Noticing Neighbors She’s Thrifted

We all love a good thrift find, but what if there was a boutique that would do the shopping and find those gems for you? That’s the idea behind She’s Thrifted, an online thrift boutique with pieces that are personally curated by Ashley Rudd. With an eye for fashion, her boutique offers second-hand designer clothing, vintage pieces, as well as vintage glassware. This fall, if you are looking for a refresh in your wardrobe, check out the Personal Style Box service. The boutique is taking on new clients for a curated shopping experience, where Ashley gets to know your personal style and creates a box that is tailored to your goals.

As the owner of She’s Thrifted, Ashley Rudd sat down to share her story.

Hayley:

For readers that might just be learning about the business, could you introduce She's Thrifted?

Ashley:

She's Thrifted is an online thrift boutique that features name brand, vintage, and designer clothing. I also offer curated style boxes, think Stitch Fix, except that these are thrifted pieces. The boxes give a chance for clients to fill out a form about their style, and then I'll shop for them and ship it to them. I also have ventured out, and She’s Thrifted offers vintage glassware.

Hayley:

That seems very specialized, like you really have an eye for it. How did you get started?

Ashley:

So I've always been into fashion, and I just always loved shopping. When I was a kid, we'd go to our neighborhood garage sales. My mom would take me to Half of Half store as a kid. Like, I hated it. But as I got older, and went to college, for me it was necessary. Like, I love to shop, but I'm on a college student's budget. So I would go to Plato’s Closet, or a local Goodwill. I've just always loved to shop. Then one day I decided to start a blog about my thrifting. It was more about showing people what I could find at the thrift store, because I know there's still a stigma around. There can be a stigma around wearing used clothes. I still have friends who are kind of against it. So I wanted to show people you can find some really good stuff at the thrift store.

It started off as an Instagram blog where I would post like: oh, I found this. This sale is happening at this store. Then one day someone saw something I posted and they said, “Hey, if you were selling that, I'd buy it.”

So I was like, okay, buy it! Then they came back and told me they hate shopping, but need new clothes. They just got a new job, but would pay me to shop for them. So She’s Thrifted actually started as a personal shopping service where I would thrift shop for people. Hayley: What a neat idea. Ashley: I always wanted a boutique, but this is where I started. So once the pandemic hit and everything shut down, I had to pivot. I finally was able to start the thrift store, and already had a bunch of inventory, because I'm one of those people who will stop and buy things because I think: oh, someone else is going to like this. Sometimes I can't fit it, but I know someone else will love it. That's how it evolved from personal shopping, to the boutique idea, and adding on the style boxes because I'd have people asking for something very specific. Hayley: What types of pieces do they ask for?

Ashley: Things like: “Could you get this for me? I'm going on vacation. I need some specific outfits.” So that is why I offer the style boxes, as well as the personal shopping.

Hayley:

It's interesting that you do a personalized service, because you have to really get to know someone's style quickly, and have a sense of what they like. Is there a joy in that for you?

Ashley:

Yes. For me, I love seeing when clients send me pictures or when they send me a message like, “Oh, my gosh, I love everything that you sent me!” Because my biggest thing is helping people feel joy and confidence through their clothing. Sometimes, if you look good, you just feel good. So if I can help someone with that, I will. I’ve had clients share that they’ve had body changes. I've lost all this weight, or I've gained this weight—they want to find something that fits well. I love to help people feel confident. Then I am able to see all the creativity other people have when they do buy something from me, and then they're able to style it in a way I never thought. It's just really cool to see.

Hayley:

Are there any specific times you can share where you saw someone’s confidence go up from working with you?

Ashley:

Well, I did recently have a mom sign up to have a style box, and she just messaged me. She was like, “Hey, I'm six months postpartum. My body's changed. I need clothes. I'm a stay at home mom now, but I also have my own business, so I need things for when I am in my office and when I am working with people, and I just want to feel good.” She wanted to feel good again, and so I was able to shop for her, and I got a message. She said: “Like, I love everything. You really got exactly what I wanted!” That made me feel really good, because I know what it's like to be postpartum and how that feels when your body has changed so much and your clothes don't fit like they used to. So that was a really good moment for me.

Hayley:

That literally changes how someone shows up in the world. What a valuable thing.

This is the last question, and you can take it wherever you want. How have you seen goodness through working with your company?

Ashley:

I think it's been through the people. Just to see people who never thought to thrift and see how they realize: “Oh, wow, this is really cool, it helps the environment, and I'm saving money.” Hayley: Sure. Ashley: I've done workshops with college students, and help them understand that when you graduate from college, it can be hard. They want you to have this professional wardrobe, but you just graduated from college. Like, you don't have any money. So to see college students when I do the workshop, go from feeling defeated, to: oh, my gosh. I can enter the workforce so confident! They can feel good in what they’re wearing, and now how to build a wardrobe. A professional wardrobe. I remember we had an intern who wasn't coming to work appropriately, and then after the workshop, she came up to me, “Hey, Ms. Rudd, could I use your services?” Because she had already been pulled in by someone higher up about her attire, but she didn't know where to go. Hayley:

Absolutely.

Ashley: To then see her coming back to work and tell me, “Ms. Rudd, thank you so much, because I was feeling horrible that I wasn't coming to work appropriately for my internship.”

I get to really see the confidence that people have and how they're able to show up in the world. I think it's more like—the good I see is how people are able to pass it along, basically. Hayley: Yeah. Ashley: Once they know how, they're able to help someone else. Especially the college students. Once they do a workshop, they're able to go to their friends and invite them to the thrift store. Let me show you what I learned, and how to find this work attire at the thrift store. To see how people can pass it along in the community and amongst each other, is so uplifting.