Friday, May 06, 2011

Something old

I can't explain why, but I have a stigma towards new stuff, especially new furniture. I hate the way it looks. I'm a huge fan of vintage pieces, vintage furniture and clothing. I also love cheap used stuff. Anything cheap and used that is cool, interesting or in good condition. I don't know why this is, but it's just better for some reason. I could go with the cliche and say I like stuff to look like it has a story... but that's not quite true. The truth is, I don't like things to be 'tacky' looking, or cheap looking and I find a lot of new stuff looks both cheap and tacky. I'll wear a tacky pair of sunglasses as a joke, but if I want to be serious about something it's gonna be old and not tacky, simply, attractive and nice. No tackiness allowed.

This obsession is mostly related to the way things look. Something can be great quality, but if it looks tacky to me I'll probably not like it. I like things to look like they've been used because I guess that shows they're quality. Not to say I want my clothing to be covered in stains or ripped up, but just a nice comfortable softness to it, especially with vintage. I was just writing an article for Vashti Magazine. I was thinking of sending it too the Sooke paper I'm supposed to be writing for, but haven't actually submitted anything too. Oops. I'll get on it, I swear! Anyway I was writing about thrifiting, or thrift store shopping and it got me thinking about why I like it so much. I guess I enjoy the treasure hunt. I hate going into a store and seeing a bunch of identical tops hanging up, there's no fun in that, it's to easy! It's way more exciting to go to a store, dig around for something amazing and unique which you will either fall in love with or never wear. From years of experience I have learned how to avoid things that I wont wear. When I go through my wardrobe now everything is either from the thrift store or from Winners. It's a little sad.

I think it's interesting how other people tend to shop as well. Most of my friend from high school, for example, buy only new clothing and they seem to think this is some sort of status thing. Most 'mall trends' as I call them are boring. Everyone was those clothes. I don't like to look like everyone else. I like to be different. I want to stand out, same old song, but thrift stores allow me to do this. I know some people think they're gross or only have ugly clothing, not true at all, I found two cute sweaters (one of them cashmere) and a pair of shoes for only $17 today! Normally you can't buy one sweater for that much. I guess some people just like to know they look like everyone else because that makes them 'normal' which to me is weird because I don't think 'normal' exists. Sure there are things we all have, like parents, or shoes, but that doesn't mean we're normal, it just means we're conforming to society or aren't a test tube baby (and even those have parents!).

Anyway that's my piece on old stuff. I like it, a lot. I once said to one of my sisters that I was so used to having used and vintage furniture (stuff) I didn't think I would ever be able to have anything new. She whole-heartedly agreed with me, this pretty much sums up our family.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I know some people dislike to wear used clothes, but frankly almost my whole wardrobe is made up of hand-me-downs, thrift store purchases and yard sale finds. You can get clothes that are in perfect condition for such a low price when they're used! :)