I don’t like to spend money. I would consider myself frugal in a lot of ways. I especially don’t like to pay a fortune for clothes. I understand that what I am about to say is not for everyone, and you would have to examine within yourself why you feel that way. The fact is, though, that buying used clothing just makes more sense.
Allow me to outline several ways in which I think it does:
Savings
It is considerably less expensive to buy used clothing. There is no denying that. Some may argue that they can not find what they really want in a used clothing store. That is a fair argument, but the question is why do you want those certain articles of clothing? Is it partially because you’re being convinced you need that brand or that style? As the photo below demonstrates, the other day I purchased 15 articles of clothing (and nice – in my opinion and that of others – clothing, too) for $87.41 after tax. That’s insane! In some ways, you can MAKE money from selling your own clothes, and consignment shops can be an easy way to achieve this.
The Forgotten ‘R’
Many of us recycle, or pretend to. A great deal of us even try to reduce our consumption. The third ‘R’ is the one that I think gets left behind by a lot of people. Buying used clothing is applying the "reuse" portion of the 3 R’s. The fact that no more manufacturing and resources has to go into making new clothing for me to wear is a good feeling. There is already enough clothing made right now to suit us for a very long time, I imagine, but fads, style and trends make them “obsolete” quickly. I personally don’t mind being a couple of “seasons” behind (or even years) if it means that I can help reduce the strain that clothing manufacturing takes on the planet.
The Uniqueness Factor
I find that shopping in used clothing stores leads to finding clothes that you won’t see others wearing. In many cases, this is because it is older and has since stopped being sold. Or, a lot of the time it comes from other countries and may never have been available here. If the brands are not immediately recognizable to those working (or owning) the stores then you may get super high quality clothes at a remarkably low price. I know, you’re thinking of someone who shops at these stores who dresses, in your opinion, horribly. Well, that is your opinion; it doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t find drastically different clothing there for yourself.
I Conclude
The receipt in the photo lists 15 items. Let me see what I got: 2 t-shirts, 3 short-sleeved button-up shirts, one long-sleeved button-up shirt, 6 long-sleeved outerwear, one pair of jeans and a belt. Wait, that’s 14. Hmmm…I think I may have been charged twice for something. That’s it! Never again! Oh wait, that item cost me at most $6.99 and the total was still only $87.41. I may just be missing an item, somewhere in my closet.
Have YOU found something particularly nice at a used clothing store that you’re dying to tell everyone about? Go ahead and dish! Until next time…that’s life as I know it.