Anti-Mall

  Every late summer/ early fall all forms of media are being used to broadcast one thing: back to school shopping. Shopping for clothes, school supplies, furniture (?), and all sorts of things that don't even have to do with education. Most of the time in the past I have been thrilled to go to the mall for a new outfit but this year I'm not really. I've grown to find that I only go to the mall now to window shop and check out  Barnes&Noble. If I'm going to shop, I go to Goodwill or Target or some little second hand shop. I can find more unique stuff there for way cheaper!

So this year I've decided to go Anti-Mall. This is just something I've made up, but I'm not going to buy from a mall for the rest of this year. The problem with malls is they know they have an audience, one that is waiting hungrily for the next trend, so they know that they can charge more. As a result? More often than not you see several girls wearing the same American Eagle shirt on the same day.  I personally prefer the mystery of no one knowing where I got my skirt as opposed to someone saying "Oh, I saw that skirt in Maurices! Cute!"

I am not ashamed of Goodwill. When I was younger and didn't live near a mall with a Hollister I was incredibly jealous of all the hip little girls in my class who strutted in every day wearing not only Hollister but Aeropostale, American Eagle, and H&M. I had nice clothes, but I didn't have their clothes. I didn't want to tell anyone that I had gotten this t-shirt from Salvation Army or Old Navy. Now? Now if someone asks I will ask them exactly where I got it. I will feel proud for coming up with something that looks just as good for less money. It's not the brand of clothes that counts it's whether or not that person has style. A person can have all the designer clothes or mall brand clothes they want and not know how to wear it at all. It all depends on how you rock it I think. And my way to rock is second-hand.