Thrift Shop
In our global society in 2013, consumerism keeps growing. Products, brands and technology keeps getting bigger and better causing, and nearly forcing people to buy buy buy. As soon as a new and popular phone comes out, a few months later it is followed by a bigger and better version. As soon as a new fashion trend emerges on the runway, it’s already something different before it hits the shelves in our local stores. How do we assign meaning to these items and clothing styles which becomes so popular in our culture? What is the difference between Wal-Mart and Abercrombie? Generally, there is not much difference. Take a shirt for example, the one sold at Wal-Mart and the one sold at Abercrombie are probably both made in similar sweatshops overseas, by people who make the same low daily wages and sew different labels onto different items. So why does one cost five dollars and the other thirty? This is what Bourdieu refers to as distinction, or classification. When we, as a society assign meaning to something, we actually create the meaning. Certain brands of clothing are more expensive than others, but because we decide that one brand is more popular over another we in turn create that price ourselves, by making this item desirable.
Some people believe that by wearing certain brand name clothes that they will appear more desirable in many different aspects. Whether we agree with the idea or not, name brand clothing and accessories do exhibit an idea of class status and wealth. But where does the thrift store shopper fit in? In this blog, I’m going to discuss thrift store and garage sale shopping, from the perspective of Bourdieu’s idea of distinction and classification. Name brands signify taste and preference and give meaning to social differences. I can go back to my example of Abercrombie versus Wal-Mart. When you see someone wearing a nice shirt from Abercrombie, you expect that person to have paid anywhere from thirty dollars or more for that specific item. But what if that item was found for 3.99 at a thrift store? There is a popular song on the radio which discusses this idea of thrift store shopping. The song “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is a perfect example of how the ideas of distinction, preference, class and status can be skewed by the simple action of shopping at a thirft store. I’ve purchased many name brand items from thrift stores, including a Dooney and Bourke bag for under ten dollars and a Fred Perry brand jacket that sells for over one hundred dollars for a mere four dollars. It is interesting from a social perspective to wear an outfit of expensive name brand clothing that could cost in total over two hundred dollars, but knowing that the whole ensemble cost less than ten dollars from a thrift store.
The importance and meaning that’s attached to the clothing we wear and the name brand items that we buy is not as easily discerned as it once was. As trends come and go, more and more people donate these items, sell them discounted on websites such as Ebay, and sell them at yard sales. When people tire of these items personally, they may sell them, or give them away, where others can them pick them up at deeply discounted prices. This is a way that we, as consumers are still able to show our tastes and social preferences with name brand and popular items, without others knowing that we didn’t pay full price for an item. For some of us, it’s just a little secret.
In our global society in 2013, consumerism keeps growing. Products, brands and technology keeps getting bigger and better causing, and nearly forcing people to buy buy buy. As soon as a new and popular phone comes out, a few months later it is followed by a bigger and better version. As soon as a new fashion trend emerges on the runway, it’s already something different before it hits the shelves in our local stores. How do we assign meaning to these items and clothing styles which becomes so popular in our culture? What is the difference between Wal-Mart and Abercrombie? Generally, there is not much difference. Take a shirt for example, the one sold at Wal-Mart and the one sold at Abercrombie are probably both made in similar sweatshops overseas, by people who make the same low daily wages and sew different labels onto different items. So why does one cost five dollars and the other thirty? This is what Bourdieu refers to as distinction, or classification. When we, as a society assign meaning to something, we actually create the meaning. Certain brands of clothing are more expensive than others, but because we decide that one brand is more popular over another we in turn create that price ourselves, by making this item desirable.
Some people believe that by wearing certain brand name clothes that they will appear more desirable in many different aspects. Whether we agree with the idea or not, name brand clothing and accessories do exhibit an idea of class status and wealth. But where does the thrift store shopper fit in? In this blog, I’m going to discuss thrift store and garage sale shopping, from the perspective of Bourdieu’s idea of distinction and classification. Name brands signify taste and preference and give meaning to social differences. I can go back to my example of Abercrombie versus Wal-Mart. When you see someone wearing a nice shirt from Abercrombie, you expect that person to have paid anywhere from thirty dollars or more for that specific item. But what if that item was found for 3.99 at a thrift store? There is a popular song on the radio which discusses this idea of thrift store shopping. The song “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is a perfect example of how the ideas of distinction, preference, class and status can be skewed by the simple action of shopping at a thirft store. I’ve purchased many name brand items from thrift stores, including a Dooney and Bourke bag for under ten dollars and a Fred Perry brand jacket that sells for over one hundred dollars for a mere four dollars. It is interesting from a social perspective to wear an outfit of expensive name brand clothing that could cost in total over two hundred dollars, but knowing that the whole ensemble cost less than ten dollars from a thrift store.
The importance and meaning that’s attached to the clothing we wear and the name brand items that we buy is not as easily discerned as it once was. As trends come and go, more and more people donate these items, sell them discounted on websites such as Ebay, and sell them at yard sales. When people tire of these items personally, they may sell them, or give them away, where others can them pick them up at deeply discounted prices. This is a way that we, as consumers are still able to show our tastes and social preferences with name brand and popular items, without others knowing that we didn’t pay full price for an item. For some of us, it’s just a little secret.