Thrift shopping is not new to Richmond. Goodwill Industries of Central Virginia began here in 1923 and since then, various other thrift shops have come and gone.
Thrift shopping is not new to Richmond. Goodwill Industries of Central Virginia began here in 1923 and since then, various other thrift shops have come and gone.
Who shops there however, has changed.
There was a time when some people swept their thrifting habbits under a rug, not wanting the world to know they shopped at a Roses or local second hand stores.
“I remember in the 70’s, it was frowned upon,” said Michele Messler, a former book-keeper at a local pediatrician’s office and a native Richmonder. “People did not talk about it. If someone went to a thrift store, you didn’t know about it.”
Kathryn Pritz (pictured below), owner of the Richmond Book Shop on Broad st. agreed.
“People wouldn’t readily admit they shopped at thrift stores, much less show off what they bought there.”
Much has changed since then. The number of thrift and vintage stores in the city now proves that daily. In the past few years fist fulls of thrift stores have popped up in the downtown Richmond area alone, including Ashby in Carytown (2012) Round Two on Broad st. (2013), Rumors Boutique (2007) and many many (many) more.
Neil Thomas, an employee at Rumors, said they were the pioneers of the new, thriving thrift scene here in RVA.
The founders of Rumors, Casey Longyear and Marshe Wyche, both spent much of their early years in the country, shopping at thrift stores for necessity as those were the main outlets for clothes.
This part of their lives did stick with them when they started Rumors in 07, originally on Harrison Street.
It started out as a boutique based on their own experience of creating unique looks from the thrift stores of their childhood. When the store transitioned to more second hand clothes later the next year, profits really started to rise.
So what factors were behind this trend? Thomas said the recession almost certainly had a part in the growth – working with wholesalers and boutique men’s shops, “People can get high fashion items at much lower prices.” So at a time of tight money, a place like Rumors offered a great value.
Soon enough, other thrift stores bloomed to Richmond like so many wild flowers in early spring.
“At that time, thrift stores and vintage shops were a necessity for many shoppers.“ And now that the economy is improving? Thomas said “people shop here because of the value but also the treasures.”
Over at Richmond Book Shop, owner Pritz also sees “treasure hunting” and value as the top drivers of thrifting. While not technically a thrift store, she does feel the book shop is patronized by the same customer base. Whether they are young or old, she said, “people enjoy the hunt, “they like the thrill of finding a hard to find item at a great price.”
So what does the typical Richmond thrift shopper look like?
For 24-year-old Ashley Seng, it is all about the value. “I like the name brands and I know I can get them at a better price.”
Working in retail in addition to running her own business as a masseuse, Seng says the clothes are key. “Everything I touch in there I can find myself wearing it,” she said.
Where years before, thrift shopping was something you kept to yourself, now people brag about the amazing clothes they bought.
Clothes are not the only items bringing people back to thrifting. 25-year-old VCU student John Goldhamer visits Diversity Thrift often and said he started thrifting because he had to.
“Now I shop for the value and the rare finds,” he said, clarifying he now finds himself rifling through old shelves for books. “Probably half the books I own came from [thrift stores],” he said.
Back at Rumors, Thomas said they see a variety of folks coming in. Their use of social media, like Instagram, has also become integral to their success.
“Instagram in particular is among the most fashion based platforms and it really helps us,” said Thomas. NPR’s business-focused “Marketplace” agrees, calling the social platform a unique way to follow, discover and shop for fashion.
With Instagram and Facebook, Rumors can access out of state customers and also allow people to see when new merchandise is coming in store, “which helps drive foot traffic.”
Social media platforms skew toward a slightly younger customer base while at the Richmond Book Shop, age makes no difference. For Pritz, it’s “all about the treasure.”
