While I’ve talked before about my intentional shopping goals for the year, I recently realized that I never really addressed what was on my said intentional shopping list. My closet has been in a very stable state for a while now, which means that my focus, as far as new purchases go, has become quite narrow. For the most part, I have been looking to limit significant purchases to certain key items, and otherwise be quite ruthless about anything else I buy (i.e. at the thrifts). Let’s talk about those key items in more detail, and see how things have been shaping up so far!

There were 3 categories of key items that I singled out at the beginning of the year: 1) vintage Ralph Lauren, 2) vintage Coach bags, and 3) Pendleton blankets. The first category is a catch-all, though my focus remains on consolidating my Ralph “capsule” — i.e. pieces that embody the brand’s ethos through the years. I have a number of specific items in mind, none of which I’ve been able to source yet — either at all, or within my budget. As for “wild cards” in this category, nothing has come up so far; thrift stores have become a poor prospect, and Poshmark these days is both wildly overpriced, and lacking in vintage offerings. So, while this remains an important part of my intentional shopping list, there have been no new additions.

For vintage Coach bags, I had a clear goal: I wanted to add a black bag, a green bag, and an ivory/cream bag. This was based on a number of considerations. One, 90s leather Coach bags are not only wonderful quality, but their aesthetic really suits every facet of my current style. The designs also align with my functional preferences; I like smaller bags that can be worn crossbody. The lack of logos and simplicity of design also suits me perfectly. My rationale for selecting these specific colours was that (a) I didn’t already own Coach bags in those colours (I had brown, mahogany, and red), and (b) they would work well with my wardrobe palette.

The price of 90s Coach bags has gotten quite high lately and, as much as these were a priority for me, there was a ceiling to what I was willing to pay. So patience was the name of the game. After a few months, I was able to find a black Court bag in relatively good condition on Poshmark for about $150CAD all in. It needed a bit of rehabbing, but nothing that a good wash and condition couldn’t fix:

The green bag proved a more difficult quest. I missed out on a great deal early on, before I had acquired enough information to recognize it as such. Green bags are rarer than other colours, and their prices reflect that. I had resigned myself to a very long wait, and then fate intervened. An internet friend reached out, after I posted about my quest on Instagram, and offered her own bag as a gift. She had bought it years before at a charity auction but hadn’t used it, and wanted it to go to a good home where it would be appreciated. Needless to say, I was bowled over by her generosity. The bag is a beauty and her origin story makes her all the more meaningful to me.

So, at this point, all that remains on my shopping list is an ivory bag, and I am waiting for the right one to cross my path. I briefly borrowed a bone-coloured Coach bag from a friend of mine to test its versatility with my wardrobe; while it was a lovely bag, it made me realize that true ivory (more white than cream) is the best option for me, which helps to narrow down my search.

The last category on my intentional shopping list is, strictly speaking, a different kind of priority than the others, as it isn’t related to my wardrobe at all but, rather, my house. I want to upgrade some of the textiles we have, starting with blankets. And in particular, I have been dreaming of having a couple of Pendleton blankets. Good wool blankets are hard to find at thrift stores these days, much less Pendleton ones, so I had expected to buy these — over a few years — brand new. But then, randomly, the thrift gods smiled on me, and I found one, in excellent condition, at Value Village. Things being what they are these days, it was not cheap by any means ($200). For its condition, and considering the retail price, I felt it was a good deal nonetheless. It’s the Chief Joseph pattern, and I adore it:

I am still planning to buy at least one more Pendleton blanket, but as I have a very specific pattern in mind, I am pretty sure it will be a retail purchase that I will need to plan around the family’s overall budget. It may not end up happening this year, but that’s ok. The anticipation will only make it more special in the end.

Speaking of Pendleton, while this was not on my shopping list, I would be remiss not to mention here the absolutely fabulous vintage wool Pendleton blazer I scored on Poshmark for $35CAD all in:

I haven’t been spending much time on Poshmark lately, apart from checking new Coach and RL listings (and perfumes!), but finds like this one are the reason I am not planning to entirely quit browsing the app. Just a real hidden gem. While I wasn’t specifically looking for it, it’s very much my jam — wool plaid blazers have my heart.

The last thing I want to mention is my success in a quest that started almost 2 years ago. Remember my search for the perfect palazzo jean? Yes, I finally found it … at the thrift store, no less:

And with that, my intentional shopping list shrinks down a little bit more. Not coincidentally, my thrifting has recently shifted away from personal clothing purchases; I am now mostly shopping for my (constantly growing) kids and husband — and books!! — and also just buying fewer things in general thanks to the decline in quality I’ve talked about in the past. I will not rehash that conversation here again, but it’s something that’s often on my mind. I’m curious to see how the rest of the year unfolds … in thrifting, and in my intentional shopping project. Stay tuned.

Details: Babaton turtleneck, Massimo Dutti sweater, Ralph Lauren skirt, Old Navy belt, Coach bag (all secondhand), J. Crew sweater (retail, old), Mia shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: How much did I love this outfit? A lot. I’m so excited to start shifting my closet towards spring/summer, and this was a baby step in that direction. Summer for me is all about the Trailblazer, heavily prairie-core; I will miss the layering, but it will be nice to be reunited with pieces like my vintage RL skirts (like this one) and patchwork jackets. In the meantime, I took inspiration from the skirt patterns here to pull together the rest of the outfit. Fair isle pairs well with florals (in a matched palette, of course), and I chose this plaid jacket because its grey and blue also slotted in nicely. The harmony of colours keeps everything in check, no pun intended, so it looks purposeful and not like I got dressed in the dark.

Details: Everlane turtleneck, Ralph Lauren blazer, BR pants, Fossil belt (all secondhand)

Thoughts: I have been looking for a pair of menswear-inspired trousers — something that Katharine Hepburn might have worn — for AGES. Pleated wide-leg pants have been having a moment, but for some reason, it proved challenging to find a style that fit me the way I wanted. The trouble always tended to be the pleats, and how they sat on me. But, as you can see, there is a happy ending. It was an accidental happy ending. I spotted these BR pants at the thrift store and was drawn to the heathered brown colour (very me, currently) and the cut of the leg. They were misplaced, as things often are at the thrifts, and I also didn’t have my reading glasses with me, so I misread the label. I thought it said 10, but in fact it says 16. I was about to put them back, and then I had a lightbulb moment. What if I just really, really cinch in the waist (they are very high-waisted) and see what kind of pleating/draping happens? So I did, and well … here is the result. I love it! It’s exactly what I’ve been wanting all along. The bottom of the leg is wide but not exaggeratedly so, but meanwhile there is enough volume in the top half to have a nice fluid drape — no gaping of the pleats and resulting weird poochiness. It basically looks like I’m wearing men’s trousers but, like, in an elegant (not dress-up) kind of way.

Details: Ralph Lauren shirt and skirt, BR necklace (all secondhand), J. Crew shoes (retail, old)

Thoughts: I’m a convert to the power of a crisp white shirt. Sometimes, that’s all you need to make a statement skirt into a statement outfit. And we know how much I love my statement skirts.

Details: St. John top, Jones NY blazer, Icone pants, vintage belt (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I love this trompe l’oeil top so, so much and yet constantly struggle to style it. It’s such a distinctive piece. It’s tempting to pair it with black so it becomes the focus of the outfit, but I find that ends up looking unbalanced. On the other hand, finding other good pairings is difficult because it has, well, that very distinctive vibe. I think these camel pants work quite well.

Details: Ralph Lauren sweater, Twik skirt, Fossil belt (all secondhand), J. Crew blazer (retail, old)

Thoughts: A rather sedate (for me) outfit, colour-wise, but not without a little wink. Those tights really do make the look, I think. This is the type of thing I’d be wearing if I still worked in the office all the time. It’s my current style, for sure, but toned down a little bit — but not all the way down.

Details: Wilfred sweater, Talbots vest, vintage belt, Coach bag (all secondhand), BR jeans (retail, old)

Thoughts: I have never actually shopped at a Talbots store in my life, but I own a surprising number of Talbots pieces — like this recently thrifted vest. Their pieces are surprisingly versatile, and the vintage ones are fabulous quality too. This is a more recent one, I can tell from the quality which is only so-so; but it is cool-looking, at least. I like sleeveless blazer-style toppers like this one as layering pieces for spring, and the funky houndstooth pattern gives me a lot of pattern-mixing possibilities. I kept this outfit very simple, though. Simple is nice too!

Yes, we are doing a spicy take today! The title is inspired by a recent series on Amanda Lee McCarty’s podcast Clotheshorse, “Why Clothes Are Kind of Garbage Right Now”, and the content is inspired by my personal observations over the last couple of years, along with some pure speculation on my part. In truth, it’s nothing that should come as a surprise. I should have seen the writing on the wall as early as 2021, but I remained in denial for a while longer. Not anymore. These days, there’s very little sand left in which to bury one’s head.

I mentioned 2021 because that’s when I read Adam Minter’s Secondhand: Travels In the New Global Garage Sale. The book, which extensively documents various facets of the multi-billion global secondhand industry, makes the argument that thrift stores are facing a very real crisis thanks to a rising tide of unwanted secondhand – a crisis not of volume, but of quality. Simply put, thrift stores have no future if all they have to sell is crap. As I put it in my own (maybe, some day) book: it doesn’t matter how cheap it is; nobody wants to buy crap. Nobody here, and nobody elsewhere either; that includes countries in the Global South – historically, the final destination of surplus unwanted goods from the world’s affluent populations. Why settle for someone else’s crap when you can buy brand new for basically the same price? Even if the quality is no better, at least you get to choose exactly what you want.

Back in 2021, I scoffed at Minter’s warnings. Even a year into the pandemic, my local thrift stores were still full of great stuff. A couple of months before I’d read the book, I had found a Gucci blouse along with a bunch of other luxury designer pieces in one single trip. It was business as usual, or at least business as I had known it since the early 2010s. Practically every trip to the thrift store yielded dozens of designer items, along with a plethora of wonderful home wares, art, and so much more. I saw no signs of this abundance slowing down … not then. But that changed, and it changed more quickly than I thought possible. By 2022, the inflow of luxury goods had slowed to a trickle, and every year since, the overall quality of thrift merchandise has been in decline. At the same time, thrift prices continue their upward trajectory. Put a pin in that for now, we’ll come back to it later.

Thrifting has always been highly location-specific, so I am hesitant to make broad generalizations here. However, based on what I have seen on other thrifters’ social media, as well as on platforms like Reddit, I think my experiences here in Edmonton are not unique. The trends are universal, though, of course, their pace is different depending on geography. More and more of what’s being donated to thrift stores is of lower and lower quality. This is inevitable, as it reflects broader societal trends in consumption. There is a direct correlation between the garbage-ness of new clothes (which Amanda explained so eloquently on her podcast) and the garbage-ness of thrift stores. Garbage in, garbage out. As the quality of new clothes declines – which it has, consistently, since 2008 – the quality of what’s being donated is also declining. Superimposed on that are other factors. The pandemic ushered in an era of ever-increasing economic instability, which I am sure has impacted consumer habits. As wealth inequality continues to grow, the consumer base for luxury/designer clothing (and all high-quality goods in general) is shrinking. Luxury is still being produced, but it’s being sold to fewer and fewer people – resulting in smaller and smaller pockets of “good thrifting”. Middle class consumers who are still buying expensive goods are less likely to donate them; instead, they’ll probably use one of the ever-growing numbers of resale platforms to try to recoup some of their original costs. What ends up being donated is the crap that has no resale value because it barely has a sale value to begin with. Think $5 Shein sweaters. Lots of those floating around thrift stores these days. But who wants to buy a used $5 sweater for $4.99 (or, sometimes, more)?

The last bastion of value to be found in thrift stores these days are vintage clothes – basically anything made before 2008, when the majority of the fashion industry pivoted to a fast fashion model of quality-cutting to preserve profit margins. The thing about vintage clothes is that, by definition, they are of finite quantity. And the supply is ever-dwindling, while demand is ever-rising. I’m not the only one who’s caught on to the fact that vintage is the best value for money to be had these days. Even thrift stores are catching on – and starting to price accordingly. “Get it while you can” is my current motto. That, and “I hope there are no major size fluctuations in my future.” I am not being facetious. If I had to replace a significant portion of my current wardrobe, now or in the future … I couldn’t. Not without spending a lot more money AND compromising on quality. And that makes me very sad. Not just for myself but for everyone, especially my kids’ generation. My daughter and I currently fit more or less the same sizes, which means she has access to good clothes, but that may not be the case in the future. And then what? I don’t know.

Well, I do know. I know what needs to change in order for thrift stores to have a future – we need to start making, and buying, better quality new clothes. And better-quality stuff in general. Less of it, but better. It’s possible to do so at a price that doesn’t exclude the majority of consumers – again, this was the reality as recently as 20 years ago – but it would require the industry to make sacrifices. Specifically, to forego constant year-over-year growth and accept more modest profit margins. These days, that’s basically calling for revolution! It goes against capitalist dogma, and I understand why no single major industry player wants to take the risk of being first to stake out new ground. They are all afraid that, by rejecting the fast fashion (or ultra fast fashion, these days) model when nobody else is doing it, they will go out of business. And here’s another spicy take from me: I don’t think they’re entirely wrong to be afraid of that. In order for a company to successfully move away from the fast fashion model, consumers need to be on the same page. The problem is that all of us consumers have been conditioned, since 2008, to make purchasing decisions solely on the basis of price. That’s all that has mattered in the last 15 years: how cheap is it? Because the industry has been undercutting quality for the better part of 2 decades, there is an entire generation of consumers who simply doesn’t have a good benchmark against which to measure value (and quality) as opposed to price.

Imagine if Zara suddenly stopped putting out a new collection every week. Instead, a new collection would be released every season – spring, summer, fall, winter – comprised of pieces made of natural fabrics, with good construction and extended sizing (and, hopefully, made through more sustainable and ethical production methods). Fewer styles at slightly higher prices, with limited sales each season. Would that be a success? A widespread success? Sustainability-conscious consumers might applaud the effort and reward Zara with their dollars, but would the general public follow suit? Or would they look at, say, H&M and see similar-looking pieces – and many other pieces besides – for a cheaper price, and flock there?

Because it has been so long since society, collectively, has put any value on quality, a huge mindset shift is required before – or at the same time as – any change in the industry itself. Those two halves of the equation both need to be worked out … somehow. And this is the part I don’t know. I don’t know how we make the math work, and I don’t know if there is enough willingness (on all sides) to make it work. It remains to be seen.

But unless we work it out, thrift stores are going to continue to become garbage, a little bit more every year.

One last word, on thrift prices – because I promised earlier. I am as frustrated as anyone by what’s happening with thrift pricing; it does feel like old-fashioned gouging at times. But I’ve come to accept it as another symptom of this looming crisis of quality. It comes down to this: as a business, if you have less good merchandise to sell, the only way to make money is by jacking up the prices. And I can imagine thrift stores are feeling the pinch. Donation volume is likely at all-time highs, but smaller and smaller percentages of that volume represent sellable merchandise. Thrift stores have to dispose of the literal garbage and then try to make up their profit targets (accounting for inflation in operating costs, among other things) by selling less stuff for more money than before. Large chain thrift stores operate in a capitalist system too, don’t forget. Even if they’re not-for-profit enterprises, I’m sure their annual fundraising targets only go one way – UP. And thrifts are currently able to jack up prices because the general public hasn’t yet caught on to the diminishing returns issue. Thrifting still has a reputation as good-value-for-money – a way to find good quality goods for better prices than retail. It’s a reputation that was deserved, say, 5 years ago. Now, not so much. And people are starting to catch on. Stores are still busy, but I’m not seeing the same line-ups at tills as before. It’s all anecdata, of course, so take it with a fistful of salt. But I do think changes are a-coming. And I’m not sure they’ll make anybody happy.