Well, you probably know our answer to this question with us being an online thrift store selling secondhand women and kids clothes and whatnot. But still, let us bust some myths here.
Myth Buster #1: Buying secondhand is not clean
Here’s something you might not have known before. That “new” smell you’re used to is actually from the chemicals left on the clothes after they're processed.
Depending on the fabrics the new clothes are made out of, manufacturers will use different chemicals to make the fabric more or less pliant, to color it, and to give other attributes like waterproofing. They also try to prevent mildew, wrinkling and parasites, which are likely to occur during shipping. Some chemicals used for these purposes are actually the same as the ones used primarily in construction and even to preserve bodies.
New clothes are usually not washed before they get shipped to the store and those chemicals can potentially irritate your skin.
If there is anything we’d like you to take away today, though: always 👏 wash 👏 your 👏 newly 👏 acquired 👏 clothes 👏, regardless if it’s new or second hand.
Myth buster #2: Buying secondhand is not trendy
My, oh my. We all fell to the same trap. When I was a teenager and my aunty who only has boys tried to give me some hand-me-downs, I scoffed at her stuff. Pfft, how dumb of me. If only I accepted those gems wide-cut pants and baguette bags that I thought were tacky because lo and behold...
✨✨✨ they are back!!! ✨✨✨
See, the thing is, fashion trends follow a cycle and they’ll always come back in style. The idea of fashion “season” is a ruse to sell us more stuff. We think we need to keep shopping to keep up, but really, we should be shopping to buy stuff that we need. By all means, ladies, buy that gorgeous top that you love but is probably out of style today if you like it. More importantly, make sure you get good wears out of them, whether it’s in season or not!
Got any more second hand myths need busting? Call Dr. Al at 1-800-THRIFT for a quick fix (just kidding please don’t call this number).
Power to you thrift queens,
Alifa
