THRIFT TO REFINE & DEFINE

{ SHIFT+CONTROL }{ DIVI9 } { THRIFT TO REFINE & DEFINE } THE INHERENT JOY OF BLENDING

The Past and Present Through Thrifting

I am beyond excited to introduce myself to you as a new Rochester Woman Online Magazine contributor. When Kelly reached out to me about writing a column, I accepted without hesitation; thrifting is what I do. It played a major part in a crucial chapter of my life, and it’s my happy place, so why not talk about it? My goal is to inspire you to go out and thrift, refine your current wardrobe and define who you are in this world. Make a statement with your clothes each day.

I would like to give you all some history about me so you can better understand why I am the thrifty woman I am today. I was born and raised in Rochester, NY. If you’re a native, I lived on East Main Street (1506, to be exact). Growing up on that street in the ’80s, you would see a second-hand shop called the THRIFT STORE if you went east toward Goodman Street. My mom, sister and I would walk to that thrift store during rain, sleet or snow to shop.

Going to the thrift store as a child was a treat; we got to pick out whatever we wanted — within reason. I say that because I still remember a pair of ice skates I wanted that my mom refused to buy for me. But when it came to

BY SHONTÉ OFORI

clothes and toys, we could definitely get what we wanted without hesitation. Growing up, I didn’t know a thrift store was a second-hand shop. To me, it was just like McCrory’s downtown, only closer. Even though I got my clothes from a second-hand store, in my eyes as a child, everything was new to me, and I loved everything I would get from the thrift store. Once we moved from the east side of town, we didn’t really thrift anymore. It was no longer a necessity.

For about 12 years of my adult life, I lived in Atlanta, GA and Mount Vernon, NY. During that time, I occasionally thrifted. My friend Niki and I would make a day of consignment shopping and sushi — so fancy! It was definitely a different outlook and reason from when I was little.

In 2016 I decided to move back to Rochester, NY. A few months after I moved back, my mom told me that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer. I was devastated, especially since she had been in remission from Leukemia for over 25 years. She was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation prior to her surgery, so she had good and bad days.

When Saturdays arrived, we would get out of the house as much as possible. Our norm was to drive out to Batavia, NY, to shop. My mom loved the Long John Silver and Kmart out there.

One Saturday, out of the blue, she suggested we go thrifting instead. I hadn’t been thrifting with my mom since I was a child, so I was extra excited to go thrifting with her. And just like that, our new norm was waking up early to go to the Goodwill in Victor, NY, to shop the color of the day for ninety-nine cents. After that, if she was still feeling up to it, we would head over to The Clothes Mentor to shop some more.

During this time, I was buying a lot of work clothes since I hadn’t fully transitioned all of my items back to Rochester. Doing this allowed me to mix and match my clothes and not break the bank since I was saving up for a house.

Interestingly, I noticed that I was getting compliments left and right

“Thrifting lets you be creative; you can experiment with clothes you may not have tried at full price or from a brand you wouldn’t normally consider buying from.”

on my outfits once I started mixing them all up. It may be because when I started thrifting with my mom again, I was thrifting with a purpose. I picked up vintage items that reminded me of my childhood and reinvented them with pieces I had in my wardrobe. It was like mixing the person I used to be with the person I am today.

I would also pick up items that I would pass over in high retail stores because of price. At The Clothes Mentor, though, they offered the same items second-hand for significantly less. I kept mixing my clothes up, and by 2017 about 80% of my clothes were thrifted.

Thrifting lets you be creative; you can experiment with clothes you may not have tried at full price or from a brand you wouldn’t normally consider buying from. It also allows you to be unique and not just a cookie-cutter version of yourself.

My mom passed away on Christmas Day in 2017. After that, I stopped thrifting for a while because of how much time I spent doing it with her before she passed, and Saturday thrifting was our thing. After my hiatus, I began to thrift again, but now I go every day except Saturdays. That day is reserved for my mom and me, so I only go on Saturdays when I want to be more connected to her. My goal with this column is to inspire you to thrift. I plan to give you tips and tricks on thrifting, mixing and matching prints, and remixing items in your wardrobe so you can wear them confidently. After each column, I want you to say, “I’m going to go out and try it. I’m going to be thrifty!”