June 30, 2021
When to thrift
Hi there! It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged for Arc, I missed all of you!!! I hope all of you are having a great start to your summer and enjoying being with friends, family and the outdoors post-quarantine! So what have I been up to….let’s see here. Well, I can tell you that I’ve been working with a lot of clients that have been struggling with their wardrobe post covid. A lot of people were laid off when covid started. A lot of people then started their own businesses during covid. A lot of people discovered themselves including weight gain (quaran15, am I right?) AND weight loss! I think a lot of people took this time to really discover themselves in and out, overall. So with that, now I’m working with these people.
Retail hasn’t been the greatest. Either buyers really honed in on the quarantine, casual wear life because no one knew that we would have a vaccine by now or buyers honed in on the boho 90’s vibe so everything is made up of ruffles and most likely is a crop top. For people over 30, this just doesn’t work. Especially for people who are going back to the office, going back to the office in a new managerial position or they’re starting a new job at a new company. This type of look just doesn’t work.
Then there’s the people who have a whole new body because they started working out during covid and then there’s people like me who gained weight because we were cooking like crazy (if you guys even knew what I cooked up during quarantine – delicioso!) And let’s not forget about the people who have discovered themselves in a whole way – the beautiful LGBTQ community 💘
The point to this is that everyone went through something. Something that changed them and now it’s time to embrace that journey. But how are you supposed to embrace it when you can’t even step outside in your new position or your new look when there’s nothing in the stores?!? That’s where thrifting comes in! Here are 3 scenarios of when to thrift:
Weight Loss or Gain – You’ve gained weight but your goal is to start losing it. You need to cover yourself up for the time being somehow, right? However, you don’t want to pay the hefty price tags for brand new clothes. That seems stupid. Go thrifting! It’s an inexpensive way to get by. And who knows, you may even come across a piece that’s a size or two smaller that you will want to wear for later 😉 Or maybe you’re like me where you gained weight and you’re embracing it in a good way because you just feel good! People like us need to find clothes to fit our new body and look. Maybe we’re discovering a new style to embrace our new life too! Why spend money on a bunch of clothes when you don’t quite know what your style is?!
Now if you lost weight, most of the time you’re discovering yourself as a whole. You’re trying to figure out your new body, how to embrace it, just overall figure out your new style, just like I mentioned above! But again, you don’t want to pay the hefty price tags of brand new clothes if you don’t even know what you like! Discover your new style with thrifting. If worse comes to worse, you donate it back or you give it to a friend in which you would probably only be out $5-$7 bucks!
New Life Transition – At Arc’s Value Village we fight for all human rights and that includes the community of LGBTQ (Happy Pride Month by the way 🌈). This is a big deal when someone comes out as their new self. Just like weight loss and gain, they are discovering a new style to embrace and go along with their journey. We actually just worked with a transgender who is also going back into their old office now that it’s safe to do so. All the while, they’re going to be getting top surgery the following month. So what is a person to wear to the office when their body has changed and will be changing A LOT more in a month? We took them thrifting! Why? Because we just needed to have a few pieces to get by for that month so what was the point of spending a ton if they couldn’t wear them after their surgery? There wasn’t. And you know what? We found them so many outfits for around $200. Meanwhile in the mall, all of it probably would have come to $1000+!
Workwear – Like I mentioned in the beginning of this blog post, there is barely anything in the stores – the stores in the mall that is 😉 Buyers pick out what’s going to be in the stores way ahead of time, it’s actually crazy to be honest. So I really think that the whole world didn’t know if we would still be quarantine or not. So all in all, buyers had already bought spring and summer wardrobe when we started to get vaccinated so everything you see out there is casual wear. And there’s actually not a lot of color (for those of you who know me personally, you know that this is driving me nuts – I LOVE color!). I think it’s because people don’t gravitate to an ultraviolet t-shirt when they’re just going to be working from their bed all day; they’re more likely to grab a darker color since it’s more loungey.
There also isn’t a lot of business wear. I think, too, we all thought that the attire was going to change once we went back into the office. Some companies, yes. Some companies, no. There are also just those positions in corporate america where certain people will always have to wear a suit – i.e lawyers, executives, etc. And did I forget to mention that there are no blouses for us ladies?!
So obviously you can tell that I’ve been shopping around for this type of attire for the last few months. I’ve tried shopping online, but I always tell my clients that we’ll probably find more stuff at Arc…and we do! Every. Time! So when there isn’t anything in the stores that’s a specific look you need and you literally HAVE TO get something, you know where to go 😉
With all this being said, if you’re new to reading my blog posts – I’m one of the personal shoppers at Arc’s Value Village! Yes, Arc has a personal shopping service…..AND IT’S FREE!! So come pay us a visit! We are offering in-person appointments (which yes, the fitting rooms are open now) as well as virtual. And it just so happens that our availability is up through July. You can learn more here: https://arcsvaluevillage.org/shop/personal-shopping-service/
Hope to see you all soon!
-Melissa
MHstyleconsultants.com / IG: @MH_style_consulting / Facebook @MHstyleconsulting