Teens Turn To Thrift
The souring job market and rising costs of the usual teenage indulgences — a slice of pizza, a drive to the mall, the hottest new jeans — are causing teens to do something they rarely do: be thrifty.
It’s a far cry from the freewheeling spending of recent years, when teens splurged on $100 Coach wristlet handbags, $60 Juicy Couture T-shirts and $80 skinny jeans from Abercrombie & Fitch.
Now jobs for teens are less plentiful, and parents who supply the allowances are feeling the economic pinch themselves.
Ellegirl.com, the teen offshoot of Elle magazine, launched a new video fixture called Self-Made Girl, which shows teens how to make clothes and accessories. The first video offers tips on how to create a prom clutch.
“It’s a little tacky in the economic unrest to tote a big logo bag,” said Holly Siegel, the site’s senior editor. She said it’s no longer about teens “one-upping each other,” but rather where they can get it cheap.
Victoria Bradley, a 16-year-old from Springfield, Mo., says the $80 she earns each month from baby-sitting is being eaten up by more expensive school lunches, late-night snacks with friends and stylish clothes.
Now, she says, she and her friends head for the thrift store or just browse at the mall.
“I used to be able to buy a T-shirt and jeans every couple of months,” Victoria said, adding some of her friends are even “making their own clothes or altering their old ones to fit or look better.”
Photo by Kevork Djansezian.
Stuart Ross on June 17th, 2008 11:55 am
Great blog, a sound read! ;-)
Stuart Ross
Who The Heck?
http://www.WhoIsStuartRoss.com
Angela on June 17th, 2008 12:56 pm
When I was in school all the kids wore expensive brand names, and I was much more interested in creating things for myself. Which ended with me being made fun of repeatedly by the others. It is about time my style became a trend!
danakeith on June 17th, 2008 3:41 pm
really true, i used to get my old cloths done into new one.. you want trend? then that is trend.
Chad on June 18th, 2008 10:46 am
I would have to imagine shopping online is just another way for them to be thrifty (as long as they aren’t paying rising shipping costs). I have even found myself bargain hunting online. And the way I see it, the clothes you have now may go out of style, but hold onto them long enough, and you will be on the cutting-edge again in a few years.
cassy on June 24th, 2008 11:00 pm
I dont know why their are people when they saw somebody wearing out of fashion clothes, their making fun of it.Is it really a big deal if your clothes is out of style?
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