Spruce Up Your Spring Wardrobe

When the flowers start blooming each year, and I pack away my parka, my first order of business is pulling out the flip flops and lots of bright cardigans. Inevitably, while I'm doing this, I'll find a long forgotten Christmas gift in the back of the closet. Maybe it was the wrong shade for me, or an unflattering style, but the bottom line is that this brand new shirt (that I never intend to wear) is still just sitting in my closet. Behind the shirt are some skinny jeans that might be just a tad too skinny, a striped skirt I can't quite pull off, and three purses that don't match a thing I own.

While these items may have irritated you all winter by their mere presence, they could easily be your ticket to sprucing up your spring wardrobe. Great shops like The Buffalo Exchange, Plato's Closet, and Second Time Around offer cash or store credit for reselling your gently used clothing. These stores typically carry higher quality clothing at very reasonable prices, making it easy to replace those unwanted items with styles you prefer and will actually wear!

I used to be skeptical about the idea of secondhand clothing, but the styles sold here are modern, recycled and the perfect non-expensive splurge when you're needing some retail therapy. If I didn't always rave about these places to my friends and colleagues, I'm pretty sure that no one would even know that this is where the majority of my clothes come from. As an added bonus, you rarely feel buyer's remorse at places like these- it's much easier to justify than a shopping spree at Anthropologie or Zara. I get a great amount of satisfaction from knowing that the cowlneck J.Crew sweater that I recently purchased at the Buffalo Exhange was $70 cheaper than I would have paid at the store... it makes me feel stylish AND smart!

The only downside is that if you're looking for a specific item to add to your wardrobe, there are no guarantees that you'll find what you're looking for at these shops. At most places, if they cannot accept your items, they will place them in a "donation bin" that will end up at a Salvation Army, Goodwill, or AIDS Thrift.

If you're serious about making your closet environmentally-friendly, it might also be a good idea to read Patagonia's Common Threads Initiative and make the pledge. This pledge incorporates 5 main ideas:

1. Reduce: buy only what you really need, and make sure that the item is of high quality
2. Repair: don't discard items that can be easily fixed and used again
3. Reuse: find a useful home for items that you are no longer using
4. Recycle: keep your clothes out of landfills whenever possible (gross fact: the average person throws out 68 pounds of clothes per year)
5. Reimagine: work towards a world less focused on consumerism

Companies like Patagonia have high standards of corporate responsibility, and make very well-made products, so if you can afford to invest in their gear, you will probably find it quite worth your while.

What are some of the environmentally conscious brands that you like to support? And are there any secondhand stores that you frequent in your area? I'd love to hear about your experiences!