Algorithms now choose what you wear

Fashion taste was once decided by luxury designers like Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel or magazine editors like Anna Wintour. Now computers dictate clothing options through algorithms that track trends.

Shein kicks fast fashion into hyperdrive

Shein uses algorithms to track trends and test demand by making hundreds of different items. The company introduces around four thousand seven hundred new apparel styles per day.

Zara produces far fewer styles annually

For comparison, fast fashion brand Zara produces around twenty thousand styles a year. That is roughly four times fewer than Shein introduces in a single day.

Thrifting offers an alternative path

Some people are reclaiming personal style by shopping at thrift stores instead of fast fashion retailers. Fashion journalist Hannah Marriott says thrift stores can be much more than just cheap clothing.

Secondhand was cool in countercultures

For a hundred years, thrift stores have had moments of being cool within countercultures. Grunge, surrealists in the nineteen twenties, and the Rolling Stones in the nineteen sixties all embraced secondhand clothing.

“For the last probably a hundred years, [the thrift store] has had lots of moments where it's been cool within countercultures.”

The pandemic shifted thrifting mainstream

Apps like The RealReal and Depop became very popular during the pandemic, particularly among younger Gen Z consumers. Thrifting became a social currency on social media platforms, especially on TikTok.

A vast ecosystem of secondhand platforms

The secondhand market now includes consignment sites like The RealReal, eBay, Depop, Vinted, ThreadUp, and Poshmark. Each has different business models, fees, and audiences they reach.

Goodwill raises prices amid inflation

Goodwill, one of the biggest secondhand shops in the US, has raised prices significantly. A Goodwill branch in Connecticut charges seventy five dollars for a thrift tour coach to get early access to stores.

“You used to be able to buy 10 things in Goodwill for $75.”

Thrifting has lost its edgy stigma

Secondhand clothing used to carry stigma. Now it is mainstream. Fashion journalist Hannah Marriott says nobody would comment on buying secondhand anymore because that is how people shop.

“I remember when I was much younger, people would say, "Ooh, you got that secondhand." I just don't think anyone would ever say that now because that's kind of how we shop.”

Consumers seek alternatives to fast fashion

Marriott says thrifting is a reaction to thirty years of fast fashion getting faster. People are tired of that business model and trying to find other ways to shop and express themselves.

“I think maybe this is a reaction to 30 years of fast fashion just getting faster and faster and faster. I think we're all feeling a bit tired of that business model.”