Thrifting my way through Austin
Fast fashion ran rampant alongside the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Social media platforms like TikTok gave people access to an endless supply of ideas and lifestyles–including fast fashion hauls and inspiration for the next “fit check.”
As a response to new trends that died in the span of a week, people turned to places like SHEIN to buy cheap, low quality pieces they could wear quickly and throw away afterwards. This cycle piqued my interest — I’ve always loved fashion, but something about this didn’t sit right with me. I looked into SHEIN and their practices, learning more about what it really means to be sustainable in the fashion industry.
Being young and unemployed, I didn’t have the option to shop at sustainable stores that produce high-quality clothes at extremely expensive rates, so I began thrifting. Thrifting is a way to buy second-hand clothes at a reduced price to continue their life. After living in Austin for over a year, I have determined which thrift spots I like best and why. Here’s a ranking of my best thrift recommendations in the city.
5) The most well-known thrift store: Goodwill
This is the place many people think of when they imagine a thrift store, and I feel that’s pretty accurate. From my experience, Goodwill in Austin isn’t as good as other places. To me, you have to hunt for nice pieces and there’s often more unusual things. Depending on your personal style, this could go either way. It is certainly the cheapest option, but inflation has caused prices to rise in Austin as well. Additionally, in terms of set up, they are usually big and sporadic. They organize to a certain extent, usually by gender and style, sometimes by color, but it often gets mixed up and out of place. This doesn’t bother me, as usually when I’m thrifting I don’t have anything too specific I’m searching for. Because this is a more traditional thrift store, the clothes aren’t hand picked or chosen for their trend value. This is often because they’re marketed to a lower-income audience who are looking to get staple pieces at a cheaper price.
4) A Gem of East Austin: Treasure City Thrift
This is a cute but small thrift store that has many good finds. Because it is a tiny room, it feels a little crammed, especially since there are usually multiple people inside who I seemed to be dodging when I was there. They had many good items from places like Patagonia, Lululemon, and Abercrombie, as well as smaller, less well-known brands. In terms of pricing, it wasn’t too bad, relatively around $8-10. I do think some items could’ve been priced a little cheaper, but you can avoid buying unnecessary items. Another thing that wasn’t my favorite was the second half of the store, filled with home decor and other miscellaneous items. It really depends on what you’re looking for, but I find myself drawn to the clothes more than anything else. Since the store was already small, I felt this took away from having more inventory. Even so, I still enjoyed my time here and was able to find some good pieces that will last.
3) The Store for Students: Flamingo’s Vintage Pound
If you’re newer to thrifting and want something a little more curated and closer to that of brand-name stores, I would recommend Flamingo’s Vintage Pound off of Guadalupe Street. They are different from a traditional second-hand store because they are particular about the clothes they accept and therefore do their research before deciding on a price. The different thing about Flamingo’s is how they price by the pound, but still use the price tags to determine the cost. It is a little confusing, but ultimately makes it cheaper than other upscale thrift options in the same area. I got a really nice red leather jacket from there last year for only around $15, but then ended up spending way more to get it dry cleaned. I still love it nonetheless. Additionally, they contribute some of their revenue to the East Texas Crisis Center, which supports women who are victims of abuse. I think this is a great way to run the company because it is directly helping the community it comes from. They have a much more organized feel, so walking in doesn’t feel too intense. Lastly, they have a section full of merchandise from the University of Texas, which is great for students and their families to represent the school without having to buy brand new clothes.
2) A Store with a Good Cause: Austin Pets Alive
This spot is divided between boutique and regular thrift, which I found interesting. All the racks were well labeled by themes such as boutique items and vintage finds. They had a large assortment of things, so it was fun to spend some time there. Their prices were pretty typical, not too low or high, but the boutique items were more expensive because they were picked more carefully. Additionally, they had a couple racks in the back with discounted items, but they are the items that aren’t selling. Despite this, I’m positive they are right for someone, depending on your own personal style. Similar to Flamingo, Austin Pets Alive donates some revenue to the animal shelter associated with them. They had posters and images placed around the store of animals in need of adoption, which I thought was a great touch. It helps both bring awareness and hopefully find more animals homes.
1) Thrift of All Thrifts: Texas Thrift
Located next to Target off of I-35, it is a huge store with lots and lots of clothes, which makes it a bit overwhelming at times, especially if it is busy. There are a lot of good pieces if you are willing to search for them. I could genuinely spend hours looking at everything in there, so you have to be in a specific mood in order to go, usually with a little caffeine. The downside to this store is it is a bit more expensive than a typical Goodwill would be, but I think it is decent. Because there are many good finds, it seems as though they sort their pieces well and therefore spend time pricing them. Additionally, they have sales pretty often, so there’s times when the prices are much cheaper, as long as you’re willing to fight the crowds.
Although thrifting is fun and full of benefits for the environment, there are some nuances that I would like to address. When thrifting, it is important to be mindful of others. The origin of thrift stores was to collect items for those in need at free or low prices. Because of this, it's important that the purpose remains close to that. If tons and tons of people turn to thrift stores to buy mass amounts of clothes, prices will increase and the purpose is ultimately defeated. My point is, when shopping in any sense, it’s important to make smart choices. What you will really wear can be drastically different from what seems cute in the store lighting or on the hanger. Consumerism is such a big part of our culture, so it's vital to recognize when having more things isn’t necessarily the best option. Secondly, many people gravitate towards larger sizes for the over-sized, loose-fitting look. I too do this at times, but the large popularity of this could potentially eliminate options for those in need of larger sizes. Having people who wear a smaller size pick the 2XL piece means someone else who might need that size can’t get it. Again, that doesn’t mean it’s awful to buy a bigger size ever, but it’s just something to think about on your next thrifting excursion.
Overall, I hope you enjoy going out exploring this hobby, whether it’s purely for enjoyment, the environmental benefits, or style purposes.
Graphic by Behr Rinke