It’s no secret thrifting has became a trend. With countless YouTube thrifting tips , thrifting hauls and ”Come Thrift with me” videos everywhere, retro lovers can find their new favorite clothing item for cheap. We interviewed ten students and their tips and tricks to thrifting.

Ana Laboy  (’21)

How many times do you thrift?

”Three time a month, if I’m lucky.”

What do you suggest for people who want to thrift for the first time?

”Look for colors you like, and then go anywhere because you can find really good stuff in the men’s section and you can find good stuff in the woman’s [and] go to the sale sections.”

What sections do you like the most?

”The men’s probably. Just because they have the biggest, comfiest t-shirts.”

Say there’s a boring piece of clothing, how would you make it yours?

”One thing you can do is make a square out of both sides and then use a sewing machine, or you could hand sew it too, and make a tube top out of it. You can cut off the sleeves and make a tank top, you can make it a crop top, you could dye it, bleach it. There’s a bunch of stuff you can do.”

Top three thrift stores?

”Sunshine on Dale Mabry, Life’s Treasures on Dale Mabry as well, and that’s like the only two thrift stores [in South Tampa].”

What was your best find at a thrift store?

”This Prada belt, I got for 30 dollars. I got it at [a thrift store in] Venice Beach.”

Lilly Brill (’21)

How many times do you go thrifting?

”In a month, I usually go either 7 or 10 times.”

What are your tips for people who wanna go thrifting?

”Don’t be shy, you can always ask people around what they like to look in. Definitely start in the men’s section and the kid’s section if you can fit into it. Also get there early in the morning cause that’s when they stock up everything and you can find really good stuff.”

What are your favorite sections?

“I like to shop at the women’s jeans section, the women’s skirt section, and the toys section. Sometimes the electronic section too, but my favorite is the men’s section.”

How would you make a boring piece of clothing your own?

“You could bleach it, you could crop it, or embroider it, if you know how to sew you can mix it up a little bit.”

Top three thrift stores around here?

“My first one is Life’s Treasures, I like that one a lot because its near Plant and it’s where all the rich people donate their stuff. You could find Birkenstocks for five dollars there. My second favorite is Sunshine because I live really close to there and it’s convenient. And my third favorite is the Goodwill near the beach, in St. Pete.”

What was your best find at a thrift store?

“A Garfield 1980’s mug from McDonald’s. Clothing wise, an Imagine 1970’s John Lennon shirt.”

Alex Pavlik (’21)

How often do you go thrifting?

“I would say twice or three times a month.”

Top two or three thrift stores?

“I like Sunshine on Dale Mabry. And the Goodwill by my house that I go to a lot.”

What are some tips you’d give someone who would want to start thrifting?

“I’d say don’t be afraid to get whatever you think that looks cool. Like, if you think its cool just get it cause it’s a thrift store and it’s probably cheap, so just get whatever you want.”

Favorite sections?

“I really like hats, so I always go straight to the hats and see if I find one that I like.”

How would you flip a plain piece of clothing to something your style?

“You can embroider stuff, which is pretty cool. Also just mix stuff up some clothing and make it your style.”

Best find at a thrift store?

“I once found a single stitch shirt, which is if it’s single stitch shirt it’s vintage. That was pretty cool to find.”

Hailey Green (’23)

How many times do you go thrifting?

“Twice a month probably.”

Tips for someone new to thrifting?

“I would say to look at every single section and don’t limit yourself, because there’s a lot of cool finds you can look for. Like, if you’re a girl and you’re looking in the men’s section you can still find a bunch of cool shirts and even shorts, stuff like that. You can tailor it to fit you and your personality and also look at the souvenirs and antique things cause maybe you can find pins to put on jackets and stuff like that.”

How do you make boring pieces of clothing your own?

“I would probably put some sort of pins on it or I like to add a really cool jacket on it too, like if it’s a simple outfit I usually add a nice jacket to go with it just to make it pop.”

What are your favorite sections to shop in?

“I like looking at the men’s t shirts because they have really cool things that I can cut to make look better and not so over sized and they have silly things on the shirts that are funny to me [that] I think that would look stylish now. Also the jeans section because you can find good mom jeans there.”

Top three or less thrift stores?

“Definitely Sunshine thrift store, [and] there’s a few other ones down Dale Mabry that I don’t know the names of. I’d say Dale Mabry is the place to go for thrifting.”

Best find?

“A cool green shirt.”

Sela Teplin (’23) & Julia Cardillo (’23)

How many times do you go thrifting?

“One or two times a month.”

Tips for someone new to thrifting?

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. [Also] look in the men’s section and the kid’s section and think about how you can change it, like how you can crop it or make it cuter.”

How do you make boring pieces of clothing your own?

”You can add accessories, you can crop it and you can iron stuff on it. You can [also] layer it.”

What are your favorite sections to shop in?

”Men’s sweatshirts, men’s pants, and where all the old people stuff is. Because it’s vintage and bigger. And the kid’s section.”

”I get tang tops and shirts from there.”

”One time I found a really good pair of mom jeans that were a little boy’s jeans. In like a large.”

Top three or less thrift stores?

”Sunshine, Goodwill, and Plato’s closet”

”Sunshine, Goodwill and another Goodwill, there’s like a Goodwill not in South Tampa. Also Life’s Treasures.”

Kaia Poisall (’21)

How many times do you go thrifting?

“Probably like twice a month because different thrift stores have 50% off on certain days and that’s when I go.”

Tips you would give to someone who would want to start thrifting?

“I’d say don’t expect to find the most amazing pieces the first time you go, it’s really about patience. You have to go consistently cause that’s when you’re going to find the best stuff, you’re not going to find brand names the first time you go. Also try different places.”

How do you make boring pieces of clothing your own?

“Cutting can do a lot for a shirt, you can take an over-sized boring guy shirt and crop it it and make it cute. I’ve also taken a pair of jeans and bleach half of them, bleach can do a lot [too]. Or tying it up into a knot [also].”

What are your favorite sections to shop in?

“I like men’s t-shirts, they’re good to crop and make it a cute t-shirt. Men’s sweaters are also cute, shoes, and women’s pants.’

Top three thrift stores?

“Probably Sunshine, I know its kind of basic because a lot of people shop at Sunshine. But it’s near school and they have a lot of unique stuff. Also, Goodwill is really good sometimes and then Salvation Army because they have 50% off every Wednesday.

Best find?

“I found a pair of Nike Air Forces 1, which was really good. And a lot of skirts, because I like wearing skirts. Also a lot of vintage jackets and wind breakers.”

Henry Bui (’21)

How many times do you go thrifting?

“I try to go every once and a while, just to see what they have. There’s a Goodwill near my house so I just go there.”

Tips for someone new to thrifting?

“Keep your mind open to new styles, because there’s gonna be a lot of older styles since most of it is donated. So keep in mind that styles change overtime and its not bad to change things up once in a while.”

How do you make boring pieces of clothing your own?

“One thing I really like to do is wear really over-sized pants. [So] I would wear a plain black or white shirt with ”personal pants” I would call it. Something with a lot of personality something bright colored really over sized and its a different style

What are your favorite sections to shop in?

“Outerwear. I really like jackets, sometimes I look at the sweaters [because] i like the over-sized sweater look.”

Top three or less thrift stores?

“The Goodwill by my house [near Hillsborough Ave], Sunshine, and there this high-end thrift store in Orlando. I checked it out it’s really nice, its not my style though but it’s really nice.”

Best find?

“I found this really nice sweater one time and it’s really comfortable. It’s a red sweater, it’s really over sized and it’s made out of cashmere.”

Alexandria Conley (’20)

How many times do you go thrifting?

“Once a month.”

What are your favorite sections to shop in?

”The old ladies section. They have these collar shirts that are button ups, recently I found one with cats on it and it was kind of cute.”

Tips for someone new to thrifting?

“Don’t go to Sunshine, they don’t wash their clothes.”

Top three or less thrift stores?

”There’s this Salvation Army in Clearwater, it’s really huge and I go to that one a lot. And there this one called Life’s Treasures near Plant, I go to that one a lot.”