The notion of strolling into the local Goodwill or Salvation Army store to pick up some new threads is foreign to many of us — or rather, was foreign, until an unlikely source made it hip.

Ben Haggerty, a 30-year-old Seattle native, is better known by his stage name: Macklemore. The rapper is famous for his hit song “Thrift Shop” and will perform at the Carrier Dome on Monday night. The song reached the No. 1 slot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart earlier this year.

Typically, rappers don’t rap about thrift shopping — they probably don’t even shop for themselves. Instead, they rap about their love of the finer things life has to offer, like overpriced cars and clothing.

“Thrift Shop” is a catchy and fun song that possesses an underlying positive message about fashion. It also exhibits a good measure of wit and provides social commentary in a subtle, snarky way.

Shopping traditional retail is, by no means, cheap, which Macklemore fully acknowledges in his song. Most college students do only have $20 in their pockets, and paying much more for a T-shirt is simply out of the question. Thus, going down to the thrift shop is an affordable alternative that also allows you to discover your true style and let your inner stylist come out.

I have found that the best way to glean your current style preference is to set yourself loose in a thrift shop. When you are in this hodgepodge fashion jungle, allow yourself to gravitate toward whatever items to which your eyes are first drawn.

If you find yourself holding a plaid shirt, the subliminal styling exercise is telling you that you are in a grunge phase and should pursue the impulse by pairing the plaids with some neutral colors and combat boots.

Conversely, if you find yourself holding a floor-length floral sundress, you are clearly in a feminine stage and should follow such instincts by paring subdued florals with light, airy pastels.

After discovering your current style — and I say “current” because your style preferences change many times throughout your life — you can be your own thrift shop stylist and essentially purchase a new wardrobe, all for less than $30.

Thrift shopping can also be extremely exhilarating. That amazing rush you get shopping retail and finding an article of clothing that’s 70 percent off, magnify that feeling times 200 and that’s what it feels like to buy something you adore for only 99 cents.

So, if you are “huntin’” for some new clothes, be sure to drop by a local thrift shop like 3fifteen or Goodwill and see how incredible you can look in “your granddad’s clothes.”

Jenna Belmonte is a magazine, newspaper and online journalism graduate student. Her fashion column appears every Monday in Pulp. She can be reached at jmbelmon@syr.edu.

Published on November 10, 2013 at 11:43 pm