By Olivia Madrid
For Macy Eleni, fashion has never existed without thrifting. Hailing from the suburbs of Ohio, Eleni found herself in between the racks of her local Salvation Army, where she discovered her love of thrifting.
Growing up, she had dreamt of shopping at the Dayton Mall and wearing the popular fashion brands, but that wasn't financially feasible for her family. Instead, she found inspiration in fashion magazines, covering her bedroom walls with the pages she had ripped out. In her late teens, she found her love for thrifting, discovering that thrifting allowed her to bring that inspiration to life and opened her eyes to the vast world of fashion that already existed outside the mall. Initially, thrifting was just a casual activity she did with her uncle or mom for Halloween costumes, but as she became more interested in the craft of styling, thrifting transformed into her personal "fashion wonderland."
Her uncle David, known for his spunky outfits sourced from thrift stores, would take her on Wednesdays for the Salvation Army’s half-off sales. Naturally, these weekly thrift runs turned into a deep passion for Eleni.
“I remember going to the thrift store with him,” Eleni said. “And this is before I was really into fashion, but I loved just being there with him. I thought he was so cool because he wore all thrifted clothes. He inspired me a lot to be myself. He was someone in our town that stood out.”
However, when she was going to high school, thrifting wasn’t appreciated as a skill like it is today. The stigma around thrifting was that secondhand equals poor.
“It would kind of hurt my feelings when I would hear girls call it smelly or dirty. Then I'm like, ‘I wash this stuff the same way you guys wash your clothes from the mall that a million people have tried on!’”
Eleni often thrifted alone, which she now compares to the newly built community she has today. Although it was lonely at the time, she remained positive, influenced by her mother’s encouragement. Her mom made every experience special, even on a budget, which helped Eleni maintain a positive outlook on thrifting. Eleni felt that her peers were missing out on the fashion opportunities thrifting offered. She was inspired by early YouTube vloggers and vintage fashion from London, which fueled her passion. She even started a fashion magazine section at her high school. Eleni was determined to leave her hometown and pursue her vision.
When she began sharing thrift and estate sale content on TikTok in 2020, she was among the first to do so. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with many viewers sharing her enthusiasm for thrifting and expressing genuine interest in her findings.
“I love people waking up to the superpower of thrifting clothes,” she smiles. “I mean, everyone that I ever met who has like, the coolest outfit on always says it's thrifted. I think when you don't have access to things, like, right off the rack styled for you, you're forced to be creative and think outside the box. That’s where all the magic comes from.”
Eleni's new book, “Second Chances,” is set to be released Sept. 24. In it, she not only gives her tips and tricks for thrifting and shopping estate sales, but she details personal experiences from growing up in a single-income home, and dealing with mental health issues from a young age. It reflects Eleni’s journey through thrifting as a form of escape from a difficult reality. The title symbolizes both the renewal of clothing and the author's path to self-confidence and recovery. She emphasizes that thrifting is more than just shopping — it's a meaningful practice that has positively impacted her life and others in the thrifting community. Writing this book helped Eleni in more ways than she could have imagined.
“I mean, honestly, the number one thing I learned while writing the book was that I had undiagnosed ADHD,” she recalls. It wasn’t until Eleni’s mid-20s that she truly felt herself, but during that time, it was thrifting that gave Eleni the hope for a second chance. “I found it's a place where a lot of us have been able to go and put away some not-so-sparkly feelings, and make something really beautiful for ourselves.” She truly believes in thrifting as more than just shopping; it’s a way to find yourself.
“Honestly, the number one thing that I feel like people can really take away from it is that empathy and kindness matters so much in like, community driven things like thrifting. We are literally passing things on to the next, reusing it, recycling it, giving it to the next. And I think that kindness can get you everywhere. I mean, even in life in general."
Eleni shares her enthusiasm to come to Phoenix for the first time, for her visit to Ewie Vintage Thursday, Aug. 15.
"I couldn't be more excited," Eleni said. "I've never had the opportunity to do something like this outside of LA. I've done a couple of events here, including a meet-and-greet at ThriftCon, which was really fun, but I'm just so in love with this community. I'm excited to see everyone's outfits, take pictures, and share the book in person. It's going to be amazing to finally get to chat and connect in real life. I saw a comment on the RSVP list that said, 'I'm excited to meet thrift friends,' and that’s exactly what I hope happens." she smiles. “We're gonna be doing all the things – there's gonna be a vintage designer bag giveaway for everyone that's pre-ordered the book, and I'm bringing literally, just like a rack of the hottest LA thrift finds for everyone to shop.”
Catch Macy Eleni at Ewie Vintage from 7 to 9 p.m this Thursday. You can pre-order “Second Chances” here, and enter in the giveaway here.
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