I’m back.

And I’m kicking off 2023 with a blog post about my two favorite topics: thrifting and France.

What in the world is “frip finds?”

Thrift store = friperie in French. Pronounced freep-er-ie.

So, you can often catch me on the weekends asking my friends something like

Tu veux faire des friperies avec moi ?

Being that the French are also notorious for shorting their words, friperie has become frip or fripe in common language.

I recently started highlighting some of my favorite thrifted pieces on my Instagram. I became slightly obsessed with finding perfect pieces for my wardrobe. And I did a massive wardrobe overhaul. Multiple times. Vinted became my best friend for a good seven months, and I found myself making a habit of cycling clothes out of my closet every three months.

Quitting fast fashion

2022 marked the beginning of a new journey for me, though it’s one I have been interested in (without really realising it) since I discovered Goodwill in 2012 : sustainable fashion.

While I admit that I am still far from being a truly conscious shopper (redoing your wardrobe = potentially over consuming, which is kind of totally the opposite of sustainable fashion), I’ve loved finding and continuously crafting my own personal style through thrifting.

With the exception of a few pieces, I’ve been able to rid myself of all fast fashion habits I once held. I haven’t stepped foot in an H&M or Zara since 2018, and I am pretty happy to say that. I stopped splurging on overpriced, low-quality clothing just to keep up with the fashion trends that seem to be changing at a pace faster than ever before.

Here’s a snippet of how my style has changed thanks to shopping at thrift stores.

That being said, this new second-hand shopping craze is not a new trend. It’s just something I’ve taken much more seriously in recent years.

One, because it’s more affordable and two, because it’s fun.

Isn’t thrifting just finding old, nasty clothes?

Okay, you might be thinking something like:

Kristen, that’s gross.
You’re buying clothes someone probably died in.

And you might be right!

But the beauty of that is that I’m giving those clothes a second life.
I love to thrift because it’s a great opportunity to find unique pieces.
I love to thrift because it’s reusing things we already have instead of buying things we don’t necessarily need.

It’s easy to walk into H&M and buy a dress at $50 or however much they costs nowadays. It’s much more difficult to walk into a thrift store full of somewhat smelly, unwashed clothes and find something to fit you properly. But that’s part of the fun (in my opinion).

Not to mention, the less we support fast fashion, the less child workers and overexploited garment makers will suffer. That’s always a good thing.

I totally understand that thrifting is not for everyone. I get it.

But maybe, as you follow my new wardrobe adventures, you just might be convinced to give up fast fashion too.

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What about you? Do you enjoy thrifting? Why or why not?
Comment below!

Until next time,
Kristen

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