House of Ndubuisi.: For the Love of Thrifting.

I remember last year or so, when "Thrift Store' by Macklemore came out. A lot of my friends were like "omg let's go thrifting…omg thrifting is so cool…omg thrifting!!"

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Don't worry, I hate this song as much as you (probably) do.[/caption]

I've been thrifting for years, out of necessity. I was never a kid that could go into a regular retail store and pick out anything they want and get it. It just was not available to me.

However, at a thrift store, that was my place where I could let my imagination run wild and where I could create my look without necessarily worrying about a price tag. Even though, I found much of my style from perusing these stores, I always felt this sort of embarrassment for being there, because essentially, that wasn't the ideal situation I'd want for myself. Once upon a time, I used to avoid the windows at the thrift store in my neighborhood just in case someone I knew would walk by and see me in there.

So, with the sudden popularity of thrift shopping, I felt elated but also a bit slighted in a sense, because for once, I was not embarrassed to say that I got a piece of clothing I wore from a thrift store but on the other hand, it's hard to look at something that shaped a big part of who I am and how I represent myself become so commercialized.

It reminds me of when I got made fun of in middle school for not dressing trendy enough, and not fitting the look that was popping in the Bronx back then. It reminds me of when, in my freshman year of college, people asked why I wore weird patterns and "weird" clothing because " it looks cute on you, but why do you do dress so different?"

So, to see thrifting become so popular, primarily because of a song and a fad, just made me feel….weird, to say the least. It's always difficult to watch the erasure of history, especially from things like this. Things that have been a necessity for economically disadvantaged people and communities. It's hard to erase my personal history with this, and just go along with this major upswing in thrift shopping. It's taken me years to become truly comfortable saying that I do shop at thrift stores and have to truly come to love every aspect of it.

Thrift stores are my playgrounds. I found myself in the aisles of kitschy patterns, outdated designs and "old lady" clothes. On that note, I'd like to dedicate these post to the people that thrift, out of necessity but have found the charm and sense of self in it all.