Thrift Eye

I think it would be rather irresponsible of me to not address the disastrous collapse of the garment manufacturing building in Bangladesh, especially now that the death toll has reached over 1000 people at the time I wrote this article (since the numbers have been steadily increasing). Is getting your cheap pair of pants (or whatever) really worth all these people dying? In 1911, the US had its own disaster known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in which 146 women died after a fire broke out in their building and they couldn’t escape after their employer had done many things to secure the building against theft. Our American workers were able to unionize and be vocal against bad conditions since then, why can’t people around the world have the same right? This really isn’t a guilt trip post though – because I have been guilty as everyone else in caving into fast fashion and these dirt cheap prices in the past. But I know I have the power in my hands to change that right now.

My blog is called Thrift Eye  for a reason – and by being very thrift focused, I remove myself one step from these unsustainable garment methods and consumption. The way I and many people see thrifting, it is a form of recycling. I can go buy  myself a brand new pair of pants from XYZ store at a really good price – but instead, I will probably buy myself a gently used pair at a fraction of a price, and probably of a better brand than what I would have bought new!

There are many benefits to thrifting and buying second hand. The first and obvious one is avoiding the consumerism that  pushes these awful working conditions on people making clothes around the world. The second benefit is saving money – buying used typically saves you a fraction of what you would have paid new (although I will admit many thrift stores have gotten very greedy and charge exorbitant prices sometimes higher than new things!) A third benefit is that buying second hand, you are saving countless things from being sent to landfills! Many people have things they need to get rid of and will often throw away things they don’t need anymore – donating and buying from thrift stores stops a large portion of these things from going to the garbage. A fourth benefit is that many (not all) thrift stores act as non-profit charities to some degree. Many have different ways they give back to their community, whether it be through hiring people in the rehabilitation process, donating to larger charities, giving jobs to the developmentally delayed, providing the very poor with clothes, or other charitable circumstances (I like supporting those that impact the community). The great thing about the thrift-life is that it doesn’t just have to apply to clothes, think of all the things you can get at a thrift store!

Here is a roundup of my favorite thrift inspired posts written by my own hands! Like my favorite places to thrift in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Or my other recent post about how to mend things you thrifted that may have had a little damage. This post on how to maximize your thrifting and why I enjoy thrifting. A great photographic roundup of all the amazing things I found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. Even a silly little post about the ridiculous kinds of things you find while you’re thrifting (like a really hilarious fake Louis Vuitton bag). Or this post about the bad/obsessive shopping habits the thrifting hunts brings out of you. Very soon, I’ll be working in a ‘my favorite thrift/secondhand fashion blogs’ type of post for your reading pleasure.

But the bigger picture really isn’t only about buying second hand – it also means supporting businesses that make their merchandise sustainably and humanely in the USA or (or in other countries if they can prove it! – remember, even some brands with the “Made in Italy” labels have been caught practicing bad fashion). You can buy new, there is no problem with that – but you have to realize that many brands make a huge effort to manufacture in the United States and pay their garment sewing employees livable wages so that they can work in comfortable conditions. The easiest way is to check your ‘Made In’ label – it will/should tell you where you garment was made obviously :) but I have rounded up some brands that have made an effort to keep their brands and production (for the most part) in the US!

Splendid
Ella Moss
American Apparel - maybe you don’t agree with everything else surrounding the brand, but they keep it made in the USA
Band of Outsiders
Brooks Brothers
Pendleton
Rag & Bone
Steven Alan - can only vouch for S.A. items because the stores and website often sell other brands too
AG jeans
Earnest Sewn
JBrand
Jason Wu
ALC
Nicole Miller
Lane Bryant – seems only some things are made in the USA, check the label
Nanette Lepore - but she has mentioned that she will outsource some things to China if the same quality is reflected
Anna Sui
James Perse - looks like almost all of it is made in the USA, the tees and tops are your best bet, check the label
The Row
Wildfox
LNA
Sundry
Graham & Spencer
Citizens of Humanity
Tbags
Three dots
Current Elliott

Still there?! This is just what I was able to round up while I was able to figure out this post!

Sometimes and some of these brands can be expensive – there are people who can afford to buy these things new, some of us can’t. I like to look for things on sale just like the next person, but I often find some of these brands while thrifting too!

Remember you will always have some options like buying and wearing vintage clothing – or probably the best way to ensure your clothes come from a sustainable source, make it yourself! Many swapping outlets are popping up too (or start one yourself)!

This possibly is my goodbye letter to shopping for clothes at Target, H&m, Zara, Forever 21, and the likes (many of which I have not shopped at for years already!) When you shop at these types of places, you are enabling manufacturers and companies to keep wages low and conditions awful for these people working their asses off for your $5 shirt!

My post is an open conversation – PLEASE tell me about any more brands that are Made in the USA or if I got any of my information wrong! Tell me what you will do and change, or if you’re not changing anything at all too! Let’s figure out why it’s taken this tragedy to force companies to revisit their practices. As someone who blogs and enjoys fashion, this will be an ongoing conversation for me and I hope everyone else too. And as soon as my copy comes from the library, I will be reading Overdressed by Elizabeth L. Cline about this very subject!

One of my favorite shopping destinations in San Francisco is well away from the tourist favorite Union Square and it’s not new merchandise. Thrift shopping in the laid back Haight Ashbury neighborhood is definitely my favorite place to shop and just stroll around.

From what I have read and been told, the thrift and vintage scene is a shade of its former self – but if you make your way to San Francisco and are pining for some vintage (or some designer labels at a discount) back in your wardrobe, this is the place to go! That is not to say there is only vintage and thrift shopping in the area, there are tons of other stores and new ones are popping up once in a while. Nor that there isn’t vintage/thrifting to be done in other areas – just that these are my favorite at the moment!

All of these stores are on a short four block span of each other and you’re looking at a range of prices, but also a range of types of clothing. Some are strictly vintage, others will carry a mix of vintage, new, and gently used.

Haight Ashbury Vintage is at the iconic intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets, where the neighborhood hails its name from. I believe it used to be another vintage store a few years ago (Aardvark’s?). Being that this store is on a corner, it has bright windows to let you see all the merchandise clearly (compared to other stores that are wedged and have very limited window space from the store front). This may sound like a weird thing to observe and like, but when a store is quite dark, it’s very hard to even browse. I find the selection here to be very themed and a little flamboyant. If you’re looking for vintage that screams “VINTAGE,” this is your place.

Held Over is my personal favorite of all the stores right now. It does something that I really like – they specialize in collecting and organizing the same pieces together and in multiple choices. For example, they have a rack of just vintage striped sailor tops. They’re all a little different, some are blue stripes others are red, the sleeves will be slightly different, or the neck – but you can keep browsing until you find the exact one that suits you. And this kind of collecting is done for so many things – fur vests, denim jackets, cutoff shorts, etc! They have a great selection of vintage dresses from all eras. In fact, there are a few Downton Abbey looking dresses there now that I have my eye on for Spring. They also have a fantastically curated men’s section which includes lots of suit jackets and fedoras if you’re really into the Mad Men look.

Relic Vintage is a privately run and owned store, whose owner is a tried and true vintage lover. The store is perfectly curated by their team and not jam-packed with clothes like some of the other stores tend to be (which can be overwhelming and difficult to browse). Think of it as a boutique where the quality of the vintage can compare to even new clothes! They also have real fitting rooms, not just curtains, which in my book is a huge plus.

Decades of Fashion is relatively new location, this storefront used to be another store, and I think DoF relocated here from somewhere else on the street. As the name of the store indicates, pieces are organized by Decades – 40′s, 50′s, 60′s etc. together. This store will also have some much older pieces, and you may find things in dry cleaning bags often because they’re delicate. I find this store to be geared more towards the tourists than to local shoppers, and the prices will reflect that. But a nice place for a local to browse once in a while.

La Rosa vintage is another vintage boutique where you will find more perfectly curated vintage clothing. I’ve often heard the name thrown around in interviews and seems to be a go-to spot for vintage loving celebrities. Why? Because they offer you (mostly) impeccable vintage items. If you’re looking for a beautiful vintage dress for a special occasion, I would say this may be your place to go. The prices may be a little higher than other stores, but the quality will reflect that.

Static Vintage is that fun vintage store and always seems to be staffed by some cool laid back ladies! I feel like this is the place where you buy vintage to look on trend but not trying too hard to achieve that look. Say leopard coats are really cool right now, or denim jackets – you’ll surely find them here. They have a variety of things to chose from in spite of the store being on the smaller side compared to other stores on the street. Static is also known to carry vintage designer clothes and accessories in case you’re looking for some vintage designer pieces.

Now enter the resale stores, which are not exactly the same, and also entering their own realm (which will make more sense as I explain each store). I also think these stores are great places to take men shopping who normally don’t like to shop because there are so many different things to suit their tastes.

Buffalo Exchange was my first experience in the resale realm, and was my tried and true go-to shopping spot when I lived in Las Vegas. It’s definitely a place where you will find something if you have the budget for it! When I am ready to get rid of clothing, I always make sure to bring them here because they will buy clothes from you and give you the option for credit or cash. The selection is pretty wide – you’ll find a little bit of new on trend items that they curate across all their B.E. stores, and their resale items which ranges from high street, department store, no name brands, to a little bit of vintage. I like to think of it as a grown up version of a thrift store, minus the house stuff. The SF store doesn’t have one, but the Vegas store always had a solid rack of sale stuff that was 50% off and always worth browsing first (this store has the sale stuff mixed in).

Crossroads, as their tagline in the signs states, specializes in new and “recycled.” You can sell your gently used clothes here too. You won’t really find vintage here, unless it’s very on trend and in great condition. Crossroads carries lots of trendy new pieces, but I think they offer some of the better prices on resale merchandise.

Wasteland is an interesting mix of a store – they carry some new clothes, which I think of as music festival on trend (in comparison to the other stores’ on trend pieces which lean heavily to the girly side). They have quite a bit of vintage, but not as much as they used to. Looking for the perfect vintage tee? This is your place. They also have some of the best gently used designer clothes in the city, the prices can be high, but there are some good deals if you look often. What I really like is their selection of shoes – perfectly worn in boots to unique designer shoes, to even some brands that don’t normally sell in the US. Wasteland is also making a big footprint in the online world, and I think they’re trying to branch out with their new items online.

Last but not least, my poor little confused Goodwill. This is not your typical thrift store. I think being on Haight street has gone to their heads. I come here once in a while to find odd pieces, but I find their prices to be way too high sometimes. It’s almost offensive that a charity store tries to sell clothes for more than some of the for-profit stores do. You’ll find your regular thrift store stuff here, but they also have lots of tie-dye for those looking for their Haight Ashbury souvenir. They actually have a lot of vintage clothes, but their prices generally do not reflect the quality that you see in the actual vintage stores. Their vintage merchandise is donated, so it’s often smelly, worn, damaged, and not in style. But you can find some hidden gems in there once in a while.

I think of thrift shopping as “shopping for all seasons” because you can find anything for any occasion, style, and price point. And better yet, to have the ability to do all this on the same span of streets is amazing! Now I’m going to have to follow this post up with my favorite thrifting in the Mission neighborhood! Hope you liked this post and would love your insight on how you feel about second hand shopping, if you’ve visited any of these stores, or if I missed any (I’m pretty sure I missed one store but can’t figure out which one!).

PS. This post also corresponds with my Shopping Maps link in the header! Where I’ve gathered points of shopping interest together on a Google Map.

I’ve never made weight the center of my blog, and frankly it never will be. But I will admit that I turned away from wearing more form fitting clothes, and this also got me away from a lot of vintage clothes. I felt a little self conscious about wearing anything that was too tight. I’m quite curvy –  but as I get older, I’m growing more comfortable in my own skin. Curves and all. I’m not a model, I’m just a normal woman.

This vintage dress has hung in the farthest corner of my closet for many, many, months. I’ve stared at it quite a few times wondering if it was finally time for it to go. But as I zipped it on, I could remember why I loved it so much to begin with. It now has me dreaming of finding more Mad Men inspired dresses that accentuate my curves.

Dress: Vintage thrifted. Heels: Dries van Noten from Nordstrom Rack. Necklace: Forever 21.

Oh, and don’t mind those two photographs of me on the fireplace. I like to call those things that are supposed to be hanging but never seem to make their way to the wall.

While at work, all I could think of is that this outfit was a little too Ron Burgundy inspired, but I just went with it :)

Deep jewel tones are really starting to attract me. I love their rich colors, in fact, it makes me wish my jeans were metallic. I’m liking the colors more for my nails and lipstick too.

I’ve had this vintage top sitting in the bottom of a bag for a loooong time, it wasn’t until I got rid of all my things for eBay a few months back that I rediscovered it. It’s a little more vintage than I’ve been dressing lately, but I’m intrigued with mixing it along side other things in my wardrobe. Mainly, to wear it with a skirt, we’ll see how that goes.

Top: vintage Balmain thrifted. Pants: JBrand, from Net-a-Porter with a partial gift card they gave me. Belt: JCrew from Buffalo Exchange. Shoes: Vintage Ferragamo flats, eBay. Earrings: Topshop. Watch: Vintage Bill Blass from Alameda Flea. Bracelets: really old from Gap, I’ve had them since high school.

Not only is this the most vintage I’ve worn together in a long time, it’s also the most jewelry I’ve worn at the same time, in even longer!