustainable contributions.
Thrifting started for me during high school and journalism school.
At high school, I didn’t need to worry about my appearance because I was forced to wear a hot, itchy uniform, which I detested greatly.
I loathed putting on that uniform so much that my weekend attire was a form of anti-fashion, a protest made up of shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops, regardless of the occasion or weather.
It was a casual look, as if to present a subconscious middle finger to the compulsory restricting rules of dress imposed by secondary institutions.
When high school ended, and I started studying journalism., I no longer needed to wear a uniform and could dress however I pleased.
After a while of my basic casual and decidedly slobby look, I realised the trade called for a more professional choice of appearance.
I wore a couple of suits for formal occasions and eventually some student journalism-related stuff, such as visiting the mayor of Christchurch.
When I wore nicer clothes, I noticed a shift in how people viewed me, observing a flood of compliments.
With this new confidence, I decided to add more pieces to my wardrobe and venture to the shops to see what else I could buy.
I saw a lot of nice stuff, but the price tag wasn’t so nice.
Undeterred, I left the shops in the mall and headed for an op shop closer to home.
It was there I found a suit jacket I liked and at a price of only $10, a fraction of the cost of buying a new one.
These days I exclusively wear blazers and suits. I abstain from boring colours such as grey and black and dark navy, instead trying to find more exciting colours such as pink, or a more recently purchased tomato red jacket.
While I like the put-together appearance, I also want to stand out in the clothes I wear. This objective gets harder because coloured blazers and jackets are hard to come by, but every now and then, they do come up.
Over time, I have built quite a collection and now have about 40-50 suits and jackets.
Excessive, I know, but I do wear most of them, sometimes two or three a day.
I don’t focus on brands, rather choosing to wear it because I like it, but a trip to an op shop in Tauranga put me in front of a real treasure.
I found a Savile Row jacket which fit like a glove and would have easily been several thousands of dollars new; it was like it was tailored for me.
It’s findings like these that make me chase the thrifting addiction.
I strongly recommend jumping aboard the thrifting train and seeing what you might find.
