Thrift shopping is an essential part of being fashionable. Unless you have an enormous amount of money, I would argue that hunting for bargains is the only way to dress exceptionally. Near the end of my high school days, I had the revelation that I could find the styles that I craved at expensive places in a much more honest and cheap way. Thrifting is an art form and this article is written to help you experience thrift shopping in a new and exciting way.

1. Look for Quality Materials

Quality Denim | Peter Njoroge

Quality and comfort are the hallmarks of great clothing. With thrift shopping, those principles remain exactly the same. Only buy high quality materials and run away from anything that even looks cheap. One of the most important places to make this distinction is with denim. So, when thrifting denim, I make sure to stick to brands that I know ensure quality.

2. Look For Unique Pieces

The main idea behind searching for clothing in a thrift store is to find things that are totally unique. In any thrift store, you are guaranteed to find a ton of totally unoriginal clothing that someone was just looking to get rid of. Avoid these at all costs! Look for patterns, shapes and brands that will turn heads.

Unoriginal Finds

Basic Athletic Pullover | Peter Njoroge

Boring Polo | Peter Njoroge

Some of my favorite thrift pieces from the same store

Textured Surfing Sweater | Peter Njoroge

Striped Tiger Room Shirt | Peter Njoroge

3. Make Sure Your Items Fit

Leather Jacket | Peter Njoroge

If your thrift store find does not fit, you probably will not wear it consistently. This is one of the hard lessons that I have had to learn over and over when thrift shopping. It is very easy to become enticed by fantastic materials, brands, and colors. However, clothing that doesn’t fit you really will not make it into your regular rotation. One of my tests involves extending your arm totally to observe fit.

Great fits

Denim Overcoat | Peter Njoroge

 

Questionable Fits

Oversized Sweater | Peter Njoroge

To conclude, thrifting is undoubtedly one of my favorite things to do and it always reminds me that style and fashion are things that are created by the individual. Hopefully, this guide will provoke you to try developing your own style by looking in a different kind of store. Sticking to my three main rules should set you up to have all your friends asking about where you shop.

Oversized Botton-up | Peter Njoroge