Thrift Shopping: Mid-Size and Disabled

Hey pals,

I finally got out of the house alone and wanted to try and find some of the things on my thrifted clothes wish list (spoiler: I didn’t find any of them…) and I tried on a bunch of clothes and took photos, so I wanted to tell you about my experience shopping as a mid-size queer person. I’m also disabled, if you’re new here, and have a chronic illness which make me very fatigued. This shopping trip was the worst weather I’ve been out in since my third year at uni when March was frozen over. So I only made it to and through two shops before been too tired and needing to go home. I also left all my shopping bags in the car and only had my backpack, and really hate buying plastic bags. I had limited space.

Check out my clothing purge video where I finally chuck my skinny clothes

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Nike t-shirt £3.99

The first thing I tried on was this Nike t-shirt. Now, I know nothing about vintage sportswear so it’s probably not that old, but it had a cute 90’s feel to it. I jokingly called this the lesbian footballer look when I sent it to my friend, seeking her approval.

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ASOS men’s shirt (XL?)

The next item was this ASOS men’s shirt in a beautiful blush pink. I didn’t like how it fit, which was very unfortunate, as i loved the colour of it. It was also poppers not buttons? So, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this… so it went back on the rack.

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Cotton Traders shirt £5.99 (M)

I found two Cotton Trader shirts, and looking at the label I could tell this was a good brand (never heard of them but the label was real fancy and unique) plus it helps giving me a self-esteem boost that it was a size medium and fit me really nicely. I loved this muted colour striped one, less of a fan of the next one…

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Cotton Traders shirt (M)

Even though this is the one that caught my eye on the rack first. My best friend make me feel like I can take more fashion risks and I picked this up with her in mind. But, sadly, I just didn’t like the orange tones that much.

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I then popped to a different shop. One of the main things on my wish list is a decent pair of jeans that are similar to my Levi’s but different colours. I picked up two pairs of blue jeans labelled 36 inch waist and neither of them fit! Very rude.

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I also tried on a pair that said it was 38 inch waist (which I was sure would be a bit too big) but even holding them up, they genuinely could have housed a circus. I didn’t even need to undo the button to pull them up.

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Next UK 14 £4.20

I did find a very cute velour women’s top. I don’t often look in the women’s section but this charity shop looked pretty boojy and had a lot of really nice clothes hanging up (near the front anyway) and I found this in a 14. I vary from 14-16 in tops really depending on the cut and material but it looked pretty cute, even though the neck was a lot wider than I’m used to (I wear men’s crew necks all the time) so I bought this. Also, Next isn’t a bad shop for quality so I felt pretty pleased with myself.

Len Goodman Memoir £2 & T cup 99p

I bought some non-clothing items, because I’m always looking for Christmas or birthday presents for people. I found the perfect mug for my Gran (who’s name begins with a T) because she struggles to hold cups based on their weight and how big the handle is, and this looked pretty perfect and wasn’t heavy. I was from Wilko, still had the sticker on the bottom so likely brand new and probably anywhere from £1-£5 originally so 99p isn’t bad! And I found Len Goodman’s autobiography. Me, my mum and Gran all love watching Strictly Come Dancing, and he used to be head judge. The blurb sounds really interesting and I think all three of us would probably enjoy reading it so £2 it pretty good for three different people!

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Atmosphere £4.50

This is my final item, the first bag I’ve bought. I was a little pissed when I got it home and saw it was a Primark bag, but considering it was probably more that what I paid and it was still in reasonable shape, I think I can cope. I like a cross body strap and always keep an eye out for smaller bags that I can take and use for like a night out or to go out somewhere I don’t want to take a massive backpack or my messenger bag. I felt like this could be worn by any gender, and I hate flashy bags, so this one felt right and looks like I’ll fit everything I need in there!

My Total was £21.67 for 6 items, which is err-ing on the pricier side, but a lot of the more expensive items were good quality clothing so I don’t mind too much. Whereas I’ve been to a few £3 a bag sales, I’ve picked up items that have gone straight to depop sale coz I really just didn’t want to waste the bag space and some of those were pretty decent brands for hardly any money at all. I think I may have found one of my new passions to write and make YouTube videos about. I haven’t really seen many LGBT+ people making thrifting content, the few I have are either L.A based or really skinny, si I want to put myself out there as a mid-size, nonbinary, bi, disabled, and chronically ill person who loves thrifting and style!

I highly recommend any UK people check out my depop! I am a trans friendly shop (obviously but I feel it always needs to be said) and I post pretty quickly and I do try to sell as cheaply as I can but it is my main hussle that makes money so please try to be understanding.

~ Artie