Convincing you to shop second hand
I first started visiting r/MFA when I was a freshman in college in 2014. I just had just graduated from 12 years of private schooling that required me to wear a uniform everyday. I had no idea of my personal style, but I could tie a mean 4 in hand.
I started following trends, wearing suede Chelsea boots and black jeans like an overweight SLP model. Then found the Shia LeBeouf inspo albums and wore Nike combat boots until someone asked if I was in ROTC. Then my lowest point fast fashion hype beast, buying garbage from H&M and spending all my money on sneakers. After sophomore year it was #slobcore, sweatpants, a flannel, and my dads old Grateful Dead shirts.
Once I graduated college and had a biG boy job I started blowing my money on Visvim and Kapital pieces. Just to look like a John Mayer Mac Demarco hybrid. I didn’t realize how much these brands referenced styles that can be found for much lower prices. The same could be said for American brands like Noah and Aime Leon Dore.
Heavily influenced in the last few years by Japanese takes on Preppy Americana. I began reverting to more “traditional” Ivy League looks I was familiar with while simultaneously mixing in pieces that also served served a purpose like carpenter pants and technical outerwear.
My mom used to take me to thrift stores all the time growing up, but it wasn’t until I was older the treasures you could find if you look closely (and frequently). Shopping second hand not only helps save you money (eBay, Grailed, thrift) but also helps combat the atrocious amount of waste produced by the fashion industry annually. But that’s a topic for another day I digress….
To give back to a community that helped me so much as a youngin. I present to you an inspo album of entirely second hand clothing, my take on timeless Americana. Enjoy!