The Secret Life of Thrifters
Image by Uma Gangatirkar
The sun rises, piercing the dimness of a local Goodwill. Racks upon racks of colorful clothes come into view, ready for a new day of thrifting. Thrifters, once an elusive species, now roam strip malls all over the country. They are prominent and varied, with hundreds of subspecies.
Today, we focus on a standard, casual thrifter. They enjoy the cheap prices, wide selection and sustainable consumption of thrifting. Perhaps they even get a bit of a thrill at every good find amongst rows and rows of mediocrity. Today, they enter the thrift store with a dream and a strict budget. Interestingly, as time passes, the budget becomes less and less strict.
The standard thrifter is a peaceful herbivore. They casually pick through the meager selection of clothes. Their search is not proving fruitful, with slim pickings of faded local high school t-shirts, capris and knitted monstrosities that are impossible to untangle, let alone wear. Suddenly, the light glints off a gold button—the thrifter has unearthed a treasure.
Gorgeous, expensive-looking jeans are hiding between racks of alarmingly skinny skinny jeans. They have a trendy cut, high quality denim and the perfect details that our forager has been looking for. Heart filled with hope, the thrifter picks the pants off the rack, and promptly realizes they are three sizes too large. Defeat hangs heavy on their shoulders, and they wearily start their search again, but are stopped by the telltale “ding” of the entrance of a new shopper.
Mild-mannered casual thrifters’ ears perk up at the sound of the doors sliding open, and though it sounds the same as with every other shopper, the more experienced thrifters can sense a change in the store’s atmosphere. An elusive, well-dressed shopper steps into the store. Their arms, neck and ears jingle with all kinds of jewelry—prizes from past hunts.
Seasoned thrifters recognize that this is no ordinary shopper, but a Depop Seller, a vicious carnivore known for sniffing out the best clothes and stealing them from under regular thrifters’ noses.
Our peaceful herbivore gives the Depop Seller a wide berth, moving closer to the back of the store. They begin to forage through the outer racks, but quickly retreat as another thrifter lays claim to her territory. This shopper is a Mother, with two young children clinging to her legs. She is not aggressive or tricky like the Depop Seller, but all thrifters know to give her a wide berth. Even the Depop Seller does not dare to approach her too closely—there are unspoken laws.
Once again, our forager retreats further into the store, reaching the trinkets section. Unorganized shelves hold new treasures each day, ranging from small statues of baby animals to monogrammed mugs to an absolutely ancient painted pottery container that looks like it held somebody’s grandmother’s ashes. The thrifter wanders through these aisles, picking up a clearly homemade watercolor painting of what looks like a combination of a tropical frog and a woolly mammoth. They eventually tire of these useless items, and carefully emerge into the clothing section again.
It is a busier time of day now, and countless shoppers line the long racks. Ambitious teenagers, thrift-flippers and unbothered old people mingle with the fearsome Depop Sellers and respected Mothers.
Our thrifter decides that they no longer have it in them to do this anymore, and meekly make their way to the exit. As they approach the sliding doors, a piece of brightly colored fabric peeking out from various, mid-2010s shirts catches their eye. It’s a top! It is stylish, but not trendy enough to be basic. It is colorful, but not tacky. It is casual, but classy, like it could be worn for multiple occasions. It fits the thrifter well enough—they definitely have found better, but the many defeats of the day have lowered their standards. Besides, it’s only $7. The forager happily makes their way to the cashier, and after some uncomfortable small talk, leaves with their prize. This success has overshadowed the hardships of their journey, and they will return in a week with high expectations. We can only hope that our little thrifter finds success once more.