Thrift shopping is having a moment. Apparel resale grew seven times the rate of the broader retail industry in 2023, and secondhand sales are expected to account for 10 percent of the global apparel market by the end of this year. In the Hudson Valley, plenty of vintage and secondhand stores cater to sustainably minded shoppers year round. But twice a year, thrifters travel from as far as Brooklyn, Connecticut, and the Catskills to visit the Cold Spring Thrift Alliance’s sale.
Through these events, the Cold Spring Thrift Alliance has raised an average of $20,000 a year for the historic Episcopal St. Mary-in-the-Highlands Church. The funds are used to maintain St. Mary’s campus of property and buildings, which are used year round for cultural events and community outreach. The organization is cofounded and led by a core team of Hudson Valley artists, filmmakers, musicians, including folk singer Dar Williams, documentary filmmaker Ivy Meeropol, art conservator Eugenei Milroy, BBC costume designer Charlotte Palmer-Lane, artist Joanne Russel, and musician Raquel Vidal.
The organization accepts over 2,000 pounds of clothing donations throughout the year, then curates thrift sales in the spring and fall. This year’s Spring Thrift Apparel Sale will be held on May 3 and 4 both indoors and outdoors at St. Mary’s Church in Cold Spring.
“We really just want to get all of these clothes into the right hands and recirculate them into the community in as many ways as we can think,” says Dar Williams, one of the organization’s cofounders.
While the sale is open to the public, the organization has also started distributing vouchers at local food pantries. These vouchers offer those in need the opportunity to fill a bag of clothing from the thrift sale for free.
“Our motto is Omnia Circularia, which means all things circular,” Williams says. “We want to make money for the food pantry and for the church, but it’s also this idea of this beautifully circulating economy.”
Clothing donations come from the local community and are organized, cleaned, and curated by the Cold Spring Thrift Alliance’s team of over 50 volunteers. And there is never a shortage of garments. “In our lives, first we want fashion, then we want style, then we want clothes,” Williams says, meaning that clothes are often less of a priority than the idea of fashion. “So a lot of times, I would tell people about the sale and they’d say that they don’t want clothes, but they have clothes to give.” Like a clothing swap executed on a massive scale, the thrift sale takes advantage of people’s changing tastes and styles to recirculate clothes that still have life.
“I think what our sale offers—and could be a template for other communities too—is a way to be more conscious of ourselves as consumers, to not always automatically feed the beast of fast fashion but rather enjoy the hunt for great and surprising clothes in a sustainable way while supporting the community,” says Ivy Meeropol.
The Cold Spring Thrift Alliance hosted its first sale in 2021 and has continued growing and bringing in new elements with each sale. This year’s spring sale will feature the organization’s first prom shop with formalwear including dresses and suits geared toward high schoolers ahead of prom season. “We have everything from retro paisley jackets to Brooks Brothers bespoke suits,” Williams says.
The younger generation is the thrift sale’s largest market among both local shoppers and visitors to the area. “The young people—the high school students, the college students coming in from the city—they’re the ones who buy the Back to the Future-style vintage pieces and the graphic tees,” Williams says. “It’s fun to hear people squealing and getting excited from across the sale.”
This year’s Spring Thrift Apparel Sale will be held the first weekend of May and will offer high-quality, secondhand fashion from designer brands such as Gucci, Oscar de la Renta, and Ferragamo, as well as popular favorites including Eileen Fisher, LL Bean, and J.Crew. The sale will also feature a mending station to promote clothing repairs and keep items in circulation. There will be a pre-sale party on May 2 for first picks of cashmere and designer pieces with a $20 donation.
“We have a lot of hopes for the sale this year,” says Williams. “Our biggest hope is for good weather. A lot of people come in from the city, because you can’t have a sale this big and bright in the city. And we’re also country mice, so things are very low-priced, so we’ve had a lot of good noise coming out of the city. We’re hoping to clear out the clothing and get it into the hands of people who will love it.”
This year’s Spring Thrift Apparel Sale will be held on May 3 and 4 both indoors and outdoors at St. Mary’s Church at 1 Chestnut Street, Cold Spring.
