By Devin Miles..

One of my favorite things about thrifting is seeing and meeting people with an incredibly unique style. What stands out to me most about them is their confidence—the way they carry themselves like they know they have a good outfit on. I can attest to this feeling, too. After years of putting together looks with thrifted, reworked, and reimagined pieces, there’s something reassuring about knowing that what I’m wearing has character.

Cultivating personal style is an underrated skill in today’s world. I call it a skill because it is—having good style can be relatively easy as long as you have a smartphone and internet connection. But having a strong personal style—carrying yourself with an air of individuality—takes a little more dedication. With the rise of “microtrends” and fashion bloggers, style often feels informed rather than curated. Since we spend so much time online, it makes sense that our wardrobes reflect the content we engage with. And it doesn’t stop there—you can be influenced on how to do your makeup, where to go, what water bottle or trinkets to buy… Being influenced isn’t inherently bad, but personal style is just that—personal. That’s why I think it’s important to experience the world through a first person pov and foster real-life relationships with people and places that contribute to your sense of style.

Just as the internet can bleed into real life through your style, so can spending time cultivating your interests and hobbies. Immersing yourself in new spaces with like-minded people can introduce you to different personalities and aesthetics. Seeing how people carry themselves in their element is inspiring and a big driver for finding what individuality looks like. That’s why I love thrifting and astrology so much—I end up at events and places tied to these interests, meeting people with distinct, quirky looks and stories that stick with me. There’s a certain glow to those who get carried away in their own spaces (in the best way possible). And even if nothing else, I usually walk away with insight on the best places to further explore my interests.

Thrifting is a great pastime that can help you develop personal style. Even just stepping into a thrift store forces you to think outside the box—since not every store is neatly organized, you have to do a bit of digging to strike gold sometimes. Because I treat thrifting like a true hobby, I’ve ended up in warehouses, estate sales, and pop-ups, where I usually find way cooler pieces than at my local Goodwill. It’s about saturation, too—the girlies on TikTok and Reels are thrifting more than ever and it’s a fast-growing trend, which means more people and less potential to find the good stuff.

When I noticed that shift, I expanded my interest in fashion and started reworking old clothes instead of sifting through leftovers in the store. It gave me more creative freedom and allowed me to focus on what looks good on me and to me, rather than chasing the latest internet trend.

Style isn’t everything, but at Holy Thrift, it obviously means a lot to us. The site is full of girls who have put in the work to cultivate their own personal style, and it shows. Each shop brings something new and different, and we want everyone to find something that speaks to them.

Personal style doesn’t happen overnight, but spending time exploring what makes you feel good is a great way to start. The goal isn’t to find the most outrageous pieces—it’s to wear what makes you feel more like you and to achieve that effortless glow of true personal style.