What’s one of your key skills? Second-hand shopping.
One of my strongest skills is shopping for clothes. Let me specify this: to research and purchase clothes on online marketplaces for pre-loved fashion. I screen the various marketplaces, I “like” items, I create an inventory of intriguing pieces. I invest time, I save money.
Since time = money, I am not certain I save a lot of money. It’s easy for me to go down the rabbit hole of logging in to an online marketplace platform and spend 45–60 minutes scrolling through pages after pages. I am hooked to the process of chosing a brand I like in the drop down menu, selecting my size, and a price range. I am meticulous about the search criteria I use. My eyes scan items and zoom in on then. Within a split second, I decide whether I “like” an item ❤️ or not 💔.
Why do I do this? Am I looking for instant gratification? This is not the case. If that were my goal, I would go to the next Hermès or Louis Vuitton store and buy a fancy bag, scarf or jacket.
Ask my friends: I don’t wait in line in front of a Gucci or Balmain store for 30 minutes. I don’t put on make up every day. I don’t diet just so I can fit in a 27/30 jeans (I run for the sake of emptying my mind). Why do I spend so much time assessing pictures, cuts and price points of preloved apparel? Because a myriad of clothes combinations pops up before my inner eye. I imagine the social events where one could flaunt the most recent bargain. Searching for an item of preloved fashion on online marketplaces is an inherently creative process to me.
This also seems to apply to my friend Lesley. She loves thrifting. In March of 2019, I went to a Palo Alto thriftstore with her. Lesley likes to buy clothes at a fraction of their retail price and to wear them as long or briefly as she pleases. Lesley likes to touch and feel them. Saving money and having so many different outfit options are her two main objectives. Doing so in an affluent neighborhood like Palo Alto pays off: disregarded items from Patagonia (Lesley calls them “Patagucci”) are among her finds.
While I can relate to her need to touch and feel, I personally prefer online shopping. I don’t like the smell of thrift stores. When confronted with racks and racks of clothes, I quickly tire. I experience sensory overload. 30 minutes in a thrift store is my upper limit.
What’s yours?
