Here's the thing. I've been looking at "what's trending" and "what's popular" but all I get are (a) videos or (b) celebrities. Or BuzzFeed lists. So I'm just going to look up things that I find cool that I don't know enough about.
Today's topic, thrift stores.
I was out with a friend today. We had lunch and just chatted for about two hours. When things get long like that I tend to get a bit awkward or antsy... So I usually look around and such, but he didn't seem to mind at all! I actually think we're both like that.
We caught up, but he did tell me he had an appointment around three. This is another friend who didn't know I had an instant camera so I took a picture of him in front of a mural that's by the building he needed to go to. It turned out really well (in total I have only two polaroid pictures that came out well, not including that one) and then we went our separate ways.
Well, right beside this mural was a local thrift store. I hadn't been in there in ages, so I dropped in really quick to check out the books. This was my find.
I found a violin jar and a book about conspiracies! The thing about thrift stores is that they are so hit-and-miss. It is a real life example, like garage sales, that one man's junk is another man's treasure. To you, these things may not be interesting or may not have a use, but to me, they're perfect.
You see, I've been looking for a cool, cheap glass jar for a while. I fold little paper stars and straw stars and put them into all sorts of glass containers. Some of them are little jars with corks, some are star-shaped, another shaped like a bear. I have some that are actually uniquely shape wine bottles that I washed out and removed the stickers from. But I've filled them all up. I've been folding stars since I was eight, maybe younger, and over the years I've probably made over five thousand stars. I love string instruments, especially violins, so this violin-shaped glass jar that cost one dollar just made my day.
(The next is the book about conspiracies. I can't explain that. I just have an interest.)
I got to thinking how a few years back, thrift stores became this big thing. Like, with the arrival of "hipsters" came the demand for used books and thrift stores. Old fashioned, vintage items came back in to style (were they really out?) and all of a sudden, young people were going to libraries and thrift stores more than before. Has that stopped? Or did it even really begin? Was it maybe that teenagers were always going to libraries and thrift stores, but now they had a name and a presence?
I don't know. What I do know, though, is thrift stores weren't created the day hipsters demanded them. They've been here a long time, and I don't know much about them.
Thrift stores are also known as charity shops, and generally what happens--and what people know about--is that used items are donated to the store manned by volunteers, and then sold at very low prices. The profit these stores receives goes to their stated charity, like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or funding for patients of a local hospital.
(info via Wikipedia) The first few thrift stores began during World War I. It started as more of a bazaar or fundraiser of sorts as one of the earliest thrift stores, Wolverhampton Society for the Blind, began selling items made by blind people to raise money for the society. It wasn't until World War II that thrift stores really became popular as Red Cross opened over 350 of these such stores.
Now, especially with this kind of economy and with the pop culture trend of "being hipster", thrift stores are popular in entirely different sense. So popular, in fact, that there are even tutorials teaching you how to shop when you're there! Here are some tips I found:
-look for something specific. Think about online shopping and how sometimes that can be difficult because you can't "see" everything. In stores, there are a limited amount of items in a enclosed space. Online, there could be an endless amount of things--if you just follow a subject, you could be searching for hours! When you have something in mind, even roughly, online shopping becomes incredibly convenient. The same applies to thrift store shopping. Sometimes, because it's a second hand store, you may have a negative impression of a certain colour or style of clothing before really looking at it--or maybe a too positive one. Sammy Davis suggests taking pictures of certain items of clothing you already own so that you can find something to match it.
-Get Rich Slowly suggests to ignore your prejudices. Don't assume that second hand items are dirty or only there because they are "garbage". Also don't assume, though, that all things at thrift stores are vintage and hipster
-They also suggest using thrift stores as a way to diversify your wardrobe or to decorate your living area in ways you never thought of before. You can buy colours, designs, or just things you wouldn't normally pay for to experiment for cheap.
-and a lot of different sites suggested looking for familiar brands. Don't be afraid to try out new brands, but it's always a steal when you see cardigans--if you're a cardigan lover--of your favourite brands.
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