Thrifting has made a huuuuge rise. There are so many beautiful content creators out there sharing your daily dose of thrift-content. True thrift queens that inspire me to shop second hand first.

Back in the day, I remember, when I was in high school, second hand shopping had a very bad name. Most people thought it was for the poor, it was dirty or that you couldn’t find gems in huge piles of trash. However, slowly vintage made a rise and became more and more popular. Big vintage stores in Amsterdam were popping up and later on also in my hometown. This obviously lead to the rise of charity shops and later on a whole thrift-culture.

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Recap on second hand shopping

Recently I’ve written this article about second hand shopping, where I discussed some thoughts about thrifting and endless consumption. If you hadn’t had the time to read it yet, I’d still recommend you to do so. It’s a very nuanced article.

Let me summarise it real quick: Since the industrial revolution a 100 years ago, we have been buying more and more, to the extend we have way too much. People started to get rid of their stuff and other people started buying that. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? And to translate this to the fashion industry: as a reaction to the mindless consumption of fast fashion, a new movement of thrifting made an uprise. In the slow fashion scene we tend to say “second hand is always the best option”. But is it really? Nowadays vintage stores and (luxury) second hand stores are filled with items from all over the world. “Hand picked vintage from Italy”, “Extravagant vintage from Japan”, “Timeless pieces from France”, you’ll see and hear a lot of those promises throughout many different shops.

You can read the full article and my conclusion here, but you might already feel, that I do not support mindless consumption, even when it’s second hand. But yes, when you really need something new, for example when you need to replace an items you had so long that it broke down, then it’s always better to opt for second hand.

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Who inspires me, and will inspire you too

True thrift queens on YouTube

JENerationDIY

This girl from Canada is seriously so funny to watch on YouTube. She is very honest and creative, does some amazing thrift flips and challenges me to be creative as well. Her style is slightly sporty and trendy, so not really my style, but there’s much I can learn from het DIY’s.

Withwendy

Wendy is another YouTuber that gives me inspiration on thrifting and turning those gems in even better gems. Her thrift flips are a little more difficult, but if you have a sewing machine, you will definitely be inspired.

Amy Serrano

Amy is from much warmer parts of the world than Europe, which is a MAJOR petty to me. I love love love her style and humor. She’s very feminine but with not so much effort, at least so it seems to me. She has been doing some style videos recently where she predicted de 2020 fashion trends. Then she also tried to thrift those trends, so you can adopt these trends without buying new new. But the videos I loved the most, were the ones where she tried to recreate Jacquemus/Gucci looks with only things found at the thrift store. Definitely check that one out.

True thrift queens on Instagram

i.thrift.shit

Tamar is a Dutchie who knows perfectly how to style thrifted items in a fashionable way. Het style is a little rocky, edgy, yet trendy and chic. I love how she combines so many different items in very cohesive looks.

The Dutch Rebel

Another Dutch girl, who elevated vintage denim finds into gorgeous unique gems. Ellemieke paints denim jackets, but sometimes also other denim items. But her paintings are true art and they have that perfect 70s vibe to it.

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Emma Moatti

Emma lives in France and is a true inspiration in so many ways. She has founded her own clothing line, Maison Persienne, which you can read more about in this blog post, but she is also a true thrifting inspiration. She has even added a vintage section to her online shop, which can be found here.

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I hope you like these people as much as I do. Let me know who inspires you to shop more sustainably ? @myslowworld