Let’s dress to express: Anshuman Chakaravarty

Thrift Shopping is one of the latest trends in fashion. People love to dress up in various styles of apparels irrespective of the time they hit the market. Moreover, it gives an opportunity for people from various sections to grab on to expensive brands or chic apparels at a cheaper rate. It’s a great destination for street style enthusiasts to explore and purchase fashionable roll tees, hoodies, urban jackets, sweatpants and many more.

Though the concept of thrift Stores was originated in the western countries, recently, it has become a popular trend across the globe especially in India. Inspired by its popularity and benefits, people launched online thrift stores which have boomed during the pandemic. One of the popular Indian thrift stores is ParadimeThrift. It was founded by Anshuman Chakaravarthy.

Speaking to Hans India, Anshuman shared his exciting journey of launching the pop culture inspired store.

What inspires you or lands you up with an idea of running a thrift store in India?

The fact that there is a large section of the Indian demographic that loves expressing itself via the way they dress. In a highly price sensitive market such as ours, it is extremely important to constantly regulate the price of our products and I always ensure that our customers get the best items at the best prices. When our customers rep our items and send us good reviews, it really makes me feel like all the effort has paid off.

Are you an avid thrift shopper? What makes you love thrift shopping?

Since I was 19 years old, I’ve been an avid thrift shopper. It has been a half decade, where I have traveled to every city for thrift shopping. I love thrift shopping so much that I make sure I find the best markets in the city during my visit and it has always been an integral part of my vacation.

What makes me love thrift shopping is the fact that it always comes with an element of uncertainty - you’re never sure of what you can find in these markets. It feels like I’m opening up a mystery box of items and it almost always ends up being a good surprise.

What are the benefits of thrift shopping?

Buying second hand clothes is an environmentally conscious way of keeping your wardrobe fresh and up to date. You also get to score unique 1-of-1 items at throwaway prices so you won’t end up finding your “outfit twin” in a public place ever again.

Why do customers prefer second hand products over new ones?

In my opinion, it’s the rarity of the item coupled with the fact that most second hand products are out of circulation. If you can get your hands on vintage items, they’re reminiscent of a certain era in terms of the fit and silhouette of the item as well as the colors used to dye the product.

What are the misconceptions on thrift shopping?

Some people are skeptical about the condition of the items, whether they have any stains or tears etc. We always make sure to be completely transparent about the condition of the product. As far as possible, we try to source only those items that have no defects.

What are the challenges you face while running the store?

It does get hard to juggle a full time job with a side hustle that requires you to put in dedicated hours of effort every week - be it sourcing or getting packages delivered or curating the next collection, the list of to-dos never really ends. That said, my weekends are mostly spent working on the bigger picture and I try not to get caught up with smaller tasks that take up my mental bandwidth.

How do you manage to get your customers or followers to shop at your store?

I’m lucky to have a large base of potential customers very organically and I attribute this to the early momentum I received in terms of support from my close friends and family, who are always there in my corner. Invariably, my friends get early access to purchasing most items from every curated collection. I feel indebted and owe them a lot more than just this special privilege.

Can you pls share some tips on thrift shopping for beginners and what are things to be avoided while thrift shopping?

It’s good to do your due diligence when selecting a store to shop from. Some green flags to look for are - positive reviews from customers, features on social media/listicles and it’s always good to have a personal connection vouch for the store if they’ve purchased from them before. Previously, I had faced scammed incidents and as a rule of thumb, I only shop from established thrift stores. However, it doesn’t mean one should not support the upcoming or newly launched thrift stores.

What are your future goals?

The goal is to have a self-sustaining physical entity of the store where people can come in, donate or trade their clothes for store credit.