Background

Sunday, August 18, 2013

THRIFTSTER

Yes, I am a THRIFTSTER. (see below article from URBAN DICTIONARY).

One of my family members was involved with a woman with very lah-di-dah tastes. At that time, I would have all the jackets I would be wearing to work for the week hanging on the coat rack in the family room. On the day she was visiting, it was my BLACK AND TAUPE WEEK. (Yes, I had the colors coordinated for the week; everything I'd be wearing for that week would be black and taupe!) Among the five jackets hanging there was one--a taupe-colored Oleg Cassini jacket--which is the most expensive one I'd ever purchased. (Although I haven't been able to wear it for 20 years, I gaze at it longingly in the closet! It is a very nice but of course the only reason I wanted it was because he was Mrs. Kennedy's designer!)

I wasn't at home at the time and as the woman was ready to hang up her coat, she commented, "Aunt Sue has some very nice jackets here!" Mother said, "Oh, she gets all of them at Goodwill!"

All of the others--except the Oleg Cassini--had come from thrift stores! At that time, I was working at Rockwell, and I frequented thrift stores in the Bexley area. One time at an awards banquet, the wife of the Vice-President of Rockwell, complimented my coat and I said, "I got it at the B'Nai B'Rith Thrift Store." She said, "You MUST give me that address!"

thriftster:
An off-shoot (or sub-culture) of the general hipster trend, but while most contemporary hipsters attempt to buy indie flavor by frequenting Urban Outfitters or American Apparel, a "thriftster" alternatively obtains said style by frequenting thrift stores or through general use of hand-me-downs. While shopping at the Salvation Army may have been included in the original definition of a "hipster," now that mainstream commercialism has caught onto the hipster fashion trends, the term "thriftster" must be adopted to differentiate those who appreciate used clothing and the ideals that come along with it from the ever-increasing group of trendy 20 and 30-somethings who are content to buy the massed-produced version of this clothing without asking how it got to be there in the first place.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's always good to know there's a name for US! Thriftster sounds so much better than cheapskate! ML