Don’t Buy Retail

This week, I visited my local thrift stores after work. 

I first stopped by Crossroads Trading which is around a 5 minute walk from my house. I usually don’t have any luck at this store but this time was different.  I checked out their jean section and I was surprised by their selection. There were loads of pairs of Levi’s 501s and 505s, both are in style at the moment. But I also found 3 pairs of Acne Studios jeans and a pair of trousers from Bruno Cucinelli. The Acne jeans probably retailed for around 400$ each and the Bruno Cucinelli trousers probably were 800$ at the very least. All pieces were under 40$. While it was tempting, the style wasn’t what I was looking for. 

Then I hit the jackpot, I found a pair of Jil Sander+ Regular Fit Selvedge Denim jeans. I searched it up online and they retailed for $1200, here, they were only 60$. They were in perfect condition, the silhouette was exactly what I was looking for, though the waist was a bit loose. Nonetheless, I’m a sucker for Japanese denim, I had to get them. Right after, I brought them to Frank, my tailor, and he said he can easily bring in the waist for 40$. I basically got a pair of perfectly fitting Jil Sander jeans for 100$. 

I went thrifting again later that week to fill in the rest of my Summer wardrobe gaps. I found a Rag and Bone black button-down for $20 (retails for $250), a You Must Create camp collar shirt for $15 (retails for $200) and a vintage Ralph Lauren relaxed fit button-down for $20 (retails for $100+). 

Hauls like these are why I don’t buy retail clothing anymore. Almost 80% of my wardrobe is either thrifted or from vintage stores. Some of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe that I wear often I thrifted for like 5% of what it would sell retail. Not only is it significantly cheaper to buy second hand, but they’ll also be unique pieces that no one has, and buying second hand is more sustainable than buying new from retail.