Dense air, stained clothing, narrow aisles, and old people crawling throughout the building.

If this is how you imagine a thrift store, I can assure you haven’t been to one recently. With prices rising it seems practical to take a more eco and pocket friendly approach.

Thrift shopping has always been an option for everyone, but people have often turned a blind eye to it. It's often seen to be unsanitary and for lower income individuals. However after Macklemore’s 2012 hit single “Thrift Shop”, the average consumer has decided to delve a bit into the activity. After Macklemore released his song, 12 percent more Americans began to go thrifting. And when I mean thrift shopping I don’t include the high-end reselling businesses that brand themselves as ‘thrifty’.

I tend to prefer thrifting to buying new items at the mall mainly because there is a wholeness one can only gain from a thrift store.Thrifting is a one of a kind experience where you have to dig through cluttered racks and spaces, accompanied by the smell of who knows what in the air. The activity seems tedious at first but the feeling you get when you find exactly what you wanted when you didn’t expect it is.... exhilarating.

I recall a few times where I have gone shopping to find some tank tops or pants and ended up walking away with Versace clothing that was STILL cheaper than anything at Forever 21. I could barely even hold in my excitement. No matter what it could have been or however much it would have cost it still holds value to me.

At first clothing itself doesn’t seem like a very valuable thing to have, I mean (pfft) it's all just fabric and labels. However, there's something a bit different about thrift store clothing. The clothes tell stories in themselves. They hold emotions that the wearer can feel. You can find the most tattered shirt but still see how much beauty it holds. The holes prodded in the clothing or the lint gathered on a shirt only shows the adventures and love this clothing has been gifted. The feeling is something far different than anything I have felt, it really is something you have to see for yourself.