A great thrift haul in this city is 50% patience, 30% taste, and 20% going on a Tuesday. The weekends are for tourists. The Tuesdays are for us.
I learned to thrift here the way most designers do: by watching someone older and cooler do it first. A senior at my old studio took me on a four-hour Lower East Side walk and essentially trained me like a little sommelier of secondhand.
Rules I now live by: Check the inside seams before the outside. A well-made garment has bound or French seams. Fast fashion has a serged mess. A single loose button is a negotiation; a broken zipper is almost never worth it. Cashmere in May costs half of what it does in October. Be nice to the person at the counter. Ask what just came in.
The best thing I own is a 1994 black wool blazer I paid $18 for. The label is cut out. The lining is silk. Nobody knows what it is. Everybody asks.
Shopping this way is slower. It's also more personal, more sustainable, and, selfishly, more stylish. Your closet starts to feel like yours and not an algorithm's.
Love,