Excuse me while I rant.

If you’ve been reading this blog or following me for a while, you’ll know I love thrifting and buying second hand items.

I started in around 2011/2012 when I was but a broke student with very little money to spare on new clothes. Hitting up a hospice shop was the easiest way to find stuff that represented my #look.

You could easily find a jersey for like R50 or a t-shirt for R20. Granted, I was living in the Eastern Cape, a gold mine for vintage and thrifted goods.

Fast-forward five years later and things have changed, with more second hand online collectives selling their wares. I also moved to Cape Town and well, things aren’t cheap.

An alarming trend I’ve noticed is how many vintage stores blatantly rip off consumers with exorbitant pricing. Sure, I understand the value of a rare 90s label find, but selling a musty stank t-shirt for more than R150?

BYE.

Let me not even start on the others who sell dingy and badly made clothes. Do you think we’re all incapable of seeing stains, noticing shoddy craftmanship or smelling when something isn’t clean?

I’m not a fashion blogger but I’ve fallen out of love with thrifting at markets. I’d rather have a clothes swap with friends or shop someone’s wardrobe/mini collective, because this shit isn’t lit.

Something that’s meant to be accessible and a fun way to spend a day with friends is fast becoming exclusionary. Premium product calls for higher pricing but an old JET t-shirt or Kelso pants isn’t worth hella coins.

I thrift because I care about how fast fashion impacts the environment but also because I don’t want to part with all my money. Now I need to sell my first born and get rid of a kidney to afford some dusty ass clothes?

I think tf not, thank you. While I do support local business, at least try and sell me product worth buying.

Rant over.