For 10 years, I obsessed over discovering a ’70s-era corduroy car coat just like the one Wynona Ryder wears within the first season of Stranger Issues. Not a “classic impressed” vogue model, however an American traditional turned velvety with put on. That meant thrifting at resale retailers.
All the time looking out, I by no means scored as a result of the outerwear choice in my measurement (giant) was bleak. However immediately I’m thrifting within the age of Ozempic, when ladies jettison total wardrobes as an act of reinvention after dramatic weight reduction, usually monetizing by means of consignment and resale. Because of all of the bigger sizes flowing into shops, I lastly possess my unicorn: a heritage LL Bean corduroy coat as delicate as cashmere within the groovy retro coloration of pale citron, all for the worth of a burger at my neighborhood pub.
The place as soon as I had bother discovering my measurement, the recognition of GLP-1 medication produces nearly too many potentialities. Winter has all the time been my wardrobe low level: black, black, and, for somewhat enjoyable, possibly some charcoal grey. However now my closet seems like I’m within the mistaken home. Coloration! Texture! Print! Due to Ozempic, picks are huge and wildly various, and costs are low.
A thrifting bonanza
I’m not on the consignment hunt for couture; I’m searching for strong “common ladies” manufacturers which can be nonetheless in fine condition at the same time as resale objects as a result of they aren’t quick vogue. Though I’ve by no means been a blazer wearer, I now have two: bouclé wool in deep sienna and a tuxedo-style smoking jacket with inexperienced velvet lapels and buttons. Every nice closet addition price me lower than two bowls of pho.
Girls aren’t promoting off wardrobes as a result of their clothes is out of fashion. Using GLP-1 medication can radically shift sizing in order that even beloved objects must go, and I’m removed from the one one benefiting from this high quality thrifting bonanza.
In response to data from online resale marketplace ThredUp, the annual Capital One Shopping report, and spending conduct analysts Client Edge, the 2025 U.S. secondhand market is value an estimated $56 billion (up 14.3% from 2024) and visits to resale shops have been up 39.5% in 2025 (in comparison with Q2 2019), with an 80% rise in thrift and consignment spending amongst GLP-1 customers.
There are lots of causes folks frequent resale retailers, from the economical to the environmental. Roughly one-third of clothes and attire objects bought within the U.S. over the previous yr have been secondhand, saving manufacturing sources and carbon emissions.
A renewed sense of discovery
However to me the very best a part of thrift purchasing is cultural. Frequenting resale retailers can present that pretty convivial expertise we as soon as had when our purchasing companions have been buddies, not telephones. I’m usually surrounded by different customers impressed and excited by the prospect of what we would discover and open to the sudden. As a result of the character of resale makes the clothes one-of-a-kind, there’s a way of discovery and camaraderie with shared conversations a few garment’s worth and discussions about match even amongst strangers.
With expanded measurement vary and variety of manufacturers, immediately’s resale shops are extra like impartial boutiques, that are tougher and tougher to search out as a result of monetary hardships primarily based in fluctuating shopper habits. These old-school shops have been vision-led, with gut-sense retailers assembling intentional collections from many various manufacturers, usually with an artisanal vibe. Their small inventories have been all the time percolating, effervescent up one thing new, in distinction to brand-led shops providing mass-produced clothes beneath the identical label: racks of algorithmic-driven kinds that will work conceptually within the boardroom, however not a lot within the dressing room.
The way to decide your spot
As a result of folks are likely to promote portions of clothes near dwelling, one of the simplest ways to thrift within the age of Ozempic is to choose a store in an space the place ladies are prone to put on the manufacturers you need to discover and go there recurrently.
My standard spot is on a cobblestone-lined road in a village-like neighborhood a brief prepare experience away from the middle of town the place I dwell—as soon as referred to as a railroad suburb. Search for a well-lit, well-organized retailer the place the clothes is neatly hanging on uniform hangers.
In case you do change into a daily and see the identical clothes week after week, transfer on—that retailer isn’t getting sufficient visitors to maintain issues fascinating. Since you don’t must settle. Closet upheavals as a consequence of GLP-1 medication are plentiful, giving us a number of choices. So, experiment till you discover your personal resale candy spot, then begin constructing the wardrobe you’ve all the time needed: Their loss is your acquire.
