i'm over here in the green section, see you by the hats

oh totally! I have a few things like that -- including this new/used purple cardigan. The other, which is more for receptions and fancy occasions is this cream and black striped sequined jacket that I inherited from my grandmother. I can wear it with leggings and a black t-shirt dress from target and still look dressed up.

This is reminding me that my tshirts are getting pretty gnarly

i have too many t-shirts. this past summer I spent a day doing artful cutting of t-shirts: turning them into tank tops, making party vents, making them into scoop necks and v-necks because the standard t-shirt collar isn't all that flattering on me ... I still only regularly wear a small percentage of the t-shirts.

shopping at thrift stores since i've been in tokyo i've added lots of things to my wardrobe that i always wanted to wear like weird as fuck japanese/euro pieces from koenji 2nd hand shops, like i can wear margiela! i never imagined wearing margiela replica boots and being able to pay my rent and then when i get tired of them, sell them back at don don down for 20% less and buy a stupid yves st laurent marching band jacket or facetasm fake fur shawl. i can wear ann demeulemeester! and that sweet spot of 2000s japanese designer stuff like issey/yohji/comme and subsidiaries like sacai, undercover, etc. is cheap because? 1) it was cheaper in the first place, compared to buying it in paris or new york? 2) nobody buys yohji but gothy 17 year old instagram kids who buy recent stuff and whatever the new cheaper yohji brand is and wear it with limi feu and rick owens boots and gothy older men. koenji is dominated by 70s jean jackets and flannel shirts from shops that always make me a bit sad, like the jacket will have the name of the old owner penned in the collar and the feeling is like pictures of my dad from 1983 in general--or by niche niche obsessive: only like three british brands from 1965 in one shop and only purest 19th century french moleskin/patched cotton workwear in another. but recycle shops in older neighborhoods are like the thrift store i'm more familiar with: old beer signs, blenders, ski boots-- all those bubble era suits for ten bucks, going from really conservative tweedy british stuff to bizarrely cut italian suits and like the other day gianni versace tuxedo with silk psychedelic 1994 miami mansion rave pattern, hermes scarves under a stack of school uniforms, and like a prada fur collecting dust since the showa for fifty bucks-- all that money sloshing around and men wearing suits and i guess most of them are dead? and their kids found a bunch of italian suits and packed them up with their spoon collection and hawaiian guitar records and sold them for fifty bucks. you can get a used humidifier and a nice suit for twenty bucks.

when I was an exchange student in Japan in the 90s, I was told that buying secondhand clothes had a strong stigma in Japanese culture. Is that still true, or has it changed? I remember going to the equivalent of rummage sales at a temple in Kyoto or Nara and was seriously in awe of how cheap I could get things.

i don't think so? there're chains like off, mode off (and spinoffs BOOK OFF for books and LIQUOR OFF for used liquor), don don down + kichioji has dozens of second hand stores that range from cheap three dollar sweaters to niche collector shops and shimokita and nakano have the same vibe, 90% of clothes shops are vintage/2nd hand. harajuku is 45% shops selling old bape hoodies. shibuya, shinjuku. local recycle shops.

all the money that paid for those designer clothes in the 80s and 90s dried up, so it makes sense.... i guess.

Although the Japanese consumer has a history of high purchasing power and discriminating tastes, currently consumers report having less to spend on clothing. Price sensitivity is increasing, changing the way consumers in Japan shop for apparel.

Overall, Japanese consumer apparel spending has declined steadily for many years. According to Euromonitor International, apparel spending fell 19% from 2000 to 2009 and is projected to fall 9% from 2009 to 2010.

http://www.cottoninc.com/corporate/market-data/supplychaininsights/the-shifting-japanese-apparel-consumer/japanese-consumer-10-10.pdf

uniqlo + 2nd hand

I think there's a lot more work that can be done on predictive algorithms as far as what clothes you may/would like. Multiple sites are doing this now, as well as thredUp. I just got a promo email from thredup with "we think you will like these items" - and none of them were things I'd want, all very basic, staple-y stuff that is kinda the opposite of what I like.

attn: tangenttangent -- this thread exists if you wanna talk about dresses

i scored some nice stuff at the goodwill near my grocery store recently. a few shirts for work, a red/black polka dotted cotton dress, a stretchy black a-line dress with a little white collar and sleeves that isn't too tight, and a replacement gray cardigan because mine had a hole in the armpit. can't write on a chalkboard under those circumstances!

if i had smaller feet, i would have walked away with the most amazing stash of shoes i have ever seen collected in a thrift store at once: off-white laceup granny boots (curved heel!), bright orange minnetonka moccasins, and silver pumps with the least-jacked-up dainty heel i have ever seen in a thrift store

I just watched the newest season of Love on netflix. It's really making me want to start scouring for vintage clothes again, although I got rid of so much 2 years ago when I realized that I am never that keen to wear all polyester.

scooooooooooooore today at the thrift -- muted silver pleather biker jacket in exactly my size
i got two other things as well but this jacket is totally the shit, i can't wait to wear it. it's 90+ degrees today (and thrift had broken a/c) so i give myself credit for thinking ahead to cooler temps and snagging this extremely cool jacket

also yesterday i brought home one of those classic thrifted women's cardigans with a little shell pattern on it, totally acrylic, you know these sweaters. mine is yellow but they come in easter egg colors like light blue, pink, white, yellow.

PICS PLEASE

i haven't posted a pic to ilx in ages -- idk how to do it anymore!?

this is the same jacket only it's gold and mine is silver and mine only cost $10! https://poshmark.com/listing/Express-Gold-Moto-Biker-Leather-Jacket-Small-5a49bd23daa8f68062036973?utm_source=gdm&l_con=PREOWNED%2FUSED&gdm_bottom=false&campaign_id=1068438942&utm_campaign=1068438942&enable_guest_buy_flow=true&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqf2ttMrY3AIVStbACh1RfQFYEAQYAyABEgKPEPD_BwE

the sweater is something you probably saw on someone you knew in high school or college -- these fully synthetic old lady sweaters have been floating around since i was in high school and almost everyone i knew had one. to the point where i never bought one because we can't all go around wearing the same sweater...until now!

oh man i want a silver jacket

i just googled and there are apparently abundant options -- you should get one! you can even get a puffy one a la missy

it was super weird because just a couple days ago i watched Single White Female (hilarious, awesome, template for so many USURPER Lifetime movies, that weird little orange hairdo) and Bridget Fonda's clothes were really cute in that movie (heels aside). She had a silver raincoat that would have been a holy grail type item if Jennifer Jason Leigh hadn't waltzed out with the same exact one! lol

i saw a little girl at the farmers matket yesterday in a silver windbreaker & i nearly squueeeed out loud in envy

this is within your grasp -- we are living in a rich era of wacky affordable clothing. i looked around at Target the other day and marveled at the variety. It almost made me want to stock up for those times when things become more austere.

I need a raincoat and am now looking up silver raincoats.

look at this thing

https://screengoblin.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/bridget-fonda-swf2.png

thing = her coat, not her specifically

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_04/EastendersBBC_468x316.jpg

(jk - the leather one looks ace)

who are those miserable-seeming people?

the ginger lady is the iconic Bianca, from British aspirational soap opera 'Eastenders'

aha
i've heard of that but clearly not familiar with the characters

tbh i'm pretty useless at figuring out what people mean with solitary image posts

sorry, that silver puffa jacket is kind of famous over here!

no need to apologize! i wish we all could be more forgiving of people not knowing things/needing to ask questions, self included.

i forgot to post about this when i executed the score but i scored so huge at this very small thrift last month. i got:

* black sweater with a sexy blue/white leopard on it (i am in love with this sweater)
* bizarre gigantic black sequined shirt/dress with red feathers around the collar that makes me look like phyllis diller or a shrunken latter day liza minnelli (idk where i will wear this but it's mine now)
* amazing brown/orange peasant dress with laces that corset up the back that fits me *perfectly* and is comfortable (this is going to be nice for special occasions)
* psychedelic orange/pink/brown/green flowered skirt that has *shorts underneath it for total comfort and protection omg* (i can comfortably play drums in it!!)

i got all this for $14.33!!!! half price for the holidays, love this place so much

also let's all raise a glass to the next few months when Kondo-following people will be discarding their perfectly good but joyless items and making them available to us at reasonable prices. i feel like i could start my own store if i shopped well enough during the next 6 months!! all the vultures are gonna be out though...

also i will mention that upon paying my $14.33 i felt a palpable noticeable surge of whatever that good-feeling hormone is. like i felt flushed with...what is it? joy!!!????

yay! very much looking forward to Kondo acolyte discards ... also, tis the season for discount cashmere

got some great thredup scores this week (i bought them in December, just came in the mail this week)

* black designer coat dress with chunky beads and jewels on the collar that fits perfectly ... tags attached, priced at $380 ... I got it for about $40
* this amazing art deco looking sleeveless top, kinda like the bodice of a fancy flapper dress
* 80s-ish puffy sleeved blue & black leopard print v-neck sweater

also, a not very exciting boatneck-ish black crushed velvet blouse that I bought for exciting refashioning -- a year or so ago I got rid of a bunch of clothes that hadn't really fit me since the late 90s ... including a half dozen cute patterned bras that I took apart and kept the cup fabric, which works well as a stitched on collar for a boatneck, scoopneck, crewneck, etc.

anyway, so now this blouse has a cute collar that is black & red lacy skull & bones, plus some additional beadwork I did

omg that is so cool -- how satisfying is it to wear a garment with a decorative bra cup collar?!?!?!

we should wear our black/blue leopard sweaters together sometime!!

ok that is a terrible idea but i am still enjoying the idea of wearing similar but not matching secondhand sweaters

that is actually an awesome idea -- we could perform together wearing said garments

yessssssssss
i can only travel in the summer or winter but i am fully into this idea and not even joking

yknow i have seen online animosity/competitive behavior between kondo-enthusiasts and thrifters -- 1) this is divisive and 2) who cares? don't fight amongst yourselves. keep giving it away/recycling your stuff and everyone's happy, the ecosystem is healthy. it's cooperation not competition!!

so weird! - the animosity/competitiveness - is it that the kondo-kin think thrifters are hoarders or gluttons in need of discipline or ...?

idk what they think honestly -- that seems otm based on what i can glean from the snarking i have seen.

to me it just seems like "defending my 'position' means insulting yours" mindset that seems to plague some modern online discourse. unfortunate, imo. i'm sure some people would say "lighten up, it's a joke" but isn't that what people always say to excuse themselves? idk i wish we could celebrate because this is a win-win for everyone.

That is so strange! Yeah, it would seem like a mutually beneficial system.

also there is the shared value of objects providing pleasure, er, joy

it is symbiosis of the highest order, what's not to like!?

also, it's not like I keep all my thrift scores forever -- I let things go when they cease to be useful or there are enough other things that have surpassed it in terms of joy and use value ... granted, I might have more things than some people believe I should, but what can I say ... i have so much love to give

especially when it comes to things that are relatively unique ... like the things I get rid of first are the more generic-looking items that would be easy to replace if I changed my mind

like i said, symbiosis!

“It’s a good time for thrift shopping. I have the people who are purging, and then I have the people that need those things and can have access to them at a lower price. It’s a beautiful, mutual symbiotic relationship,” she said.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/01/11/marie-kondo-has-everyone-tidying-up-and-chicagos-thrift-stores-are-reaping-the-rewards/

i have plenty of things to get rid of too. maybe i should organize a swap. i found the handout i made for aspiring swap organizers for my speech class last semester and i make it sound so easy! maybe it is easier than i think it is.

i think you just need a space and willing participants and a plan for what to do with stuff that is left behind ... clothing swaps have always been awkward for me because I'm significantly larger than most of my friends

since we don't have a thread for swaps, i will put my q here in the hope someone can give me a quick answer:

what is the most inclusive language for inviting women + femme people of all stripes ?

is the swap just for women's clothing? Others I've seen have been "all genders/gender identities welcome" -- but if you want to specify that the clothing to be swapped is gendered, do that separately? Also, you may want to say something about sizes.

opening it up to men's clothing would open a whole new can of worms that i am not ready to host in a week, so yeah -- just women's + children's at this point. the swaps that i have been to are all women's clothing but there are people of various identities there (not cis het men though)

this is why i haven't hosted before. too complicated!