The kind you’d find in a second hand store – Prince knows that shopping sustainably is sexy (we’ll come back to this later)!
A good thrift shopping session is quite the time consuming event, and if you really want to get something really good you have to be okay with spending a lot of time sorting through the racks and racks of miscellaneous clothing. Something that drives me absolutely bonkers when I’m out thrifting for a long time is the sound – the sound that the metal clothing hangers make as I scoot them along the bar. The sound of old metal on the brink of rusting grating against a fail wire hanger, screeching out in agony under the weight of somebody’s grandad’s old leather smoking jacket. Over, and over again. It makes the fillings in my teeth hurt just thinking about it.
Of course, there is a super simple remedy to this issue: music. That’s right, just pop in a comfy pair of earbuds, crank the volume right up and away you go. However, you’ve got to be in the right kind of mood to really zero in on your thrifting adventure, and a good playlist can definitely remedy that. Without further ado, here are some of my picks for unbeatable vibes while you’re getting your thrifting groove on:
- Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz) – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
You guys knew this one was coming, and I know you aren’t disappointed in the slightest because this song slaps so hard… Plus it’s where I got the inspiration for the name of this website! The sick saxophone riff on the beat, mixed with Macklemore spitting absolute bars about the ridiculousness of capitalism and consumerism is exactly the kind of fuel you need to feed that thrift fire. You can grin to yourself knowing that you didn’t spend fifty dollars on a tee shirt, and instead are popping tags with only twenty dollars in your pocket.
- Material Girl – Madonna
I know what you’re thinking: ”What the heck? Aren’t you supposed to be promoting sustainability?” … Who told you that you couldn’t be an eco-conscious material girl? If anything, Madonna is reminding us that we live in a material world, and we have to change that. I personally think this song is a great accompaniment when you’re sorting through authentic threads from the 1980s, and maybe incites a little bit of extra inspiration to take the leap and pull off that neon pink puffy-sleeved dress! Plus, you can live out the giant shopping spree fantasy without blowing hundreds of dollars on fast-fashion.
- Raspberry Beret – Prince
And now we’ve come full circle, but my point still stands – Prince knows that sustainability is sexy! Perhaps this is the push you needed to explore the hats and accessories section of the thrift store to try and find a raspberry beret of your own. Even if you don’t, you’ll be inspired to find something that your crooning love interest can lovingly refer to as “the kind you find in a second-hand store,” and you can be proud that you did.
Speaking of raspberry berets, that’s the lyric that inspired the remixed art at the top of the post! I was presented with the challenge of remixing something, so I chose to combine the idea of a thrifty woman in a stylish raspberry beret and the iconic pop art works of Andy Warhol. Originally, I was going to manually photoshop something together, but then I was offered the chance to use Picsart’s new AI text-to-image generator and I couldn’t pass up the chance. I think the work that it came up with is pretty impressive considering that it’s copying Warhol’s art style; however, I can’t help but wonder: is the work of this AI image generator considered art?
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