← All Of It with Alison Stewart
All Of It with Alison Stewart
How to Thrift Ethically
00:25:54
Emily Stochl of the Pre-Loved Podcast joins to talk about the do's and don'ts of thrifting.
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Listener support WNYC Studios.
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This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in soho. Thank you so much for sharing part of your day with us. Hey, a quick programming note. Thursday morning the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Trump versus Anderson. The former president and his attorney are challenging a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that prevents his name from appearing on the ballot in that state. You can listen to this rare live broadcast of the Supreme Court proceedings Thursday morning starting at 10am right here on WNYC or live stream it@wnyc.org that is in the future. All this hour in the present, we're going to give some first class love to secondhand items. Later on we're going to talk about how to thrift for furniture. But we'll get this hour started with clothes. New York Fashion Week kicks off this Friday and tonight there's a walk your values fashion show featuring models, activists and garment workers all in secondhand clothes. All the proceeds will go to the organization remake that bills itself as, quote, a nonprofit organization fighting for fair pay and climate justice in the clothing industry. Look some thrift for the thrill of the hunt or to find something just really well made and also because reusing clothing is good for the environment. The online resale site Thredup made the prediction based on sales that the secondhand global market will reach $350 billion by 2027, doubling in the next three years. How to thrift Ethically and still have fun is the sweet spot for our next guest, the host of the pre loved podcast, writer Emily Stokel. She's joining us to discuss how to thrift efficiently and ethically. Welcome back to the show.
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Thank you so much for having me.
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What is a thrifted piece that you love, listeners? Why do you like to thrift? What is a thrifting tip for a newcomer? 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC is our number. You may call in and talk to us on air. You can also text to that number. Our social media is available as well at olivenyc. Maybe you have a thrift store you want to shout out anywhere. Or maybe you're someone who likes to fix or men's secondhand clothes. Tell us about a project or shout out your favorite or cobbler in the city who helps you with your upcycling. 212-433-WNYC 212-433-9692. So Emily, that number is incredible. This idea that we're talking about billions of dollars in thrifting. What is your take on the explosion of thrifting in the past? You've been at this for a while. I want to say you are not a newcomer. Your podcast has been around for many years.
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I am not a newcomer, but we love all newcomers to secondhand here. I mean, I think it's incredible to see the, the interest in secondhand just rising and rising.
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When you talk about secondhand versus thrift and vintage, do you have personal definitions for each?
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Ooh, okay, so this is why I use the word pre loved. Because I love anything that has had a life before and I'm reusing it and giving it a new purpose. But technically, something vintage is around 20 to 30 years or older, right? And so there is that little distinction. And then thrift is typically what we think of if you're going to a charity shop, if you're going to a thrift store and you're finding something for a great deal. So I use all of those different words. But that's why I personally love pre loved, because anything reused is great by me.
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And also the idea of sometimes when you see vintage, it might be a little more on the expensive end because it could be an old designer piece, whereas thrifting, it can be like, hey, it's 10, you know, fill your bag for 10 bucks day, right?
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And there is a huge range and a huge range of different small businesses operating within the space. But the important thing is, is that we're all interested in reusing things that already are on this.
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For a lot of things that you talk about on your podcast and on.
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Your social media, you talk about fashion, but you also talk about a lot about protecting people and protecting the planet.
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Part of the work you do is.
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To spread issues around the garment industry.
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You post a lot about the Fabric.
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Act, which is proposed by our Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Fabric stands for Fashioning, Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change Act. Tell us a little bit more what the act calls for.
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Yeah. So the proposed Federal Fabric act actually builds on a bill that was passed in the of California called the Garment Worker Protection act. And it shores up groundbreaking workplace protections for garment workers who produce here in the United States. The unfortunate reality is that wage theft does still occur here, right here at home in the US and so it offers workplace protections for those workers. It also offers incentives to bring back some made in the USA production. You know, vintage lovers will know you see that in tags. It's not as common anymore, but the Federal Fabric act has Some incentives to encourage responsible production here at home, like you said, Sponsored by New York's Senator Krista Gillibrand, and something that we're really hoping to see passed at a federal level.
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Let's talk about the Walk youk Values fashion show. Tell us a little bit more about this event.
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Yeah, I'm so excited. The event is happening tonight at the Delancey. It is all sold out.
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So that's good news.
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That's a good news. It's great news. But very excited to kick off New York Fashion Week with this Runway show that is like really the kind of fashion that I would like to see in the world. The show features youth, climate activists, models, garment makers. It's really a very mission oriented Runway show. And then everyone is wearing entirely vintage pieces. The show has a bit of a ode to New York nightlife, Studio 54 vibes, picture Halston on the dance floor type of thing. And the really cool thing is that people will be wearing pieces that were originally from that era in the show. So sorry if you couldn't make it to this season, but follow remake because I'm sure we'll be back for Fall Fashion Week as well.
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Why is it important to you in the work that you do to talk about these issues?
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It matters to me because I care about the people who make our clothes. And to me, that is all interconnected. There is so much abuse that happens in the fast fashion system, which is, you know, where a vast majority of these clothings are made today. And by choosing secondhand, I feel that I can remove myself from that exploitative system and instead support small businesses, people who are curating this clothing that already exists. So I'm doing good for both the planet and for people as well. And both those things matter to me a great deal, I'm sure to many of the listeners too.
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My guest is Emily Stokel, pre loved podcast. You should check her out. And on social media, we are talking about thrifting in 2020. How to have fun and to do it ethically. Our phone lines are filling up. Let's take a few calls. Elizabeth from Park Slope. Hi, Elizabeth.
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Hi, how are you doing?
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Great. You're on the air.
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Okay.
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I wanted to highlight a awesome thrift store here in Brooklyn. It's actually located in Brooklyn Heights at the Plymouth Church. It's called Underground Thrift Store and we are all volunteer run thrift store. Our mission is to recycle and sell secondhand clothing and some household items and some other surprises that you never know what people want to donate to raise funds for Plymouth Church, but especially for anti human trafficking efforts and organizations here in the city. We're open Sundays from 12:30 to 4. It's the only day we're open September through June. And we think ethically it's great secondhand. It's also if you can raise money for much needed efforts here in the city, it's fabulous.
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Elizabeth, thank you for calling in. Let's talk to Marika, friend of the show, calling in from Brooklyn. Hi, Marika.
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Hi.
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I'm calling to share that I've been hosting a clothing swap for 12 years. It happens every spring and every fall and the mailing list has grown. It's probably over 100 women on the list. And I just send out an email and open the door and everybody brings clothes.
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No schmuckas.
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And you don't even need to bring clothes. You can just come and take clothes. And it's been a wonderful, wonderful experience and it's really easy to do and then you don't have to go shopping.
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All right, while I have Marika on the line, really quick. So Marika is a cellist, a moth storyteller, played in the band in Hadestown on Broadway, has an incredible. So what are you doing next, Marika, musically? Just real quick.
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Right now I'm in Taylor Mac Spark of millions at Bamboo.
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Marika, I owe you a call, by the way. Marika, thanks for calling in. I didn't know you were going to call today. That's awesome.
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I didn't. I never have before. Thanks for having me.
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All right, we are getting some really great comments. Somebody said a text. Pretty little things. A fab thrift shop in Bethel, Connecticut. Shannon, the owner, calls her plus size section curvy. Girls love that. If you want to shout out a thrift store or your relationship with thrifting, we'd love to hear about it. 2124-339692-21243. My guest is Emily Stokel. Her podcast is called the Pre Loved Podcast. So I was following you on Instagram and you had this great list at the end of the year that were your ins and outs for 2024 and I wanted to go over a few of them. Actually, I DM'd you about one of them because I got very nervous I was doing something wrong. Let's talk about your ins. You say value over volume, not just for individuals but for the whole damn system individually. What's an example of value over volume?
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Right.
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So I think that this means that I want the clothes that come into closet to be something that I value and I love forever. And I'm more concerned with that, the value, what it means to me, than I am accumulating tons and tons of volume. But it applies not just to us as people, too, like I said, for the whole system. I think that the whole fashion industry could benefit from thinking about the way they produce in that way, baking clothes that people are going to value and keep and cherish rather than focusing so much on cranking out large volumes.
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While we're talking about value, what are some things people can look for in a garment to determine that it's well made?
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Ooh, always check the seams. I think that's a good indicator that it's well made if it's got those sturdy seams. You know, you always hear folks say things like, oh, they just don't make them like they used to, and it's so true. And then I think the other thing is fabrication. I love natural fibers, if I can find them. So things like cotton or wool that are purely those natural fibers, they're just meant to last longer than some of the textiles that are made today.
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You had a recent podcast episode about finding gems and what was called even the most meh thrift store. What was one of the suggestions your guest made about? You walk in, you're like, oh, there's nothing here. Your guest was like, wait a minute, wait a minute.
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It just takes a little bit of imagination. Because I think that, you know, if you're used to a retail shopping experience, you're used to things being kind of beautifully merchandised on the racks on the mannequins, and the imagination is all done for you. But in a thrift store, you know, you're looking at all of the different items, and you have to be the one to picture how would this look outside of the contact of this thrift store, how would it look styled in my wardrobe? And I think that little creative exercise is good for us to do. It makes us better stylists. And when you put that hat on, I think you will be surprised by the things you find in the rack that you might have passed over before.
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Another thing on your in list for 2024, attainable buy goals. What do attainable buy goals look like?
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Yeah, so I think that sometimes we start the new year and we want to make resolutions, and a lot people will say, I want to buy less this year. I want to do a low buy. I want to do a no buy. And I think that's so wonderful. But I do think that sometimes when we set up goals, we set rules for ourselves that can be hard to achieve. And then we maybe stumble and we're like, I failed. I have to give up the resolution. So I want people to set goals that feel attainable to them. At remake, we talk a lot about trying to do three months of no new clothes. So no new clothes to you can mean checking out secondhand shopping, trying to just make that transition to buying less that was produced new. And I think that that's a way to approach sustainability that feels attainable to you. And if you can stick with it, it's going to be sustainable for you in the sense that you can do it for a long time.
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I loved one of the things you do. You mentioned that you have a thrift list and you create it from photos, but you actually.
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But you don't include the photos. We explained your photo thrift list, Mo.
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Yeah. So something that I like to do is I found. So a lot of people, like, do Pinterest mood boards and things like that. And I think that's wonderful for collecting inspiration. But sometimes if I'm looking at a photo, I get too particular about, oh, I want to, like, recreate their outfit. And it goes back to what my guest was saying about sometimes it just takes a little imagination. Maybe you don't find the sweater that's exactly the same color that the gal in the photo has, but it's still a very nice sweater. And so instead, I will kind of write out, just in the notes app on my phone, what I'm looking for and try to describe what it is that I'm looking for. Maybe it's, I want a nice sweater with made of wool, and it's going to be a solid color, but it still leaves a little bit open for interpretation because the reality is when you walk into a secondhand store, you never know what you're going to find. Right.
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So you don't write down, I'm going to get this Brooks Brothers sweater from 1962. But that was maybe the inspiration.
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Exactly, exactly. I mean, you know, what manifestation. You know, maybe I will find that incredible Brooks Brothers sweater. But just being open to the possibility of what you might find.
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Let's take a call. Let's talk to Francine from Clifton, New Jersey. Hi, Francine. Thanks for calling in.
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Hi. 1. I am now 54 years old. I started Clifton when I was 15, and it was because the church behind Stuyvesant had disappeared, and I discovered silk, wool, really good wall. And I have not gone back since. The downside of thrifting and people need to know. This is I had a flyer in my mouth burnt down. The pieces that I love I can't replace.
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Ah, that's true. When you find a when you find a gem, it's a one of a kind. That's the up and the downside. I'll take it for the upside. I'm sorry that you had the fire, by the way. I should say that. Didn't want to put that on the bat. I didn't want to like overlook that. My guest is Emily Stokel. We are talking about thrifting 2024. We'll take more of your calls after a quick break. This is all of us it.
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You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest in studio is Emily Stokel, the host of the Pre Loved podcast. We're talking about how to thrift ethically but also still have a really good time. We're getting some great texts. A post from Instagram says I'm loving this segment about pre Loved items. Would like to shout out Mongers Market, a massive multi seller thrift and vintage market in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A great mix of housewares, furniture, clothes and industrial salvage. Open Sundays only. Someone is shouting out good folk vintage in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. Highly curated, great owner. Awesome consignment shop in Caldwell, New Jersey. Willing Hearts. All volunteers run by Rotary Club. Clothing and household items merchandise changes every 30 days. And this one is a shout out to which bitch Thrift in New Haven, Connecticut Queer owned and they do occasional giveaways on their socials. It's gender free and not separated by women's and men's et cetera. Plus your guest voice is so nice. There you go Emily. And then this text gets us to something else that was on your list of ins for 2024. Someone texted I started collecting dead umbrellas to sew into tote bags. On your list it says address your to mend pile. Invest in your local clothing economy, cobbler, tailor, et cetera. Can you share a tailoring success story?
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Ooh, I love this. So something that I'm loving as guests are calling in is they're talking about people in their community who have these thrift shops that they love. And that's what I meant by this ends list. There are also awesome small businesses who repair things in your local community. Tailors who can make stuff perfectly fit to you cobblers who can fix up your shoes. I have a wonderful tailor back home who is someone that is a friend of the vintage shop and she's who I trust to take everything to and, you know, repair the sleeves on a coat that I have worn for so many years and want to keep going all of those beautiful things. So I highly recommend you find that great person in your community, too.
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Let's talk to Wendy from Springfield, New Jersey. Hi, Wendy.
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Hi. I just want to shout out Westfield Service League in Westfield, New Jersey. The money goes to the Westfield residents. It's a nonprofit. They put in grants, they give to the y homeless. And you can get evening gowns for $30. They're household items, blouses and sweaters. And I just also want to say that I one point was walking in New York, needed a scarf, didn't have one. Went into the garment district. I was in the garment district. I got them to cut me like a yard of beautiful royal blue material, but it had, you know, raw edges. And I came back home and I got the seamstress to finish it. So I got my own scarf.
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There you go, Wendy. Good tip. Carol from Montclair, New Jersey. Hi, Carol.
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Hi. I wanted to shout out Tony's Closet in Montclair. It's a great thrift store and it supports Tony's Kitchen, which is a feeding program here in Montclair. They have. I'm a volunteer there. It's all volunteer run and it's. They have a great selection of clothing and housewares and decor. And really we get these amazing donations of items. We have a designer section of clothes, which are beautiful pieces and, you know, often designer or, you know, very high end. And.
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Leaning into her phone, Carol, thank you for, for calling in. I want to get to some of the things on your out for 2024 list clothing take back programs. Now, this seems like a good idea on the surface. Bring back old jeans, get new ones. Recycle leggings, get new ones. What's the downside? Where's the word in the fine print?
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Do I need to read more carefully?
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Right. It is a really a fine print thing. So these clothing take back initiatives, a lot of them were started by fast fashion brands. And they might put a little thing that basically looks like a trash can out in front of the store. It's green or something like that. And it invites you to put something that you don't want anymore into the bin, and then maybe you get a discount to buy something new. And that's the thing that gives me a little pause. Why are we incentivizing the buying something new? This is supposed to be about reusing what's old and the Unfortunate reality is, is that a lot of the items that end up in those take back programs that are sponsored by big fast fashion brands, unfortunately, many end up destroyed, landfilled or exported to countries in the Global south where communities there may try to resell them. But because there is so much clothing and some of it is, is just of not very good quality, it ends up in those local landfills as well. And so what I encourage people to do instead of something like that, where there is that risk that that could happen in the piece, it's not what anyone wants to happen, is to try to keep it in these local economies like the folks who are calling in on the show and talking about, you know, a church run thrift store or their local secondhand industry. And that way you can make sure that that item is going to someone in your community who needs it, who wants it, rather than some of these things that, that we maybe don't know exactly where the piece is gonna end up.
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Also on your list, dupe obsession. What's a dupe obsession? And what's a better way to focus your time?
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Yeah, so dupes is kind of an Internet culture term that's short for duplicates. And this is the idea that a lot of fast fashion designers will try to make duplicates of other pieces and so they'll copy the design and sell it for cheaper prices. And again, like, let's take it back to that, that values over volumes idea again, is that really what we value or are we really just concerned about consuming, consuming, consuming? And I think the best dupes, if you really want to go that direction, is to look at vintage pieces. Because the reality is, is that a lot of what is created new these days is meant to look like something that is from the past.
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Anyway, a text shout out to my wife's business, Hipstitch Academy, formerly in Hoboken, now online in Harpersville, New York. She fixes clothing and helps te teach the art of sewing. We have from Twix. Would love to give a shout out to Wilton, Connecticut's biannual tag sale called Minks to Sinks. We collect more than 100,000 donated consigned goods each sale and all proceeds go to a fantastic not for profit called Family and Children's Agency of Norwalk, Connecticut. Someone says, allison, please mention the pay by the pound goodwill in Long Island City. It's amazing. It's a little crazy with huge trouser clothes, but I have found many good these with the lowest prices. Let's take a few more calls. Marie is calling in from Westchester. Hi, Marie.
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Hi.
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So I just wanted to shout out two of my favorite places in southern Westchester County. The first is Tony's Expert Shoe Repair in Ossining. He fixed my favorite pair of boots for very cheap and kept me from throwing them away. And the second is Retake Remake in Peekskill, which is super cool. They're in reuse and like, donation store that sells secondhand craft supplies, including fabric for people who want to make their own clothes.
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Thank you so much for calling in. Let's talk to Emmy from Brooklyn. Hi, Emmy.
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Hi. Can you hear me?
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Yeah, you're on the air.
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Hi. I just wanted to call up my favorite vintage store in Brooklyn, which is called Vogue Vintage on Graham Ave near Wither Street. And it's just expertly curated. The owner is really helpful. She'll help you find, like, the perfect pair of jeans or the leather jacket you've been looking for for years.
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Emmy, thank you so much for calling in. We are getting some questions, and I don't know if you have the answer to this or if you've thought about this or had guests about this. People asking about, well, if I'm going to places like Goodwill and I'm buying clothes, am I taking clothes away from people who maybe can't afford to go someplace else?
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Yeah, great question. So I think the thing that I would want listeners to know is that the unfortunate reality is there is way too much clothing on this planet, way too much clothing that has been produced and is in circulation than can ever go around. And that's where I mentioned the problem that is happening of clothing that's being exported to other countries where, again, it's tried to resell. But because so much of it is coming into the secondhand system, it can't be resold and ends up in landfills. And so what I always tell folks is that the best thing we can really be doing is not adding any new clothing into that system and reusing everything that is in circulation. And don't worry, there is way more than needs to go around.
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I'm gonna ask you about thrifting and the culture each year. There's sort of something in the thrifting zeitgeist. You made a prediction that it's gonna be capes. The capes are making a comeback.
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I think this one would be very fun. I think it can be done in a really chic way and it cozy. And so keep an eye out for vintage capes. I think you might see a resurgence in them.
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And one of your inns, we didn't get to it's the last thing I want to talk about is every garment having its own loving backstory. Why is that important to you this year?
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Yeah. Oh, I just love these moments. This past weekend I was at the Manhattan Vintage Show, a wonderful vintage show here in New York, and vendors were telling me all of these wonderful stories about this is the woman who owned this piece before. And I just love this, that special connection that we can make to clothing. And I think that if we did that with our clothes more, we would waste less. And so I really want every piece in my closet to have a little story. Maybe it's the story of where it came from before, or maybe it's the story that I'm going to imprint on that clothing, but I think that that really matters.
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All right, tell me the story of something you're wearing today. Oh, we'll have a thrift off. I wore all my thrifted clothes.
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Three quarters that I'm wearing is thrifted today.
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I love it. I'm wearing a pair of 1970 plaid vintage trousers, a vintage graphic T shirt and vest. And then this is an upcycled charm necklace. So it's made from all different kinds of charms that a maker has taken and, you know, added them all together onto a necklace change. So I have this one of a kind charm piece for myself.
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Love hearing your stories.
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You should definitely check out Emily's podcast, Pre Loved podcast. Also follow her on your socials. Where can people find you?
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Yeah, you can find me across the Internet as milimstokel. Thanks for listening.
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Thanks to everybody who called in with suggestions, and thanks to everybody who texted as well. Happy Thrifting.
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