Thursday, June 23, 2005

Maltz's Ethics of Thrift-Store Shopping

I just had the exciting task of taking my family's old clothes to the local thrift store. Once there, I had a look around, and something shiny caught my eye. A blue-silver shimmery above-the-knee jeans-style skirt. It would look great with a neon-colored shirt from American Apparel, but somewhat less great with the new shiny boots, I thought. Too tacky? Perhaps, but not too tacky to try on.

This being the Upper East Side, the thrift-store skirt in question was Marc Jacobs and, though used, $45. I happen to believe that used clothing items should never exceed $10, unless they were a) used by someone especially interesting--say, Natalie Portman's g-string from Closer (yup, mining for Google hits); or b) worth insane amounts to begin with, like the Chanel clothing on display now at the Met. But a shiny skirt that some Chapin 10th grader probably got rid of because the ruffled mini is here to stay? That should be maybe $5, or at most $7 since I suppose Marc Jacobs beats, I don't know, J.Crew or wherever else people's used clothing in this neighborhood comes from.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"I happen to believe that used clothing items should never exceed $10"

Piffle.

If you've got more time than cash, the availability of $150 items for $30 at places like Tokyo 7 is a good thing.