Alicia Silverstone on Why She Prefers to Wear Used Clothing
Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Alicia Silverstone is a woman of her word. As a longtime activist, the Clueless star has been very open about her position against animal cruelty--a cause that's worth stripping for, might we add. So when Silverstone says she leads a conscious lifestyle, she means it, and it affects her every decision in life, including fashion.
"I prefer vintage clothes, so you're not encouraging excessive production or manufacturing," Silverstone tells us, calling out Crossroads, Wasteland, and Buffalo Exchange as her favorite places for thrifting. "I know I'm going to walk out of there with an entirely new wardrobe that I can feel really good about, because I don't have to feel guilty about where it came from--I'm repurposing it. For me, that's my most important style choice, and that's why most of what I wear is used."
It's not just her personal life--she works with costume designers on movie sets to figure out ways for her character to wear vintage as well. "There was one movie and we had a shoestring budget, and the entire wardrobe was from Crossroads--it was great," she enthuses. "And for American Woman, it's set in the 1970s, so everything had to be vintage--that was wonderful."
RELATED: How to Shop a Vintage Store, According to Experts
And if she absolutely has to buy something new? "It has to be organic cotton and definitely cruelty-free," she says, firmly. "I'm very mindful of what I buy, but I usually can get everything I need from a used clothing store."
As for her thrift store shopping strategy, her number one tip is to bring a friend whose opinion you trust. And then, she dives right in, or in her words "I just go at it."
"I pull out anything that might be possible, and then I spend an hour trying everything on," she says. "It's time consuming--the endeavor probably takes two, two and a half hours--but it's so worth it."
