Shopping My New Favorite Outlet

My secondhand shopping anniversary is here! At the start of 2019 I committed to shopping exclusively secondhand because I could no longer contribute to the waste, pollution, trafficking and exploitation the garment industry creates and thrives upon.*

I haven't missed shopping retail at all! In fact, I love putting in the time to find amazing pre-loved items that create more sustainable and personalized wardrobes for myself and my clients. But I recognize that many don't have the time or desire to comb the racks at a local thrift store. Even before my commitment to shop exclusively secondhand, I was a fan of thredUP and I can't recommend it enough to those just getting started in the world of thrifting.

As the world's largest online thrift store, thredUP offers the convenience of shopping from home with numerous filter options to quickly find exactly what you're looking for from their extensive inventory. A new option on the site makes the affordability of shopping secondhand rival any discount store!

The thredUP Outlet offers thousands of items at super discounts and the more you buy, the more you save - up to 50%. I recently received an order of 22 items for just under $85 shipped. Here is an overview of the new option and some highlights from my experience shopping the Outlet.

To get started shopping the Outlet, simply select it from the main category menu. It defaults to "Womens" as the subcategory and if you've previously saved "My Sizes" it will filter to that automatically. As you can see, there are more than 50,000 items in My Sizes available.

You can also see from the screenshot above, the various levels of savings you can build up as you add more Outlet items to your cart. My recent order of 22 items even put me over the $79 total in order to get free shipping.

If 50,000+ items seems completely overwhelming, not to mention time consuming, use thredUP's various filters to further sort the inventory. Sorting by condition is a popular option and there are plenty of New With Tags items available in the Outlet. I recommend filtering down to a brand or two that you love and whose sizing you are familiar with to increase your chances of loving what you buy. I'm a J. Crew gal, so here is an example of the numbers when you select an individual brand. Nearly 4,000 is still a big number, but much more manageable than the starting point.

If you're looking for something more specific, thredUP has a lot more options for filtering their inventory. Let's say you're looking to freshen up your graphic tee collection... simply select Tops, T-shirts, and Graphic.

Looking for a graphic tee in a certain color or fabric? There are filters for that too! All of these options can be applied to any category you select to make your search as specific and efficient as you want.

Finally, if you're a mom be sure to check out the kids' sections within the Outlet. Growth spurts and seasons seem to conspire so that there's constantly a child in my house that has "nothing to wear". But truly, nothing fits! All of the same filters are available to help you outfit your kids for the next season and you can build up the number of items you've already got in your cart to get that maximum discount.

Here is an example of the number of boys' items in my oldest son's size. If yours is anything like mine, I'd go straight for the "Activewear" filter.

I have to share some of the amazing finds in my recent order - most of which I'm keeping for myself. I shared a full haul on my Instagram Stories and saved it to a Highlight in case you'd like to see more!

Jenni by Jennifer Moore t-shirt - $3.00

If this doesn't say it all?! This is actually a sleep shirt, but I couldn't resist!

J. Crew (NWT) sleeveless top - $4.50, LOFT (NWT) ribbon trim pants - $2.50, J. Crew Collection silk dress - $6.50

I was delighted to find this J. Crew sleeveless top was NWT when it wasn't listed that way, but sad to discover that it runs really big (it's an XS). I'm thrilled with these Loft pants that have the cutest pleated ribbon trim along the sides. And don't even get me started on this J. Crew Collection (their expensive stuff!) dress - the mixed prints are amazing and I have a particular client in mind for this piece!

Active by Old Navy tank - $3.50, C9 by Champion sports bra - $3.50, Gap Fit active pant - $3.00, Alfani midi dress (belt is my own) - $4.50

I ended up rounding out my order with a few new active wear pieces including a cool vest that I shared on Instagram Stories. I'm so excited about this yellow midi shirt dress - can you tell I'm plotting a subtle "Beast" look for my husband so we can low-key dress like a Disney couple?

If you have any questions about shopping thredUP's new Outlet or tips for shopping the site in general, please ask! I hope that this will help you see how easy it is to shop secondhand for you and/or your kids. You'll also do so much good in the process. Finally, if you're new to thredUP, use this link to get started with $10 credit!

*I had been a fast fashion addict for years and could no longer stomach the trade-off of getting things at bargain basement prices for the environmental and human toll. Watch "The True Cost" documentary or read "Overdressed" by Elizabeth Cline if you're ready to kick your addiction to fast fashion and unsustainable shopping practices. Just do it after the holidays and on an empty stomach.