So by now the new song popularity rush for Macklemore's "Thift Shop" is pretty much over. I think it's effect however, is still very visible; Going thrifting is still a popular activity for a lot of New Trier kids. This past weekend, a few friends and I decided to drive out to Rogers Park to go to a thrift store we had heard about. And just like the song suggests, we got some absolutely ridiculous clothes for almost no money.
The song suggests that getting old clothes will make you even cooler that spending a lot more money to get some designer brand. All admit, I did feel pretty cool rockin' my two dollar bright green blazer, but as I looked around the store I noticed something interesting. The vast majority of shoppers were not there to try to get something cool and funny, like the song talks about. Most people seemed to be there because they really didn't have any more money to spend on clothes. This got me thinking about what kind of message we were sending as eight wealthy white kids holding our smartphones and laughing at the clothes as we shopped. I started to feel almost guilty. After this I think wearing thrift shop clothes to be cool may be a way of flaunting your wealth even more than designer clothes do. If you have a 50 dollar Gucci T-shirt, all that says is you have 50 dollars to spend on a T-shirt, but if you're wearing some ridiculous second hand coat, I think it sends the message that you're so wealthy, when you wear second hand clothes people will know its a joke and think its funny.
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