Gen-Z has made a significant impact on the world, the essential one being that they aren’t afraid to be themselves and set new trends. Thrift stores, which are vintage stores that sell secondhand items for a cheaper price, have recently gained popularity through social media and Gen-Z’s impact. Thrift stores’ unexpected rise in popularity has posed a question for many fashionistas: Could this be the beginning of the end of fast fashion?
Senior Blessindia Danurwenda, who’s been thrifting for three years, states, “I’m not really, like, a fashion person, but I like thrifting because it helps the environment.” On why thrifting has become more popular, Danurwenda explains, “Vintage pieces have become more popular, along with reselling becoming more popular because a lot of people make money that way. There are also online thrift stores like Depop, which have become popular. With that, there’s a lot of clothes in the world because of COVID and, like, that was peak fast fashion stuff, so now people are reusing and remaking those clothes.” Danurwenda’s favorite thrift store is 2nd Street in Costa Mesa. When she’s thrifting, she “usually looks for leather jackets and anything from the 90s.” Ing Chean Taing, who’s also a senior and has been thrifting for two years, remarks, “I really like to thrift because now in our time and day in our economy things can be so expensive, and I feel like thrifting is a gateway for people who are into fashion but can’t afford clothes today because of how pricey they are. Your trash can be someone else’s treasure.” Taing thinks thrifting has risen in popularity because: “I feel like people are now finding out that instead of buying something firsthand at full price, they can buy it secondhand for less money.” Taing’s favorite thrift store is DeeLux at Orange Circle, and when she’s thrifting, she looks for vintage jewelry.
Thrift stores can have many benefits, a main one being that they are environmentally friendly and affordable. As thrift stores climb their way up the social ladder of fashion hierarchy, they threaten to diminish fast fashion and consumerism.
