The Problem with "Just Go Thrifting"

What "Grandma Clothes" really means

The recent Twitter hullaballoo about the ethics of Doordash (for those lucky enough not to be there for this: is it elitist to patronize Doordash, or is it ableist to criticize the patronage of Doordash?) got me thinking about another recent discourse topic: thrifting.

This happens every now and then, especially when ethics of fast fashion companies like Shein comes up. Inevitably, when people criticize Shein’s unethical practices, those who patronize Shein will say that this is their only way to buy clothes because they can’t afford anything else. Then, their critics will respond that this assertion is absurd because they should “just go thrifting.” The Shein-buyers will retort that thrifting doesn’t have good clothes and it’s all “grandma clothes.” Then the thrifting advocates will respond that grandma clothes are heckin’ rad and post photos of extremely curated thrifted outfits with “grandma flair” that look like this:

Both of these people are (perhaps intentionally) being obtuse. Because the thrifting advocates have to know that the “grandma clothes” they’re praising are actually very hard to find at in-person thrift stores unless you dedicate lots of time to thrifting. Thrift stores are not full of chunky kitten embroidered sweaters, maxi denim skirts and chunky leather mary janes. They’re actually full of ever-so-slightly dated business casual clothes from Ann Taylor’s 2013 spring summer collection. If you need to find an unremarkable but presentable outfit to wear to a job interview, thrifting actually achieves that goal pretty well. But most of the people in these conversations are people who care about fashion and who want interesting clothes.

Don’t mistake this for me defending Shein. Shein sucks. But if you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to thrifting, and you don’t live in a cool city with lots of thrift stores, you’re unlikely to find anything good there. People who shop at Shein aren’t doing so because they’re down to rags and burlap sacks and need clothes to merely cover their bodies (and they often present their plight as if this is true.) These people are shopping at Shein because they want fashionable clothing. (Now, I don’t actually think the clothes from Shein are that cool, ethics aside, but whatever. I acknowledge a lot of people do.)

This reminds me of another thrifting debate that’s equally obtuse. People take issue with Depop sellers who thrift and re-sell at a high price because they’re taking all the good thrift store inventory. People who work at thrift stores will respond with “Who cares? Trust us, we have TOO MUCH stuff on our hands!”

Again, they are talking past each other. Much of what’s in thrift stores is garbage from a fashion standpoint. The Depop sellers are taking the fashionable stuff- even if by “fashionable” we mean retro and quirky “grandma clothes” and not the latest trends. What’s left at the thrift stores, is…well, stuff like this:

I’m aware some TikTok girlies could probably rock these and make them cool, but for the other 99.5% of the population, this stuff will look bland and dated. It won’t be their personal style, and they’ll likely get sick of wearing it pretty fast and give it back to the thrift store, the proverbial It Follows of clothing.

Note: Personally, I’m fine with Depop sellers doing what they do- precisely because it’s so difficult to find cool stuff at thrift stores. They’re curating and I would happily pay a premium to not have to search thrift store racks for hours every week.

So what’s someone to do, if they want cool clothes but think Shein is unethical and crappy quality, but correctly surmise that in-person thrift stores are mostly full of clothes that substitute teachers on Pretty Little Liars would wear?

Now, before I give my recommendations, I’m going to caveat that all of these recommendations involve some degree of consumption. But if you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know I’m not interested in purity tests, and I think you can have some ethical standards like “don’t buy Shein” without going full ascetic. So here are my recommendations:

1. Buy clothes on clearance: This is somewhat of a time commitment, but you can buy clothes nicer than Shein clothes at the same price if you just track clearance sales and take advantage of apps like Lyst which will track price drops.

2. Depop, Poshmark, Thredup, Ebay, etc: You might wind up paying more than you would for clothes at an actual thrift store, but it’s much easier to find what you want, you don’t have to dedicate absurd amounts of time to it, you’re not contributing to overconsumption and fast fashion. This is also a much easier way to find the true “grandma clothes” that are actually cool as opposed to your great aunt’s Chico’s cruise wardrobe from her vacation in 2011.

3. Sew your own clothes: This one is extremely time-consuming, and does involve buying things (fabric, thread, a sewing machine, etc.) but if you have no hobby other than scrolling various media, and have specific tastes in clothes, it’s worth a try. I sew some of my clothes but mostly use this hobby to sew clothes for my kids. You can buy deadstock fabric or even use fabric from thrifted clothes in large sizes to make stuff for yourself. Obviously it’s not easy, but it can be fun.

So hopefully this advice helps someone. In an ideal world, none of us would have any desire for anything and none of us would consume anything and we would all exist in a perpetual drum circle of happiness, but in the real world we like our cute little outfits.