POV: old clothes > new clothes

the aha that only took me 5 decades

I’ve been shopping secondhand since I remember. Even before, mom tells me. We went to, I think, The Weston Exchange (mom?) for preppy, gently worn kids’ clothes. I mean why bother with new when kids grow so fast? So fast they never even get to wear anything out, leaving behind pieces that look brand new? (I never bought my son new clothes until he was old enough to care about them! He had a wardrobe of Ralph Lauren and Crew Cuts courtesy of the local thrift store, where each piece went for $1.99. I never had to say “don’t play in the mud!” And after he outgrew them, I passed them on.)

As an adult, there was a time when I bought secondhand exclusively to save money. And later to have access to more of what I wanted for less. I was often sourcing specific pieces I’d seen full price, knowing everything I wanted would come around to the resale market eventually. Later I bought secondhand because of its lesser impact on the environment. That was coupled, too, with guilt assuagement. As in, I bought secondhand to keep shopping but without feeling as “bad.” I’m sure that’s still there, still part of it. But I’ve only recently been startled to notice, in my mid 50s, that I actually PREFER old clothes to new.