For 10 years, I obsessed over finding a ’70s-era corduroy car coat like the one Wynona Ryder wears in the first season of Stranger Things. Not a “vintage inspired” fashion version, but an American classic turned velvety with wear. That meant thrifting at resale shops.
Always on the lookout, I never scored because the outerwear selection in my size (large) was bleak. But today I am thrifting in the age of Ozempic, when women jettison entire wardrobes as an act of reinvention after dramatic weight loss, often monetizing through consignment and resale. As a result of all the larger sizes flowing into stores, I finally possess my unicorn: a heritage LL Bean corduroy coat as soft as cashmere in the groovy retro color of faded citron, all for the price of a burger at my neighborhood pub.
Where once I had trouble finding my size, the popularity of GLP-1 drugs produces almost too many possibilities. Winter has always been my wardrobe low point: black, black, and, for a little fun, maybe some charcoal gray. But now my closet looks like I am in the wrong house. Color! Texture! Print! Thanks to Ozempic, selections are vast and wildly diverse, and prices are low.
A thrifting bonanza
I am not on the consignment hunt for couture; I am shopping for solid “regular women” brands that are still in good shape even as resale items because they aren’t fast fashion. Although I’ve never been a blazer wearer, I now have two: bouclé wool in deep sienna and a tuxedo-style smoking jacket with green velvet lapels and buttons. Each great closet addition cost me less than two bowls of pho.
Women aren’t selling off wardrobes because their clothing is out of style. The use of GLP-1 drugs can radically shift sizing so that even beloved items have to go, and I’m far from the only one taking advantage of this quality thrifting bonanza.
According to data from online resale marketplace ThredUp, the annual Capital One Shopping report, and spending behavior analysts Consumer Edge, the 2025 U.S. secondhand market is worth an estimated $56 billion (up 14.3% from 2024) and visits to resale stores were up 39.5% in 2025 (compared to Q2 2019), with an 80% rise in thrift and consignment spending among GLP-1 users.
There are many reasons people frequent resale shops, from the economical to the environmental. Approximately one-third of clothing and apparel items purchased in the U.S. over the past year were secondhand, saving manufacturing resources and carbon emissions.
A renewed sense of discovery
But to me the best part of thrift shopping is cultural. Frequenting resale shops can provide that lovely convivial experience we once had when our shopping companions were friends, not phones. I’m often surrounded by other shoppers inspired and excited by the prospect of what we might find and open to the unexpected. Because the nature of resale makes the clothing one-of-a-kind, there’s a sense of discovery and camaraderie with shared conversations about a garment’s value and discussions about fit even among strangers.
With expanded size range and diversity of brands, today’s resale stores are more like independent boutiques, which are harder and harder to find due to the financial hardships based in fluctuating consumer habits. These old-school stores were vision-led, with gut-sense merchants assembling intentional collections from many different brands, often with an artisanal vibe. Their small inventories were always percolating, bubbling up something new, in contrast to brand-led stores offering mass-produced clothing under the same label: racks of algorithmic-driven styles that may work conceptually in the boardroom, but not so much in the dressing room.
How to pick your spot
Because people tend to sell quantities of clothing close to home, the best way to thrift in the age of Ozempic is to pick a shop in an area where women are likely to wear the brands you want to find and go there regularly.
My usual spot is on a cobblestone-lined street in a village-like neighborhood a short train ride away from the center of the city where I live—once called a railroad suburb. Look for a well-lit, well-organized store where the clothing is neatly hanging on uniform hangers.
If you do become a regular and see the same garments week after week, move on—that store isn’t getting enough traffic to keep things interesting. Because you don’t have to settle. Closet upheavals due to GLP-1 drugs are plentiful, giving us lots of options. So, experiment until you find your own resale sweet spot, then start building the wardrobe you’ve always wanted: Their loss is your gain.
