Thrifting gains popularity, teenagers find cheap, fun clothing

by MaKenzie Hilling, Student Life editor

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

Several people are shopping in this thrift store. Photo by Unsplash.

Thrifting has come back in season due to many people on tik tok, a popular social media app, taking videos of them and their “hauls”. Hauls are a vlog of a person explaining what they got and what they will use it for. Many of these hauls are for DIY projects. However, some are for the hunt of cute, but cheap, clothing. A lot of different things have fallen under the trendy category over quarantine; however, thrifting was popular way before then. Many aesthetics require thrifting in order to find very specific things, like oversized hoodies or even corsets. Thrifting has given people outlets to find inexpensive clothing to upgrade their closet or even change their aesthetic.

The general audience for thrifting is teenage girls. Some do it due to its popularity, but many do it in order to find things to fit a certain outfit. Lauryn Queen (11) says she looks for “comfy clothes,” ones she can wear to dress down to school in. Sydney Lithiluxa (12) usually looks, “in the men section for oversized hoodies or t-shirts.” Most girls that have been asked have said they prefer to shop in the men’s section to get cute, vintage sweatshirts or sweaters. However, Sydney continued, “recently I’ve been finding really good pieces in the women's section like camis and cardigans,” a switch from the normal. “I also love looking through the accessories and purses because they’re really cute and affordable.” Ava Battistelli (12) is another teenage girl who enjoys thrifting. Ava likes to look for, “different and unique clothes,” while she shops.

A big trend among many influencers on social media is DIY-ing their thrift finds, like hemming a pair of long pants or making oversized shirts into dresses. Thrifting is another creative outlet for many people, they can choose to design things or to make them into a completely different thing. Lauryn likes to “put rips in [her] jeans,” as a way to loosen them and make them cuter. Ava, when choosing to DIY something, will ask her “little sister to do it.” However, Sydney chooses not to “diy anything [she] gets unless it’s cropping a shirt, but [she] want[s] to get more creative with her finds.” When shopping at these stores, some people look for things they can specifically diy in order to make a cheap dupe or to make a unique piece that only they have.

Although thrifting is popular now, many believe that it will only be in the spotlight for another couple of months. When asked if she thinks thrifting will die out, Lauryn elaborated that thrifting is, “a hot topic and will stay because previous generations have thrifted and you can still find cute clothes for cheap.” Lauryn’s mother and grandmother still thrift to this day, and she goes with friends around twice a month due to the pandemic. Sydney thrifits, “about 4-5 times a month, but I think it’s really hot for teens currently because of social media.” She believes that, “it will go away once the new fad comes around.” Ava goes out around “3-4 times a month,” she thinks, “thrifting is popular and will stay around because it’s fun and cheap.” There are mixed opinions on if thrifting will continue being the norm for many people, but as of right now, thrifting isn’t going anywhere.

New trends will always come and go, but during quarantine so many people found thrifting started to become a hobby. It allows for an easy and cheap way of having fun with your friends while also upgrading your wardrobe.