Hilary Hogg has a fever — and the only cure is more thrifting.

Many University students, including devout thrifter Hilary Hogg, have discovered new strategies to continue shopping in a cheap climate. SEAN TAYLOR/Staff

“All my friends say I have shopping fever,” said Hogg, a sophomore from Macon majoring in journalism. “People are like ‘Where do you shop’ and I’m like ‘Uhhh, Goodwill.’”

What began as a hobby has become a habit and, to some, a punch line.

“It’s kind of become a joke with my friends who are like ‘Oh yeah, she buys everything at Goodwill,’” Hogg said. “But you can’t tell.”

But Hogg isn’t alone in her thrifty ways. For many, shopping cheap is no laughing matter.

“I’ve been thrifting since middle school and [working at Plato’s] just seemed like the normal course of things,” said Katie Lager, manager of the Athens’ Plato’s Closet. “It’s the idea of recycling and reusing that I like the best.”

Lager said she shops at Plato’s at least weekly, and is always on the lookout for good deals.

To her, the hobby is fun and cheap — but not everyone agrees.

“My roommate absolutely hates that I collect things,” Lager said. “I bring home things from thrift stores and she won’t.”

Her roommate prefers that Lager doesn’t bring items and other shopping finds into their house if they don’t have a purpose.

But Lager’s found a simple solution.

“But I just wait for her not to be here,” she said. “I bring things home when she’s not home.”

Presents don’t hurt either.

“I usually buy presents for other people I know,” she said. “I’m always on the lookout for other friends. I know their sizes; I know their shoe sizes, I know what they like so its like a constant
scavenger hunt.”

And as a result, her roommate benefits.

“I clean my closet out quite a bit and she gets the spoils,” Lager said. “And I found a brand new snare drum for her … and it retails for a whole lot more than what I paid for it: $30 brand new.”

Similarly, Hogg has found brand new items at thrift stores, such as the Pottery Barn dish set she purchased from Goodwill.

Another of her favorite finds is a $70 down vest from Gap.

“This summer I went into a Goodwill and saw the exact vest from Gap I wanted, in my size, and it was $2,” she said. “It’s all really dependent on the income they’re getting and the one in Athens gets really good stuff.”

The key, she says, is having an eye for fabrics.

“I developed an eye for material, which is really important when you’re shopping in a big thrift store, being able to see a fabric and knowing that it’s a good piece,” she said. “I’ll go with my friends and, out of 100 shirts, I’ll pull something out and it happens to be an awesome shirt.”

And Hogg said strangers are never able to guess her clothes are from thrift stores.

Last week at Alpha Omicron Pi, her fashion was even admired.

“I was there eating dinner as a guest and a girl asked me where I shopped,” she said. “My shirt was from Goodwill, it was like $3.”

And while she also shops at retail stores, it’s with a different objective.

“A lot of times when I go shopping at retail stores I’m looking for a game day dress or something for an event,” Hogg said. “But [thrifting is] for the enjoyment of it and just being creative and having an open mind, you aren’t going for anything specific, just trying things that you would otherwise overlook.”

But all thrift stores are not equal.

“You have to be careful be because a lot of ‘thrift stores’ like Cillies downtown have really great deals … but it kinda becomes another retail store because those pieces have been thrifted out and hand-picked by the people who stock the store,” she said. “You lose a little bit of the fun and creativity and you’re still spending 20 bucks on a shirt when you could spend $2.”

Lager said her customers feel the same way.

“We haven’t really been hurting as much as new retailers have been hurting,” she said. “We are seeing more customer base coming in just because people are sick of paying full price.”

Above all, when thrifting, Hogg said it’s “important to kind of stay cheap but don’t sacrifice the style.”

“It’s something that everyone can do,” she said. “If you go enough and have an open mind and go with enough time and be patient and buy the really good things that are there.