It’s estimated that the average person throws away roughly 70 to 85 pounds of clothes each year. 

Read that again. 

That’s right––throws away. Meaning straight into a landfill. The clothes that don’t end up in a landfill end up... where? In secondhand shops, consignment stores, and thrift stores. While there are many things you can do to decrease your environmental impact, shopping secondhand is a great place to begin!

To a lot of people, thrifting is not appealing––musty clothing, dated fashions, and the inability to find what you’re looking for, for instance. But in recent years, thrift stores have become havens for finding unique fashion pieces (who wants to wear the same jacket everyone is getting at Target this season?), good quality clothing that lasts (Levi jeans!), and even clothing that’s never been worn, with the tags still attached at MUCH lower prices (LOFT, Banana Republic, etc…).

I love thrifting, and more often than not, I’ve discovered all of these things during shopping trips. Here are a couple of my favorite winter thrift finds. I hope this gives you an idea of some of the clothes you can find shopping secondhand and inspires you to try to shop less “fast fashion” this year!

This black turtleneck is my new winter staple. I actually found it on Poshmark (follow me @Vidra16!) from a seller who had found it secondhand. I went out on a limb––I have trust issues with online shopping––and it fit me perfectly and was exactly what I was looking for! The midi skirt was a Goodwill find. Since they’re definitely trending in winter fashion this year, I decided to find one at the thrift myself!

This red blouse is actually two sizes bigger than my normal shirt size, but I love the flowy look! That’s another thing about thrifting––trying everything on is a must because you won’t know how something looks until you try! The pants are a nice dark wash and have a cropped look. I also found this great neutral blazer at Goodwill. The inside is a dark burgundy.

I thrifted this sweater a few years back and it’s my favorite sweater! It’s not too hot and keeps me just warm enough. I also recently found this great purse from Target at a thrift store in the city. It can be worn as a tote and the strap adjusts!

These black Vera Wang jeans were brand new when I found them at the thrift store. Black jeans are super hard to find secondhand so I was very excited about these! I also picked up this Lord & Taylor mock turtleneck last winter season at Goodwill––it’s super soft and great for layering.

This shirt is Madewell. I did a little dance in the thrift when I found it! I know it’s not entirely a *winter* outfit, but I have been wearing it with cardigans this season. It looks great tucked in or out and will transition to my summer wardrobe too! I also found these JCrew flats in great condition at a thrift store outside of town and they’ve held up very nicely!

For each of these outfits, I never paid more than $10 for each item. Shopping secondhand is not only great for the environment, it’s great for your wallet too! Check out your local secondhand store or download apps like Poshmark or Mercari––you might really like the things you find.