Teens and Thrifting

It's sometimes difficult to get kids in a second-hand store once they reach a certain age, and shopping in thrift stores for a teenager is a different experience than shopping there for yourself. I was a teenager before thrifting was cool, but my Grandma was the Goodwill queen and used to get so excited when she would find me a Guess sweatshirt or Nike sneakers. I guess I caught the bug from her at some point.

Lydia has been forced to accept purchasing some of her clothes second-hand. It's still occassionally a struggle to get her to even look around a store, but in the end it pays off, and since she was voted best dressed in her middle school last year she's come around a lot more and realized that the uniqueness of her wardrobe is a good thing. There are some things you can do to increase the likelihood of your teen wearing used clothing.

Stay in Touch. Read Seventeen magazine, browse photos of teenage stars, pay attention to what other kids are wearing. Pay particular attention to what older teens are wearing. When you go thrifting you don't have to look for the same brands or exact same styles, but you'll recognize what's outdated and what's worth a second look.

Be Willing to Buy Certain Things New. For instance, Lydia is seriously picky about jeans. In my opinion it's difficult to find cute jeans that are "on trend" in a thrift store. About twice a year I will buy her a couple pairs of jeans from American Eagle or Abercrombie. I particularly love American Eagle because their jeans don't seem to fade as much as otherse and will last all year. Both of these stores have sales at the beginning of the school year and around Christmas time where the prices will go down quite a bit.

Check the Date.  Something can be a brand name, but if it's 10 years old your kid won't wanna wear it. Most clothes will have the year or season/year printed somewhere on a label. Try to stick to the past two years.

Check the Condition. Number one problem with clothes that goes unnoticed is shrinkage. You'll see a cute top but it's way shorter than it should be. This could be because the top is old, or just because someone washed it in hot water and threw it in the dryer. There's no way of fixing this, unlike a missing button on loose hem.

Shop Often. It takes longer to build a second hand wardrobe than it does to go to the mall and spend an obscene amount of money on new clothes. Be prepared to stop into your favorite thrift store often.