Hi! I’m Kat Sturges, the scrappy second cousin of upcycling and eco art. And I want to ask you a question! When was the last time you thrifted something or otherwise shopped, dumpster dove or searched curbs for second hand goods? If it has been a while <like circa those college days when you were completely broke>, or to your party days…<Mom…I’m not speaking from experience here!>…It may have been a time or two since you shopped second hand. I started perusing ThredUP and bought a few things. Most of them were completely wrong for my overall look and body type. So I did what any good maven would do…I turned to Facebook seeking advice! Here are the tips some of my friends on there said.
Look for great items to thrift and repurpose. Don’t buy everything you are drawn to, make sure it will work! Otherwise you will just wind up rethrifting or reselling the item later.
Make a Pinterest board, or even a vision board, and pull together some images to base your search on. If you are doing preppy or boho, find a few things you love in a magazine or online in a photo search on Google. Pinterest itself also has loads of pics to chose from. Pull some together into a board, then have it handy when you shop! Base your purchases around the overall aesthetic you are going for.
Avoid buying random pieces just because you are drawn to them. Instead, try to go for an overall look. And stop and think about how that item will fit in with your typical wardrobe.
Shop material style, fabric, aesthetic, and clothing type. Choose different fabrics to pair together. If you are going boho, you want breezy fabrics that float away from the body. If you are thinking grunge, you might like oversized clothes.
Let sizing lead the way too. You just know certain things look better baggy and others look better tight. Remember that when you are shopping. If you cannot try things on at least have a vague idea what the brand’s sizing is like. If you are shopping online, do some research before you buy.
I hope this helps the next time you go to thrift! Do some research, create a vision board, or at the very least start off with a slight plan. Then go wild at the thrift shop! Worst case, you can donate things you don’t like straight back to the store. <Which I may or may not have done and plan on doing again soon!>