Fashion is fun.
Growing up, I always took note of how sharp of a dresser my father was. As a jewelry store owner, Ray-Bans and Ralph Lauren button-downs were nearly daily for him. Monkey see monkey do; I aspired to be a sharp dresser.
Years later, I had taken some slight movement towards being cool. Once I became aware of the concept of fashion I started to crave branded apparel. Consequently, while reaching for more DC Shoes and T-shirts with fat Aeropostale logos, I realized that cool clothes are expensive. I would have to be a far wealthier man to dress like I do in my dreams.
Enter 2016 and the winds of change are blowing my friends. I started to notice celebrities wearing unorthodox clothing items, like Mac Miller’s groovy sweater. A thirst for these obscure sweaters is what sparked my obsession with thrift shops. Last winter, I stocked up on them for pennies on the dollar.
Once I had attained an excessive amount of sweaters, my gaze drifted to other thrift shop items. This is when I started my extensive hat collection and took a liking to retro dress clothes—I blame Mad Men’s Don Draper.
Today you’ll see that many of my hats, jackets and shirts are found secondhand. I hunt for interesting items (statement pieces, if you will) to add to my large collection of possible outfit pieces. Note: Unlike my dear grandmother, the entirety of my shopping doesn’t take place at Goodwill.
My fashion formula involves blending thrift shop clothing with a modern outfit. For example: On a casual day, I might be seen waltzing outside in a straw hat, Ray-Bans, an extended length PacSun T-shirt, brown chinos and my beloved Shoe Dept. boots.
There is something magical about the thrifting culture. The clothing and items available in these stores represents a menagerie of different times and places, and their random assortment makes the shopping experience a game of rolling the dice. This “thrill of the hunt,” so to speak, is partially what has made thrifting so popular. Millennials really want to be unique, more so than previous generations. Finding that bizarre, random, worn looking, “one of a kind” piece of clothing allows one to wear around a trophy: something stylish that your friend can’t go to the store and buy if he likes yours.
When I’m not fussing over my outfit, I like to fuss over my music. Record collecting is one of my favorite hobbies, right next to hammering out classic rock tunes on bass guitar.
I plan to translate my Grove City College entrepreneurship major into a Hawaiian boardwalk shop someday. Until then, I’m on the hustle as a salesman, social media marketer and writer. Will I make it? Hang loose, man.
It’s all about taking life day by day and spending those days trusting God and perpetuating positivity.
If you’re reading this, smile and have a good one.
