Thrifting is the New Trend

By Mya Miller
Lion’s Roar Staff

As soon as you type “th” into the Youtube search bar the first thing that will pop up is anything
thrifting related, and that’s because it is a new and very popular trend.
Thrifted items used to be known as useless, used crap, but recently there has been a new craze for
thrifting in American fashion. With a little bit of patience and motivation thrifting is where affordable and
amazing clothes can be discovered.
Anything can be found in most thrift stores, including clothing, shoes, decorations, furniture, books,
jewelry, accessories, and so much more. The most popular thrift stores across America include Goodwill,
Savers, and The Salvation Army.
In recent years, the rise of thrifting can be credited to social media influencers scouring through
thrifting locations. Videos of these influencers thrifting through secondhand shops have been showcased
on camera, along with pictures of them wearing their newly thrifted items. There have been so many posts
on all different types of social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and so many others.
They share their thrifting adventures and notable finds with America’s newest generation, the Gen Z’s.
These rising influencers have spread the news of thrifting’s unique charm and value to their fan bases,
and have gained a massive following.
According to an article, “Why Thrift Store Shopping is the New Trend” published by
MoneyLogue.com, “People are sharing their thrift store finds with videos such as the twenty dollar thrift
shop challenge, where one must buy an entire outfit at their local thrift shop for twenty dollares or less.
DIYers and crafters are participating in the five dollar Goodwill challenge, where they purchase an item
for five dollares to incorporate into their seasonal home decor.”
One of the most popular thrifting influencers is YouTuber Lauren Riihimaki, from “LaurDIY.” The 26
year old is a fashion vlogger and DIY specialist. Lauren has been producing thrifting/DIY videos since
December 1, 2011. Since then she has grown to almost nine million subscribers!
Lauren has created her own thrifting series on YouTube, including three videos titled, “Thrift Flip:
Thrifting in LA’s Best Beach Thrift Stores,” “Thrifting in Celebrity/Kardashian Neighborhoods,” and
“Thrift Flip Haul and DIY’s in LA’s Biggest Thrift Store.” In each one of these videos Lauren vlogs her
thrifting adventures, bringing her subscribers with her to thrift stores all around Los Angeles, California.
She thrifts at beach thrift stores, “bouji” thrift stores, retro thrift stores, the biggest thrift stores in Los
Angeles, Goodwills, and many others. After thrifting she will show viewers her haul of thrifted clothes,
and will DIY some of them herself. At the end of her videos she will model her original creations for her
viewers, and show us how she would match it with other clothing pieces to create an outfit.
Lincoln High School sophomore Alexandra Seale is a thrifter herself. “About fifty percent of my
closet is thrifted,” Seale said. “I go thrifting usually once a month, mostly because I don’t go clothes
shopping often. Although, when I do go shopping, it’s always at thrift stores.” One of her favorite thrift
finds is a black oversized sweatshirt, with a Rhode Island car race competition logo on it. Another one of
her favorite thrift items is a Paramore band t-shirt.
During these hard times online thrifting is a great substitute for store thrifting to keep healthy and safe.
Some of the best online thrifting apps are Poshmark, Mercarí, and Thredup. These apps are easy to use
and are filled with so many second hand items.