Thrift Stores Where Gisele Fetterman Likes to Shop Plus a Few Favorites of Our Own
Gisele Fetterman has dedicated her closet to mostly thrifted pieces including outfits she wears to government events. She encourages everyone else to shop secondhand.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY GISELLE FETTERMAN
Gisele Fetterman raised thrifting to a whole new level recently when she appeared at U.S. Capitol ceremonies for her husband, new Sen. John Fetterman from Pennsylvania, wearing second-hand clothes.
“I think we’re trying to assume that because it’s a fancier event that there isn’t a solution in thrift,” says Gisele, whose outfit choices created buzz on social media — both negative and positive. “I think there’s a solution in thrift for everything, regardless of what the event is.”
As a previously undocumented immigrant from Brazil, Gisele knows first hand the struggles of poverty and reflected on a time when she was forced to dumpster dive for her next meal.
“I think my work is based off experience. Experiences I had when I moved here, challenges I either experienced or witnessed. And I think it’s seeing things from a different perspective, like moving here from a country where people were literally dying from hunger to a country where everything felt very disposable, I knew there was a different option,” Gisele says. “I saw the excess that existed and I saw how it was handled and I believed there was a better way to do that.”
Gisele is vocal about second-hand shopping and posts often on Twitter about her thrifted outfits. Her recent Tweets state, “And yes, everything had a previous owner,” and “Of course it was all thrifted. My favorite was the purse I found with my initials! It was a sign it needed to be used for something really special. Here is how it started and here it is with the Bible for the swearing in”.
The thrifted dress she wore for her profile cover story in Pittsburgh Magazine in August, 2021 cost just $11.
At the time of this reporting, Gisele was on the hunt for an ethnic, colorful, traditional Brazilian dress to wear to the State of the Union Address on Feb. 7.
She even got her wedding dress secondhand for $13. Gisele says she makes an effort to think about where her clothes come from and what will happen to them in the future.
“I really think about everything I wear and if it harmed someone. Did it help someone? Who made it? If it ends up in a landfill, how long would it live there?” she says. “There’s a lot of thought behind this decision, but it’s really fun as well. I’ll always opt for secondhand.”
When Gisele came to America as a child, her mother would take her thrifting for a fun activity.
“I love that part of my childhood, you know, it’s a great memory that I have,” Gisele said. “I always loved knowing that someone else had worn it and had created memories and so it’s something that I took on for the rest of my life.”
She says that her favorite thrift find is a Sea New York army green dress that she bought online for $13. It was originally listed for $349.
Some of Gisele’s favorite spots to thrift in Pittsburgh are Red, White, and Blue, Goodwill, and Buffalo Exchanges.
“It depends on what I’m on the hunt for and what I’m feeling that day, if I feel like digging or not, but I like to go to the places where you think you’re not going to find something because there’s always something to be found,” Gisele says.
For those looking to find the best thrift hauls in Pittsburgh, start at the following stores.
PHOTOS BY MAYA VALLETTA
Red, White, and Blue Thrift Store
Located nationally, Red White, and Blue Thrift Store has two locations in Pittsburgh, one in Bon Air and another in Avalon. They cycle through items daily and most products are priced affordably. Everything from clothes, jewelry, shoes, furniture, kitchenware, electronics and more are sold. They only accept cash payments but there are several ATM machines located inside.
890 Saw Mill Run Blvd., Bon Air
935 Ohio River Blvd., Avalon
Thriftique is a mission-focused thrift store that supports the National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section through all sales, community outreach and partnerships. Their large inventory includes curated, designer-centric clothing, furniture, kitchenware, accessories and more. The price point is affordable with designer pieces priced accordingly.
125 51st St., Lawrenceville
For those who don’t have as much time to dig through pounds of clothing, Highway Robbery Vintage offers customers a curated, vintage, streetwear aesthetic with prices that reflect the quality and uniqueness of the item. A large selection of apparel and accessories are sold in-store as well as online.
2012 E. Carson St., South Side
