Hi, readers! It's Keya here! Today I wanted to talk about how thrift stores are no longer about sustainable fashion but rather, they have become more of a trend in social media. In this blog post, I bring to you three characters from different backgrounds, all connected because of a thrift store. Nethra is the representation of underprivileged members of society who depend on thrift stores since the clothes are more affordable. Advika is a plus-sized woman who is unable to find inclusivity in stores that tend to stick to the generic S, M and L. Alisha, the store owner, is looking to make a quick profit by selling a portion of her overcrowded wardrobe online. Let's get started!
Nethra’s POV
Waking up to another day seems like an extreme drag. I most certainly do sound like the most pessimistic being to exist, to be starting a day with the reluctance in my mind and body wishing that it could get me to go back to the night before. I sit up and look towards my right - the same little worn-out closet, carrying my routine set of hand-me-downs from my older sister. The creases and folds in every piece of fabric seemed to look like they had faces of their own with smug smiles and raised eyebrows. I unlocked my phone, (which also is a hand-me-down) and scrolled through social media feeds that screamed out to me, in their silvery, high voices saying ‘You don’t belong here’. Everyone that I knew of had the opportunity to adorn themselves in rainbows of new and different clothes that looked like it was crafted with the utmost meticulousness, out of scores of soft and textured fabric. I squinted, trying to recall the last time I had something new. It must’ve been around a year ago when my father had scrimped and saved up to get me a new school uniform. I didn’t really mind hand-me-downs either, I was taught to make use of products to its utmost before I discarded them. It’s just that I’ve seen too much of the clothes that I currently own on my older sister. I wanted something different for once, a piece of clothing that could be as dog-eared as ever, but would be different enough to serve as an ointment to eyes, that were sore of the regular browns and blacks that I had. It was then, that I came across an online thrift store on a social media platform. The bio said ‘pre-owned and pre-loved apparel’.Well, I thought, there could be nothing in this world that I’m more used to than that. The next line said ‘at affordable prices’. I sat up eagerly, and my spirits lifted just a little. I scrolled through the entire display of different colors and kinds of clothes, beaming widely at the thought of being able to afford something that looked so exquisite. I finally decided upon a beautiful yellow sweatshirt, that reminded me of sunflowers and daffodils in a meadow on a summer’s day. I hesitantly contacted the owner of the store over a private message, inquiring about the price of the sweatshirt. I spent an hour or two, dreaming and dreaming of the sweatshirt and how I’d adore it and savor it with my life if I got it while waiting for the owner to reply. I received a reply soon after; it was curt and defiant. The price exceeded several figures over my savings. My heart dropped as I picked up my older sister’s beige tunic and proceeded to get ready for the day.
Advika’s POV
It was a really bad day. The day was doomed from the moment I woke up 40 minutes after my alarm. Rushing through Bangalore traffic to make it to work on time was stressful and my boss wasn’t exactly forgiving about my tardiness. I had a family dinner to attend at the end of the day and as excited as I was to see my cousins, I couldn’t say the same about my aunt. She usually behaved in the stereotypical way the internet expects Indian Aunties to; your weight, appearance, job, or education was not safe from the snide comments. The way she managed to make insults sound like compliments was a skill to be admired. I was an easy target for her with my body that needed XL-sized clothes and my dark complexion.
After a grueling couple of hours, I was finally able to escape into the comfort of my room. I felt bone-deep exhaustion that usually came after playing off every insult as a joke because god forbid I felt offended in any way. As I made my way to my bed, I caught a glance of myself in the mirror that was situated at the corner of my room. I walked closer to it, all the while examining my face, hips, arms, legs. Just wishing that maybe if I was thinner, I wouldn’t have to listen to her, unable to defend myself because at a certain level I knew she was right. There was a lot of fat in my arms, my double chin was standing out more often than not since my recent weight gain, my pants hugged my legs in all the wrong places.
Unable to stand the sight of myself after such blows to my self-esteem, I crawled under my bed covers and unlocked my phone. After a while of mindless scrolling through social media, a post caught my eye. A plus-sized woman adorned in a beautiful red dress that flared past her waist. The dress was a deep shade of red and the model looked so confident wearing it that I just knew I had to have this dress. I could already picture myself wearing it on different occasions. The dress belonged to a thrift store with the bio saying ‘pre-owned and pre-loved apparel’. I immediately open up a chat with the owner of the shop to enquire about the dress. Money wasn’t going to be a problem; after the day I had, I think it would be nice to treat myself. I asked about which sizes the dress was available in and the cost of it. The model was definitely a little thinner than I was but as long as they had a size over the normal generic L, I could soon be the owner of that gorgeous dress. The reply came instantaneously “Size Available: S, M, L - Price: Rs. 3500.” I bit my lip as I held on to the last shred of hope and asked about the dress being available in XL. the only reply I received was “No, only S, M, and L.” With a heavy heart, I locked my phone and hoped that sleep would come easy to me that night.
Alisha’s POV
I believe it is true that one can never be overeducated or overdressed, but one can surely have an overcrowded closet. I had one a few weeks back, and I found myself the perfect solution to get rid of my giant heap of clothes, while also making a quick buck simultaneously.
Thrift stores are very on-trend currently, even rich YouTubers like Emma Chamberlain prefer to curate their own classic, thrifted outfit and jump on the sustainability trend train. An online thrift store was an apt business opportunity for me during the quarantine, I could sell my old, unwanted clothes and earn a profit off them! If you ask me, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect win-win situation for me even if I tried to. Of course, like every other business, I need to put in a lot of effort to maintain the quality of my shop. I spend hours trying to get the perfect photograph displaying my clothes. I need to have proper lighting, or the clothes would appear old and faded. I also need to make sure that I use a lot of creative shots to ensure I stand out because average efforts can only bear average results.
And don’t even get me started on the part where I need to converse with potential customers. Of course, politeness and patience are the two virtues that a business owner should never lack. But sometimes I just come across very thick-skulled individuals, and it becomes impossible to not lose a little hope in humanity. Just today, I had to interact with two obnoxious customers. One was very enthusiastic about the clothes till they were informed about the price, and then their inquiry just dissipated. This is a very common occurrence while shopping; people are so skeptical about the price when it comes to paying for second-hand clothing as if I’m offering them rags. This is a thrift store, not a charity. I’m charging them exactly the original retail price, it’s not like I’m adding any sort of an absurd shopping tax. I don’t understand this stingy ideology sometimes. I believe that if you don’t want to spend money, you shouldn’t be looking for things to buy.
And another one kept prodding me about XL-sized clothing options. I don’t mean to be rude, but isn’t it entitlement on their part to expect that I should be able to cater to their individual and very specific needs? I provide normal-sized clothing, for normal-sized people. If one doesn’t fit into Small, Medium, or Large, they probably should head towards the tailor shop and get it made in their size, because I’m sure not even malls cater to a size larger than that. In fact, I think I’m doing them a favor because clothes that are designed for smaller and healthier bodies won’t actually even suit them.
Sometimes, I feel like online shopping has granted imbeciles the freedom to possess shameless entitlement. It should be common shopping etiquette to assume that clothes come with a price tag and that they are made for a conventional body type. I’m tired of answering such redundant questions when I should be focusing on increasing the engagement of my store. Anyway, today is a sunny day and I’m modeling some of my clothes for the shop, and I’m actually selling them for a huge profit margin, so I’ll not let these small obstacles ruin my energy.
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