Thriftmas Gift Guide 2025

Writing holiday gift guides doesn’t always come easily. The browsing starts early, well before most folks are in the holiday spirit. The planning tends to overlap with election season, layoff season (October), and the last price hikes before brands lock-in for the holidays. But 2025 feels especially hard. Anticorporate sentiment is at an all-time high, uniting both sides of the aisle. Sephora uses their holiday ad to… mock organized labor? Target told their employees (which, in retail, is disproportionately Black women) to smile more. Your Ring doorbell is an ICE informant. Your premium smart fridge now shows you ads.

So I’m easing into the holiday season with Thriftmas – a guide to secondhand gifting. It’s environmentally friendly. The hunt makes the gift extra thoughtful. And most resellers are peer-to-peer, looking to unload unutilized items. The full time entrepreneurs average $35-70k. It’s a way to shop small for the holidays. So here we go!

Sweaters

We don’t make sweaters like we used to. There are so many vintage sweaters with 20-40 years of life without major pilling, bagging, or holes. How to find them? Search for vintage sweaters, the shorthand VTG, or Y2K. I also search for sweaters from Hong Kong since apparel production left in the late 90s and early 2000s. It’s a good way to filter out fast fashion.

I also search for specific brands. For an old-fashioned, authentic ski sweater, look for Meister (check the fabric content for wool), Head, Tyrolia, Spyder, Columbia, and REI. Here’s also some direct links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Old legacy mall brands are also a treasure trove – especially if you search for wool or cotton. I search Eddie Bauer, Orvis, Gap, Express, The Limited, Tommy Hilfiger, Brooks Brothers, St Johns Bay, and LL Bean. If there are pictures of the tags, you can also look for tagged dates. This one uses a month/year combo, but you can also find initials like FA for fall, FH for fall-holiday, or SS for spring-summer along with the year.

I also love that Y2K knit trends are trending – ribbed / striped turtlenecks, sweater vests, argyle. No need to get lower quality, modern shit knits when you can go straight to the source. Here’s a handful of inspiration samples with links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Beanies and Headbands

Every year in my “new stuff” gift guide, I preach “no hats.” They don’t experience a lot of wear or friction just sitting on your head. But that means there’s a lot of great vintage options made of pure wool. Just search for vintage wool beanies or wool headbands. A few favorites of mine: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Duffel Bags

Forget the Black Hole or Base Camp duffels. I miss the funky duffels of my childhood. Need a lot of space and durability? Get the 90s hibiscus print from LL Bean. Get one that shows off your love of your favorite food, favorite sports team, favorite ski brand, favorite cigarettes. It’s also a fun option for kids with lots of retro cartoon licensing. Inspo in links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Fleece

Vintage fleece can be a little tricky. A lot of brands do “revival” lines. Rare synchillas go for hundreds of dollars. But search for vintage secondary brands and there are good treasures: Eddie Bauer (and especially the EBTek line), Woolrich, REI, Polartec, Columbia, and Marmot. And if it’s made in the US, good odds it’s true vintage. Inspo in links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10    

Insulated / Down Skirts

These are other pieces that are handy to-and-from, but rarely get heavy wear. Search for insulated skirts or puffer skirts. You can also make branded searches for popular options like Skhoop and Smartwool.