Online Thrifting

Quarantine, but make it fashion.

We are all still living in a world of quarantine. Unable to leave the house except if it’s absolutely necessary. As an almost 19-year-old girl, I’m slowly going crazy and am constantly finding stuff to do to pass the time. A few things I’ve done include: binge watching, exercising, eating, and online shopping. A few things that I’ve picked up during quarantine include: drawing, making TikTok, and cooking.

What do I miss most throughout this whole pandemic? Other than my college friends and the sweet taste of freedom that I had in San Marcos, I miss thrifting. To fill the void, I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube thrift videos, living vicariously through them. I’ve stumbled upon videos of people online thrifting and realized that I can do it to fulfill my thrifting urges. Yes, I’ve known about websites that people can buy second-hand clothing from (ThredUp and Poshmark), but there are way more online options for thrifting than I thought.

One of my favorite Youtuber, AlexaSunshine83, made a video about buying an online thrifting mystery box. She bought a package of second-hand clothes that only states how many items of clothing (t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc.) she’s going to be given, not knowing what they look like until it arrives. She can of course choose the sizes, but everything else is a mystery. I find this to be a really fun idea, even though there’s a risk of not liking any of the items. The price of the mystery box was very reasonable and matches the pricing of most thrift stores I personally have gone to. Alexa didn’t like all of the clothes but there were a few that she fell in love with. She says that she might thrift flip the rest because they still had the potential to be something she could wear regularly.

I agree with the statement that online thrifting isn’t as fun as physically going to a shop and browsing through the racks. However, we all should be doing our part during this pandemic by staying home and practicing social distancing. Online thrift shopping will have to do for now and it’s still fun because at the end of the day, you get new clothes for a low price. Like Alexa, if you buy an item that doesn’t look so cute, try to thrift flip it. Stay safe during this time of uncertainty and keep a positive mindset. 🙂