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Thick Thrift LA – Flea Market for Plus Size Secondhand
Fashion, secondhand included, often excludes a wide variety of body shapes and sizes. Thick Thrift is here to change that.
Once a month, a parking lot and garage space in the Arts District in Los Angeles transform into a widely popular thrift market. Thick Thrift caters to plus size shoppers who often find next to nothing in their sizes at thrift and vintage stores. At this market, everyone is guaranteed to find cute and stylish secondhand clothes, all the while having fun and being treated with kindness and respect.
Rachael Frank, Mia Fernandez, and Aya Kajikaw founded the event soon three years ago. “We started Thick Thrift because there were no in-person places to shop that catered to plus sizes, especially that had vintage, masc, and alternative options. This event is needed because having the opportunity to express yourself through clothing is essential, no matter your size! Fat people are tired of being othered”, they say.
We interviewed shoppers and sellers about their experience at the Thick Thrift February market.
Andreas Acosta – @asif.tv
“I have been shopping at Thick Thrift several times, and this is my first time selling here. It is nice to have a community for plus size fashionable clothing, which is really hard to find. A lot of my inventory is gender neutral, gender fluid, and nonbinary.
Regular or standard sized people have the luxury of going to any store and trying on whatever they want but plus size people don’t generally have that privilege. I love to be able to allow people to find clothes that actually fit them.
To make the secondhand space better for plus size and bigger bodies, we need the actual clothing brands to make more inclusive sizes because you get the secondhand from the stuff you buy. If the brands don’t make clothes in plus size, there will never be secondhand plus size either.”
Taet, 29 – @nialuv19
“My thrifted sweater is too hot for this weather but it is cute so I wear it anyway. The pants I bought from my grandmother’s post order catalogue. I haven’t worn them since I bought them, like years and years ago, and I found them in my closet for this event, so, perfect? And a yellow beret from Japan and white Crocs to match the entire fit. I have similar hats in a bunch of colors. Definitely looking like a sandwich and a macaron.
Jazz, 39 — @jazziepleaze
”Anytime I can make it, I do try to come here. Not only do I know I'll find clothes in my size, but I'll also find incredible and unique pieces that represent my style. That’s just fire. Now I'm wearing Lizzo shoes from The Plus Bus, neon green softball socks with a cute mini skirt with a little slit in the front, a long sleeve vintage top, a Care Bear vest, and a cute little leopard print purse.”
Maya
”I’m wearing a skirt, shirt and boots from my favorite thrift store, Community Thrift. This is my third time shopping here and definitely not the last one. I always have so many options here that I never know what to buy. I go to every booth every time.”
Gabi – @gabiesfuentes
“It can be hard to find clothes at the mall that will both fit me or are up to my style. That’s why I’m always looking forward to shopping at Thick Thrift, where I can find cute clothes in my size and also support small businesses, shop second-hand, and be around a lot of kind people. This time I bought a gingham maxi skirt and a crochet cardigan from FAT FWD and a handmade pink collar from Miss Alphabet. I have a whole Pinterest board of ideas on how to mix and match clothes similar to what I’ve bought.”
Luisa, 26 – @luisaluissaa & Verónica, 26 – @veroliciousss
Luisa: “My jewelry is a mixture of vintage and local LA small businesses, skirt and sunglasses are thrifted, shoes are New Rock and top from Target.“
Verónica: “I love Thick Thrift event so much because I always feel excluded from other flea markets due to lack of size inclusivity and I was so happy to find so many pieces that fit me. I ended up buying so many pieces – I might even have gone over budget!”
Emily, 24 – @emiiilyyy.c
“I bought two pairs of jeans, two denim skirts, a funky green bag, a couple of rings, and a red fuzzy hat at Thick Thrift. The green purse peeking out from my shopping bag is Hobo – I love it because it was a loud, fun color and design, which was a perfect accessory for a funky/y2k inspired outfit I had envisioned in my head. My current outfit is thrifted too, except the top and the Coach bag, which was a gift.”
Fina Valdez – Tesoro Vintage
“I’m offering a hands-on workshop where people can make colorful jewelry out of secondhand charms and trinkets: bracelets, necklaces, key chains, key rings. I come from a family of vendors. We all collect vintage and antique, one day at a dinner party we started going through a huge box of jewelry and making jewelry for ourselves – that’s how I got started. Today’s workshop is called Glamour Magic – using color, texture, and styles to exude confidence, grace, and honor. I also organize monthly workshops at Suay Sew Shop here in Los Angeles.”
Amanda, 20
“I love Thick Thrift. This time I wanted to get a lot of pants and jackets because I am going to Amsterdam to study next fall so I need cold weather clothes. So I got a lot of bulky things and that’s why I got two full bags! I love fashion, I love thrifting, and I think Thick Thrift is just the best place to shop ethically and with ease for the plus sizes. I’ve been coming here since the very start, and it is amazing how much it has grown.”
Benjamin Antonio – Total Bettiez
“I sell y2k, 90s secondhand and reworked fashion, always size inclusive. I was always into fashion but also vintage and secondhand. I studied fashion design at Long Beach City College. At my brand Total Bettiez I haveI mixed the two roads.
I’ve been selling here since the very first year and never missed one. This is my favorite thing to do. I love the community. Everyone’s so acceptive, kind and, inspiring. Everybody really appreciates the hard work you put in sourcing and making the items.”
Thick Thrift
@thickthriftla
Find with Gem
plaid black mini skirt- Wray 5X
- platform Crocs
- teal turtleneck
- Care Bear
- 2000s floral skirt
- gingham maxi skirt
- pink collar
- 90s crochet sweater
- purple mini skirt
- maxi denim skirt
- blue printed slong sleeve top
- jewelry mystery box
- 6XL dress
- short sleeve yellow knit sweater
- printed colorful maxi skirt
- denim jorts
- denim corset top