I’m Jake Hounds, and this is One Thousand Words or Less
EPISODE 7: All my Clothes are Used
In most circumstances from a ballet recital, to dinner out, to going for a run, or just lounging around the house, I am wearing used clothing. That is, clothes that I bought used at a thrift shop. I have dressed my kids that way from babies through teens, and I am a wizard at finding those thrift store gems.
When I think of all the times I have visited a thrift store over the years it’s hard to pin point the first. But for sure it was during high school, when me and my band mates were inspired to find the coolest and most outlandish outfits to wear onstage, in between part time jobs and algebra tests.
We would go to the Salvation Army thrift store, arriving all bright and shiny, like new pennies rolling off the train from our suburban enclave forty-five minutes and a world away. The store which was near a men’s shelter, a church with a food outreach program for the needy, and a whole row of pawn shops, was home to realities that seemed fictional to our innocent outlooks. It was just gritty to us, like a music video by The Clash.
The Sally Ann, and the Goodwill around the corner, wouldn’t have even been on our radar had it not been for older groovsters at our school, and specifically one who went by the rock name, Dirk Dynamite, (we all had rock names back then). One day Dirk showed up wearing a mailman shirt with patches on it. We thought it was the coolest thing ever, and we had to check out the source.
So there we were, rosy cheeked middle teens, digging through bins of used clothing looking for that perfect rock star ensemble, while John Howard members shopped with paroled inmates for clothing to wear to a job interview. We were oblivious to those realities, and must have seemed like a gang of spoiled children to people who were actually in need. Back then, the only people shopping for clothes at thrift stores needed to be shopping at thrift stores.
This is not to say people didn’t buy used clothing. Vintage stores were already in vogue, and in artsy neighborhoods you would find curated emporiums tailored to style hounds, like those in Camden, London, or the mecca for rock and roll vintage, Trash and Vaudeville on St Marks Place in New York. I bought my first pair of Beatles boots there, along with a Batman logo muscle shirt, and I had made it, in rock fashion that is. I was ready for my CBGB debut, which never came.
Shopping at vintage boutiques was fine for key pieces, but it wasn’t going to help develop a complete wardrobe with our meager budgets. For that we would have to dig deep, not into our pockets, but into large bins at the so-called Buy the Pound outlet that the thrifts had in those days. Literally you would fill a bag of clothes and pay for it buy the pound, like ground chuck. This discount served me from my rock star era right through my theater school era, where costumes could be had dirt cheap.
Despite claiming to only wear used clothing, there are parts of my wardrobe that I always purchase new. I buy all my underwear new. I know many of you are breathing a sigh of relief about that. They sell used undergarments at thrift stores, but I have never been tempted to even browse in that section. Also, all of my shoes are new. Although I do have one pair of used NIKE dunk low orange and blue court shoes that are rare. Other than shoes and underwear, almost all of the rest of my wardrobe is made up of thrift store clothing.
Why, you may ask? Is it a money thing? In all matters, it is always a money-thing. But in the case of used clothing, it goes beyond the simple notion of savings, although I have saved tens of thousands of dollars over the years by buying clothes at thrift stores. The performance artist, Spalding Gray, once claimed he bought his loft from the money he saved pouring his own drinks under the table. Thrifting is my drink pouring. And I drink for pennies on the dollar.
I have many premium brands in my wardrobe including a huge selection of Lululemon garments, fine tailored shirts from France and the UK, and my greatest find ever, an Armani sport jacket that cost me a hundred bucks. One hundred dollars is way outside my budget for thrifting, but I made an exception for this jacket, and it was totally worth it.
Despite the savings, and the deals that are too good to be true, I shop at thrift stores for the fun of it. In fact, it might be my favorite thing to do. It’s like a treasure hunt, and not many things make me as happy. Regular stores seem so predictable and boring to me, when I drop by for some underwear. I love the selection, the surprises, and the thrill of the discovery, when I thrift, and, of course the price.
At some point over the years, thrifting has become more mainstream, and the used clothing we used to buy by weight, became priced to reflect the tangible value of the items. When I visit my local shop there are people of all sorts on their own clothing expeditions. There are even clothing pickers buying cheap and then reselling on ebay, poshmark, and other online stores.
There are people who are just grossed out by the idea of buying used clothing. But new clothing has a chemical residue, so they always say to wash before wearing. Same with thrifted clothes, we wash them first. So what’s the difference? I believe it’s all psychological, if I spend a lot, I’m worth a lot. But my belief is that good is good, no matter what you pay for it.
This has been 1000 words or less, I’m Jake Hounds.
Thanks for listening.
One Thousand Words or Less is one hundred percent created by flawed natural human intelligence.
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