My Love of Consignment

So Many Clothes

Like most people, I have a closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear. I love clothes and, aside from a few staples in my closet, I get tired of them quickly. Although I am far from famous or like anyone would notice, once I have worn or been photographed in a dress more than once or twice, I feel like it needs to go.  This can be an expensive habit, which is why I love consignment shopping.

It hasn’t always been this way, in fact, the complete opposite when I was a teenager. My mom loves to remind me of when I told her, “Ew, I am not shopping the sale rack, why would I want to wear clothes that no one else wants?” I cringe when I think of that, and when I said, “My baby won’t wear hand-me-downs.” Shortly after the latter statement, I was running to the consignment shop because: A. Babies grow fast and B. They literally sh*t and puke on everything, so outfit changes happened multiple times a day in my house. As an adult and in different life stages, the size of my body has changed too, which led me to have a variety of sizes, some that I will never be again and some I never want to be again, lots of gently or unworn clothes line my shelves, taking up space.  Save yourself the lesson and start shopping and selling on the BST and to consignment shops now.

Who Wore It Best

Since my awakening, I have been a frequent flier at consignment shops. I am proud to say that the majority of my kids’ wardrobes when they were little were almost all comprised of hand-me-downs and consignment. My kids are on the smaller side, so as their friends outgrew their clothes, they handed them down to my kids, and I handed them back for their next kid to wear. We have a dress that has circled through our friend group from 2006 to current: it has gone through at least 4 girls.

I am currently a member of at least 5 BST groups on Facebook and an active buyer and seller on both Mercari and Poshmark. I love a good deal, and at this point in my life, it kills me to pay full retail for anything, especially knowing that after wearing it a few times, I won’t want to wear it anymore. My daughter and her friends are also really into thrifting; they love to go to Buffalo Exchange and Goodwill on the weekends, and they find some really great pieces. My mom, a lifelong thrifter, has come home with so many good finds from consignment shops and Goodwill. I am talking Chanel, DVF, Yves St Laurent, just to name a few; she has much more patience to hunt than I do. My girlfriend used to host an annual Naked Lady Party. We had wine and appetizers, and we would all bring our clothes, shoes, and accessories that we no longer wore and separate them by type in different rooms and basically shop each other’s clothes; we all left with new pieces and got to spend the night laughing and having fun together.

Good For You and Good For the Environment

According to the EPA, in 2018, over 11,000 tons of textiles ended up in landfills. If consignment isn’t your thing or you don’t have time to take it to a shop or list it/ship it for online sales (which yes is kind of a pain!), then definitely look into local non-profit organizations that take gently used/unwanted clothing to repurpose them. There are organizations that will take gently used formal dresses for girls to wear to prom, gently used professional clothing for people to wear to interviews, and of course clothing for people in need. So all in all, whether you consign or donate the clothes that have fallen out of your rotation, chances are that someone out there wants or needs something that is just taking up space in your closet, so let this be your inspiration to pass it on, not only is it great for your budget, it’s great for the environment too.