Increasing backlash against fast fashion in our generation has clearly sparked a moral consciousness which has reshaped our consumption habits. We have witnessed the environmental impact caused by clothes abandoned in landfills or shipped off to developing countries to decompose over 200 years. We have heard about the poor conditions of garment workers at Shein in China, or for brands like Zara and H&M in Bangladesh. These news stories have galvanized the activists within Gen Z, inviting us to ‘recycle’ trends instead of chasing new ones.
Given this, we can see how Y2K fashion has resurfaced, with the current ‘cool girl’ rocking low-rise jeans and fur collars. However, in the spirit of conscious consumerism, the fact that the Y2K trend borrows from the past does not necessarily make it timeless – which is a contradiction in itself. The point of fashion trends is that they are temporary. Social media is circulating through trends at such an unprecedented speed, we have even had to update the vocabulary used to ‘microtrends’ to encapsulate the short lifespan of pieces like coquette pink bows and Brazil jersey tops.
This is not to say that these trends are ‘bad’ fashion – fashion is completely subjective. The problem lies in how quickly we abandon them for something new. By the time you have embraced said coquette bows or jersey tops, the world tells you that it has moved on already. It would be unfashionable – or worse, ‘basic’ – to not move with it.
Personally, I realised that I do not know what I really like when it comes to fashion. I was online shopping the other day and realised that every word I entered into the search bar was a buzzword or hashtag that I must have seen on Instagram How else would I have known to look up ‘knit micro shorts’ when that is not usually the type of thing I go for?
I do not think that being influenced is wrong – if it were not for social media, I would be influenced by fashion magazines. What concerns me is that I have always seen style as an opportunity to be individualistic, yet the ubiquity of tumultuous online trends has stopped me from knowing the difference between what I like and what I think I like.
This is when I decided to start thrifting.
Source: Inside Retail
Second-hand shopping became my primary mode of consumption when I visited Totnes, a small riverside community near Exeter in England, where my home university is. This town is all about sustainability, filled with independent shops and cafes, its op shops boasting high-quality and unique pieces in every rack. Busting the myth that second-hand clothes are low quality or unfashionable, I started thrifting more and I feel that I have been able to develop my own individual style without spending a fortune.
When I came to Sydney, I went straight to the thrift stores and local markets to explore. I highly recommend Reunion in Newtown, U-Turn in Surry Hills or the Vinnies in Randwick. The style that I have been able to curate second-hand catches people’s attention and some of these pieces only set me back $5! Thrifting certainly is not always that cheap. Nonetheless, the second-hand market appeals to students in particular who want to find fashionable pieces, shopping both sustainably and affordably.
Despite their commitment to recycling and reclaiming clothes, thrift stores and second-hand retailers are still subject to the revolving door of fashion trends. The prices of ‘trendy’ pieces go through the roof when thrift stores realise that they are high in demand. Suddenly, I am in Glebe Market picking up and swiftly putting down a stripy Y2K hooded tank top with a price tag reading $80. I am faced with the same fleeting trend pieces, but this time, I am paying just as much as I would be if it were new. This unaffordability drives so many people back to buying from cheaper brands like Shein or H&M which capitalise on fast fashion.
I wandered into Newtown after my failures at Glebe Markets, popping by the U-Turn vintage clothing store. I picked up a multi-coloured button down with abstract colours and shapes all over it, which seemed to stand out from the other shirts on the rack. I tried it on in the fitting room and bought it straight away – $7. I wore it to work the next day, and a customer complimented me on it. She asked me where it was from, so I told her about the Newtown U-Turn. When I went home, I checked the tag to see where it was originally from – Shein. What should I make of that?