I like to believe the world, or my world at least, is made of rainbows and smiles.
My blog is my personal space where I express myself honestly about my career journey and escapades.
I fall, I conquer – the fundamentals of gratitude. I have no fear of acknowledgement or criticism regarding my creative experimentation as I know it is the only way I will ever learn and grow.
I tolerate this within reason.
I received criticism about my previous post from an anonymous reader, accusing me of being a “rip off”,
for revealing that two of the items I wore were thrifted for R5 each. It seems this person feels I am exploiting
people for buying things for so cheap, being honest about it, and then re-selling it for more. I can see where this person is coming from, although I do not appreciate the malicious and anonymous way it was voiced. If there is anyone I am exploiting with Thrift – it is myself, to such a point where there have been a few occasions where I have to remind myself why wanted to do it in the first place.
I would like to set the record straight so everyone knows where I am coming from.
Firstly, this blog is a platform of honesty, not pretence or one intended to keep up appearances. Hence I will tell my readers things that I feel are worth sharing. Have you bought anything in leather for R5? Or a pair of shorts? no, I didn’t think so either. Both of these were my lucky garments, the only time I have ever paid so little for items. In other words, this is not at ALL how much my stock normally costs, I usually pay more. This is another reason why my previous post was such a miraculous find.
Furthermore, I do a lot of digging, driving and walking to source my stock.Gabbi and I spend hours in the sun styling out of the car boot, then getting the perfect shots of garments on models, only to be followed by even more hours editing these images. Let me not forget the alterations that go into so many of our garments so that they fit well, while still retaining the vintage style that our customers love.
Look at all the labour involved and tell me, is approximately R150 for a pair of high-waisted re-worked shorts really that expensive? Who are we ripping off? We created Thrift as a styling and photographic platform where we practice what we love and build our portfolios in that regard, covering our costs and sharing the most beautifully crafted items that people love, networking and learning all the while. We could easily make a living off this, like so many second hand shops do, but that would entail truly ripping our customers off, and Gabbi and I both have more integrity than that. True supporters of this blog and the Thrift enterprise know better, and I kindly ask that those who look upon it with malice focus their negativity elsewhere.
…Rainbows and smiles.
xx
photograph: Mert & Marcus 2008
