The “How Much Can You Spend Olympics” Gets It Wrong
Online, the conversation around personal style often turns into the “How Much Can You Spend Olympics” — as if spending more or shopping at trendier stores earns you a badge of honour for being stylish. In fact, we think that’s backwards.
The people with the coolest personal style? They thrift. There are a few reasons why.
Thrifting Levels the Playing Field
Thrifting levels the playing field because cost no longer decides who gets to participate. Trend cycles and last year’s fashion forecasts don’t drive your shopping choices — you do.
Thrifting removes the monotony of retail merchandising and forces you to develop your own eye. It’s like a buffet — you use your senses and refine your taste over time to get what speaks to you. In short, no suggestions on what you must buy, no new trends you must follow — just a vast array of options to choose from.
An Encyclopedia of Style, All in One Place
The thrift store carries an encyclopedic range of styles spanning sizes, decades, aesthetics, fabric types, colours, and proportions. In contrast, retail stores merchandise their floors to tell you what to wear, with what, and when — so you’ll come back and do it all over again.
Thrifting removes all of that noise. What’s left is just you and your instincts.
True Style Is an Intrinsic Process
To develop personal style while thrifting, you need to be willing to explore, experiment, and shop with intention. There’s no quick or magic solution — but thrifting does make that process far more fun and affordable than shopping strictly new.
True style comes from developing an understanding of yourself: what you like, what you’re drawn to, what makes you feel good, and most importantly, what feels like you. It gives you the opportunity to be inspired by things in your everyday life — but instead of copying exactly, you’re open to looking for derivatives and alternatives that speak to you.
The Goal Is to Develop an Eye
The goal isn’t to have the newest thing. It isn’t to have the most expensive thing. It isn’t even to have the thing everyone else wants.
The goal is to develop an eye.
Thrifting gives you the space to do that. You have to look. You also have to dig, hold things up, and interrogate the size, the material, and how something would work with the rest of your closet. Sometimes you find something immediately; other times, you leave with nothing. But every time you shop, you’re practising the skill of knowing what you like — without anyone else telling you what you should like.
That’s why the coolest wardrobes aren’t necessarily the most expensive ones. They’re the ones built on self-exploration.
Find your nearest Talize location and start building something that’s truly yours. 🛍️
About the Author
Vanessa Rosado is a Mississauga-based style creator and Talize Brand Ambassador. Follow their thrifting journey at @ohheyvanessa.