The rise in thrifting in my life began around 2019, when social media-influenced fashion was on the rise. Everyone was wearing cut-up shirts, ripped jeans, experimenting with layering and walking around in chunky shoes.
Thrifting went from not only budget-conscious to cool, allowing one to buy unique and long-lasting clothing at an affordable price from a source that doesn’t add to the millions of tons of clothing in landfills. Telling people the outfit you were wearing was thrifted gave you an added layer of intrigue and individual style.
Thrifting has yet to lose its appeal, especially among teenagers in our community. While there’s an increasing popularity of fast fashion, a walk around the Summit halls displays that students are actively thrifting and shopping second-hand for various reasons.
“I just think [thrifting] is better for our Earth and our bodies,” said Summit senior Cailyn Powell.
So, where in Bend should you be going to score awesome thrift finds? Read on for a list of local favorites, ranked in descending order.
Fifth: Humane Society
The Humane Society thrift store isn’t too widely appreciated. It definitely has an air of grandma to it. The only time I stop by this thrift store is if it’s on the way or in between when I’ve already made a day of the other stores on my list. This store’s variety is nothing special and the prices are just okay.
The section I find myself most drawn to is the bags, T-shirts and sleepwear. The shoes aren’t great and the tops always seem to come in ill-fitting designs. I do think it’s worth a visit if you’re making a day out of all of the thrift stores, but it shouldn’t be your first stop.
Fourth: Goodwill
Goodwill is the classic big thrift store. As a part of a chain, it’s arguably the most well-known and accessible. If your mom wants to donate old clothes, she’s likely going to Goodwill, meaning there’s a lot of random, pilled, not-so-cool items. However, it also means that if you’re willing to examine the racks and shelves, you’ll probably discover something great in the wide variety that the store offers.
If you’re not sure where to look, my personal go-tos are the shoes (particularly the boots), jackets and coats, jewelry and any of the men’s or women’s tops. On a recent trip, the men’s jeans were promising and there were an impressive amount of rain shells that I found ideal for hiking outfits.
The downside to Goodwill is the price — most people don’t want to pay $13 for an ill-fitting old t-shirt with sequins. One of the many perks to thrifting is the affordability and Goodwill frankly falls short.
Third: Regroup
Regroup is by far the most popular by teenagers of Bend with many Summit students naming it as their favorite local option. Not only is Regroup acclaimed, but multiple Summit students work there. Regroup employee and Summit senior Cailyn Powell is a thrifting fanatic. When interviewed, she said that almost every item of clothing she was wearing was thrifted from Regroup.
While the aisles are narrow and slightly threatening, the outstanding finds are worth the experience. Having many teenage employees, Regroup understands what demographic it’s catering to. It carries many cool sweatshirts, jackets, baby tees, tank tops, long sleeves, graphic t-shirts, button ups and sweaters, all of which ring up at a low, reasonable price. Regroup even has the occasional nice pair of jeans which I find to be the most difficult item to thrift.
The only downside to Regroup is the limit on variety as the store itself is physically small.
Second: Super Thrift
Super Thrift is a personal favorite of mine. It combines the wide variety of Goodwill with the low prices of Regroup or The Humane Society. In comparison to other Bend thrift stores, the belts and sweaters are outstanding, the tops are on par and the shoes usually carry something worthwhile. If I were searching for men’s clothing, the button ups and fleeces would be a highlight.
I find Super Thrift to be the least threatening and calmest thrift trip I could make in town. The prices of Super Thrift are low and consistent: I haven’t noticed a change in years. This shop is already cheap, but on top of that, if you leave a review, they let you spin the wheel and get an item for free.
If you’re one for a cute set, check the pajamas aisle and they’ve got you covered.
First: Regroup $1 Bins Sale
The bins are somewhat of an extension of Regroup but they’re enough of an experience in itself that I’ve found it worthy of its own description. The bins consist of a warehouse full of old, often gross clothes you must dig through and fight the swarms of people to find something worth purchasing.
This sale only happens Fridays and Sundays for a few hours and clothes are either $1 per item or you have the option to fill a bag for $15. The bins have by far the most threatening, frantic environment. By the time you’re done digging through the mounds of clothing and stepping over the discarded clothes on the floor, you feel beaten down and spat out. Even though you may be left with a lingering sticky feeling, the bins are a necessary experience for any thrifter. There’s an exceedingly wide variety of options and the price and unique finds of the bins are by far worth the mental and physical struggle.
“[I go to the $1 sale because there’s] a lot of selection [and it’s] cheap,” said freshman Wesley Cottrell.
Among some thrifters, modifying and making new clothes is part of the whole deal. Depending on how deep you are into the reduce, reuse, recycle aspect of thrifting, the bins offer cheap supplies.
“I sew and so I’ll find stuff for the dollar sale, and then I’ll use the extra fabric, which is nice,” said regular thrifter and Summit senior Adelyn Mobley.
The Regroup $1 bins sale offers variety, low prices and an overall fun experience. If you’re interested in attending, ensure your trip fits within the narrow hours that this sale occurs.
Honorable Mention: Online Thrifting
Websites and apps such as Depop, eBay, Vinted and more have grown tremendously and become a new way to shop sustainably. These online thrifting platforms aren’t anywhere near as local as the rest of the stores on this list, and yet, they’re worth mentioning for their popularity among teens.
Online thrifting maintains many of the pros of in person, local thrifting and adds new ways to search for the items you desire. It is still second hand which means it’s sustainable, unique, and often more affordable than buying new. It’s accessible due to the wide variety of sellers and online shops. These apps are less of a process than going in and shopping in person. They allow you to buy and sell your own clothes as well as search and filter in order to find a specific clothing item you’re in search of.
“I sell, I buy…I love it. I think we should recycle clothes more” said Powell, who uses Depop and eBay.
While online thrifting is convenient, cheaper and more sustainable than buying new, the downsides must be taken into account. Online thrifting has been acknowledged as a waste of money, having too-high shipping costs and being pointless compared to a local shop and online sites being easy to overspend on.
“I think Depop and Vinted and any of those other online resale stores are extremely overpriced. Just go to your local shop, like Regroup,” said Mobley.
On top of being expensive and having high shipping costs, online thrifting is easy to overspend on. Junior Lydia Flattery agrees that while she used to use sites like Depop, she had to make the switch to only in-person thrift shopping because it was easy to lose track of purchases.
“I have [online thrifted] in the past, but whenever I do, I usually just buy it and don’t pay attention to all of the [pieces I’m buying],” said Flattery.
Online thrifting has its place in the same way in person thrifting does. It really all depends on the person. So whether you thrift for sustainability, affordability or individuality there’s a thrift store in Bend with racks of clothing to shuffle through that’s calling your name.
