Wedding attire doesn't often come cheap, but one wedding guest shared his astonishment on Reddit at the savings he made on a thrifted three-piece suit.
A photo on the r/ThriftStoreHauls subreddit shows the thrifter looking dapper in a navy blue suit jacket, trousers, and waistcoat, which would originally have cost $1,700. But the Redditor paid a mere $20.
The best part is, it's a perfect fit — not an easy feat even with a suit bought brand new.
"In the photo it hasn't been tailored yet, jacket fits almost perfectly. Pants are pretty good too," he wrote in a comment.
Wedding costs have risen dramatically in recent years, including costs for guests. The average wedding guest is set to spend $1,329 on attending nuptials this year, up from $1,123 in 2022, according to American Express.
But thrifting is one way that budget-conscious attendees can save a buck. Its affordability is one factor pushing the secondhand market's massive growth. Its value is due to leap from $177 billion to $350 billion by 2027.
A little patience while thrifting can score some serious results. Other Redditors have dug up rare designer labels like a Gucci suit, a John Galliano coat, and a Bob Mackie jacket for docked prices.
Environmental consciousness is another major driver for thrifting's surging popularity. As many as 20% of shoppers now prioritize secondhand shopping because it is environmentally friendly, according to Vinted.
The secondhand retail giant estimates that in 2021, shopping on its platform saved 453 kilotonnes (almost 999 million pounds) of polluting gases — the equivalent of driving 3.6 billion kilometers (2.2 billion miles).
Fast fashion is one of the worst polluting industries, producing 10% of the world's air pollution, which even beats air travel.
Water scarcity can also be linked to fast fashion's resource-intensive practices. A single pair of jeans uses up 999 gallons of water during production — enough to keep one average American man hydrated for 1,000 days.
Then there's the waste that fast fashion generates at the end of its life. An estimated 11.3 million tons of textiles were dumped in U.S. landfills in 2018, while a mere 14% of the textile waste generated that year was recycled.
But as thrifting becomes more widespread, the hope is that it could help to halt fast fashion's environmental destruction.
And in the case of this Redditor, he is looking stylish while helping out the planet.
"That is an amazing looking suit," one Redditor wrote.
"You look like a million bucks! Great find," another agreed.
"My son just paid over 300 dollars for a suit that looks exactly the same. You scored!" said another.
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