Like so many of us, celebrities love thrifting. Though they have unlimited access to designers and custom couture—unlike us—plenty of celebrities continue to rave about secondhand and thrift stores.
From singers who love to perform in vintage (SZA) to actors who rewear their favorite gowns on the red carpet (Winona Ryder) and celebrities who exclusively shop vintage while traveling (Helen Mirren), these are some of the many celebrities who have spoken openly about their love for thrifting.
Paloma Elsesser
Paloma Elsesser is famously obsessed with vintage and archive fashion. In 2020, she said, "In general, I've never really bought fast fashion, I've always tried to shop vintage and thrift by default—mostly because that was all I could afford growing up—and I try not to buy and wear things that are just trend-driven."
Aya Cash
To say that Aya Cash loves thrifting is a serious understatement. “When I get a job in a small town, the first thing I do is look up the thrift shops. Even if I only have one day off, I will choose thrifting over sleep.” she told the Only Thrifting podcast.
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith and her children Jaden and Willow have all been bitten by the thrifting bug. Jada and Willow have been spotted at secondhand stores. Jaden has even said, "Thrifting, repairing and patching of clothing is the future...People are going to realise that thrifting is amazing for so many different reasons and so many different styles of clothing."
Miguel
In an interview with Complex, Miguel said that he uses local thrifting from his hometown as inspiration, not just for clothing designs for his brand, but also to "tell my story." He talked about hunting around for amazing vintage finds—finding that treasure, in other words.
Emma Watson
Emma Watson has been on the sustainable fashion bandwagon long before it was mainstream. In 2020, she partnered with thredUP on their Fashion Footprint Calculator. "Small changes, such as thrifting instead of buying new, supporting sustainable brands, and air-drying your clothes, can make a HUGE difference," she noted on Instagram.
Shailene Woodley
In 2024, Shailene Woodley shared all about her secondhand habits. "“Everything, apart from the socks I’m wearing, is secondhand...and there’s wonderful companies now like The RealReal where you can find incredible pieces and then also sell them back. And it creates this really fun system to interact with.”
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Deschanel told Lucky Magazine in 2014 that she thrifted prom dresses as a teen. "There's a picture of me I wish I could find. I would buy these big, cheap, fluffy '50s prom dresses from thrift stores and just put them on with a tiara and sit and type at my computer," she said. "My room was a total messy-teenager disaster area, but I'd have on a vintage dress and my hair would be perfect."
Florence Welch
Florence Welch noted in 2010 that her flowy style includes secondhand pieces. "[My] aesthetic came along the way, I think—just through experimenting, and going on tour, and trying stuff out on stage, having fun with it, and not taking it too seriously. If I had a ballgown at home, I'd wear it onstage. If I found something in a charity shop, I'd wear it."
Macklemore
Lots of celebrities love thrifting, but fewer of them write hit songs about it. Macklemore's hit song "Thrift Shop" was all about the practice, and he later said, "I love thrift shopping. It is something that has been a part of my life since I was a young kid and it's outside of the box [for the genre]."
Lorde
Speaking to Teen Vogue in 2013, Lorde explained, "I love thrift shopping. You can get ten things because everything costs, like, three dollars. I feel weird spending money on myself—my first big purchase will be a double bed!...I like simple clothes, but sometimes I'll go for a goth-witch vibe."
Sienna Miller
In 2021, Sienna Miller was even the face of Oxfam’s Second Hand September and noted at the time that "choosing second-hand fashion can be kinder for our planet. These small changes can make a huge difference. And rooting around in a charity shop is like hunting for treasure. Be a magpie!"
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston has even worn secondhand on the red carpet (including a vintage 1999 Christian Dior gown to the 2020 SAG Awards). She nabbed clothes from the Friends set and wore them in her personal life; in 2020, she said, "Some of my favorite shirts are the ones rescued from my mother's closet."
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue is apparently a fan of upcycling (repurposing an old pair of pants as a skirt on Instagram), donation (giving some of her wardrobe to Oxfam), and thrifting (shopping at the Salvation Army store in Melbourne). Her gold pants in "Spinning Around" were thrifted!
Drew Barrymore
According to Vogue, Drew Barrymore went through a sustainability awakening in 2019. "I’ve always loved a flea market or a thrift store off the beaten path, and now the internet has made it even easier to find one-of-a-kind gems not just around the country but around the world. I still buy a lot of furniture, lamps, and art at the thrift store...but I’d say predominantly what I buy is vintage clothes, and I’ve started buying a lot of my kids’ clothes on thredUP too."
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Chalamet's most notable instance of secondhand clothes was a (literally) famous one: during his promotion for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, he wore a vintage Levi's jacket that belonged to Dylan. The actor bought it at auction for $25,400.
Billie Eilish
Referring to thrifting as a "giant warehouse filled with endless possibilities," Billie Eilish has said that she defined her personal style through thrifting. She also, like others on this list, takes her secondhand finds to the red carpet and proudly rewears them, too.
Björk
In keeping with her nature-inspired aesthetic, Björk supports sustainable fashion. In 2007, she noted that she does enjoy non-thrift shopping. “I like it! But it really exhaust me. I get highs, to be totally honest, in second-hand shops. My hunting instinct, I expect, really kicks in.”
Anne Hathaway
In 2017 to promote her movie Colossal, Anne Hathaway went on Good Morning America to explain to Robin Roberts, “This is a $15 flea market dress...I’m trying to be more sustainable with my fashion choices, so I’m trying to wear vintage wherever I can.”
Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes attended her first premiere in “a $6 dress from Goodwill. I’ve always loved a cheap find. Viva thrift shops!” She told People she feels like an archaeologist when shopping secondhand. “I can feel when there’s a little something, you know, where there’s gold in the hills, and I really zero in. That’s the fun part for me.”
Kate Moss
Kate Moss has long been a fan of secondhand shopping. She told Glamour to "look for quality pieces that can be repaired if needed," and explained to The Guardian, "I just go with my first instincts when I see something I like. It doesn’t matter to me the designer or the era, just that the item appeals to me and looks good when I try it on."
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo is an advocate for sustainable shopping. She's worn some truly incredible archival pieces (particularly couture from the '90s) but she also incorporates vintage into her daily life—even telling Vogue she visits thrift stores on tour and shops online, too.
Debbie Harry
In an interview in 2013, Debbie Harry confessed that she still thrifts, adding that she's done it at various points in her life, including when she didn't have a ton of money. “In a way it’s a sense of adventure, too, because you’re not walking in and seeing a rack of clothing,” she said. “You have to go in and hunt, and it can be very entertaining.”
SZA
SZA performs in vintage tees, noting, "You know how when you go to thrift stores and you go to the front there will be three shirts above the register that are way too expensive but way too cool? Way cooler than anything in the whole damn store? So that’s exactly what happened: I started buying those. Then I’d just be skimming the racks and find some hot shit, and be like, ‘Whoa! No one was paying attention!’ and you take it home, and then the next thing you know you have a hat and some very old shirts. And now I’m here!”
Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle is a fan of sustainable and ethical brands, and she's also a fan of the "royal rewear" (wherein royals rewear their outfits to other events). She's also been seen wearing couture vintage clothing, including a Dior coat to a christening and a Courrèges coat in New York.
Zoë Kravitz
When asked about her shopping habits by Harper's Bazaar, Zoë Kravitz noted, “If I’m shopping, I really like Assembly New York on the Lower East Side, Catbird in Brooklyn, or Love Adorned in NoLita, which sells vintage jewelry and beautiful things for your house. There are fewer and fewer cool vintage stores now, unfortunately, but there’s a good one called Stock, on East 13th Street.”
Helen Mirren
In 2010, Helen Mirren shared an incredible thrifting tip: “I love a good charity shop, especially when I’m travelling. When I’m going to cold places, I take nothing—just underwear. On my way from the airport, I ask the driver to take me to a good charity shop, and I buy boots, socks, trousers, jumpers, sweaters, hats and scarves—usually for £30...On the way back to the airport, I [heave] it all in a big bag and drop it off at another charity shop.”
Zendaya
Like others on this list, Zendaya has worn stunning, one-of-a-kind archival pieces on the red carpet. Her designer Law Roach has used vintage pieces since she was a young starlet, and she wears vintage to events like the Green Carpet Fashion Awards.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker buys vintage not only for herself but for her children. She also noted that during the HBO series Divorce, all her clothes were sourced secondhand, whether they be from flea markets, vintage stores, or online marketplaces like eBay.
Tracee Ellis Ross
On her website in 2013, Tracee Ellis Ross raved about thrifting: “I buy a lot of vintage because, well, it’s AMAZING! And truthfully you can get great stuff for not a lot of money. I have a passion for vintage clothing because of the quality and uniqueness of the pieces (you don’t really have to worry about showing up in the same outfit as someone else).”
Janelle Monáe
Thrift stores are apparently Janelle Monáe's "vice": "I used to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars [at thrift stores]—and this wasn't even when I was making thousands, I didn't even have $1,000 probably," they said. "If I've got $500, I was spending half of it in the thrift store, and I wasn't saving my money."
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts has been spotted thrifting—for herself and her kids—near their ranch in New Mexico. A source even noted, "She'll go anywhere in search of a great deal. She's been known to travel all the way to Tucson for a weekend of shopping at secondhand stores."
Winona Ryder
In 2014, Winona Ryder gave iconic shopping advice: “Most of my wardrobe is vintage and I’ve worn dresses to the Oscars that I got for $10. At Sean Penn’s last Haiti gala I wore this vintage dress that I’d worn to a film premiere in 2005. I know that’s kind of a no-no in the fashion world, but why wear something just once if you love it?”
