Never Look a thrift horse in the mouth. Part 2
Thrifting. Why I do it, how I use it in my business, and why it's important.
Continuing on from last blog, I am talking more about clothing this week. Like I said in my last blog, I may have started with clothing but I did more "heavy thrifting" with interiors and housewares. I had a little vintage shop for a few years and it was the main reason I thrifted so much. When I rebranded and came away from "Ruby Thursday Home" and became "Lindsay Mills the stylist", it came with the big questions of "What is working and what isn't?" Well as much as I loved to thrift and find the items to sell, it took a lot of my physical and also mental space. The act of finding, cleaning, photographing, listing and then packing and selling became too much for me. Considering I do more than one thing, something had to go. Funny thing is, I never thought I would thrift for clothing so much with my rebrand as photo shoot stylist yet here we are.
I'm gonna a pop some tags.
Thrifting for rare designer goodies is not exactly my goal. My goal is to make my client look fly AF on a budget. I keep the clothing after the shoot so it can be repurposed for another shoot so it is essential that it is an affordable business expense. I wanted to create an amazing look with pieces that were cool, rare and one of a kind. This is where thrifting is top shelf. I am finding pieces that typically get forgotten about, things that are super trendy is not what I'm looking for. I'm the one looking for the cool sleeve, theamazing texture, the interesting cut or amazing fabric. These requirements make for added interest in photoshoots.
Below is a teeny example of fully thrifted fits for photo shoots. All of these images taken by my pal Emilie Iggiotti.
Thrifted Clothing Check list:
1. What is the Material? ( yes, the same first question as furniture) Is it something that will pill like a poly/cotton blend? If you can, try to stick to pure materials like cotton, linen, flax, wool etc. The blends can tend to be cheap and not the best wear long term and many washes. BUT, if there is spandex blended in, it may mean you have some extra give in the item of clothing and it might be easier to fit.
2. Has it been washed a bunch? If it looks like it is shrunken, then make sure it will be long enough in the torso and arm length in shirts. Especially in menswear.
3. Length of pant legs? Hold it up to your natural waist and see where it hits your shoe.
4. Length of the inseam? How long is the fly? Pants can be deceiving and they tend to be a lower rise than you think they will be. Find the place in the crotch of the pants where the seams come together. Take that spot, hold it up to your own crotch and check the lengths.
5. Waist ? Will it fit? Take the pants off the hanger. Button them and then hold the waistband's side seams in each hand and drape them around your neck, like you're putting on a necklace. Or, you could put the pants around your neck like you're putting on a cape (with the side seams coming together in the front). You can gauge if the pants will fit your waist by seeing how much the pants overlap.
6. Hips? Will it fit over? My concerns are that I have dumps like a truck. My thighs and bum are larger than my waist. To figure this out take the pants and find where they are widest in the hip area. Measure this part across your chest, from shoulder to shoulder. Are the pants just slightly wider than your shoulder span? Then the pants will fit your hips.
7. Dresses are most tricky because custom ones often end up at the thrift store. So they are tailored to the person who Got the item. My best tip? Go thrifting in leggings and a sports bra or tight fitting tank top. Wear slip on shoes so you can get in out our items. try it on right in the store. Covid created a whole new concept of no change rooms and no returns. Only exchanges. So if you can try on in the store, do it!
3 of my Favourite Fashion Thrifters
Get inspired by these accounts!
Beth is the epitome of a fashion icon!
Bridget on Tiktok has amazing fits!
All things made with thrifted and vintage materials!
Well that was fun! Thanks for reading all things thrifting. I'll be back soon to share about all the new things coming up for me and my business!
