Rashidah Young struts into class with a perfectly planned outfit. Distressed skinny jeans, studded black and green flats, a green plaid shirt topped with a western style, brown jacket with frills and tied together with a bold assortment of jewelry. Young doesn’t get these unique fashion pieces from a popular retail chain, a catalog or the Internet; she gets them from a much different place.

A thrift shop.

Young, 22 now in her fourth year at CSU East Bay, is known in the fashion world as a “thrifter.” Thrifters are known for visiting various thrift shops, flea markets, and consignments stores to find distinctive pieces of vintage clothing and other treasures.

In the past few years, thrifting has taken on a life of its own but due to the tough economy many chain retail businesses haven’t been able to thrive.

After 59 years, Mervyn’s in Hayward filed for bankruptcy in July 2008 due to poor holiday sales. Other retail stores such as Pacific Sunwear, The Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch publicly announced in 2012 that multiple locations of their brands would close starting early this year.

But consignment stores and thrift stores have beaten the odds due to low prices and great finds.

Young, who worked as an assistant buyer for Mervyn’s previous to their demise, now uses her knowledge of fashion buying while shopping for vintage clothing at local thrift shops.

Social media has also played a role in the thrift store success. In the widely popular song “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, thrifting is glamorized in a humorous fashion.

Although Macklemore’s video has had incredible success, attracting over 59 million viewers on YouTube, thrifting isn’t a new hobby for Young. In fact, vintage clothing is something she has been passionate about since a very young age.

“When I was younger, I can recall dressing up in my mother’s clothes and walking down the kitchen aisle, which I thought was my ‘runway,’” Young reminisces. “I would throw on my mother’s clothes from the 70s and 80s and that’s how I developed a love for vintage apparel.”

Young, who works as a buyer for 2525 Vintage & Modern in Downtown Hayward, in addition to being a personal shopper for many CSUEB students, enjoys the mystery that lies behind each rack when thrifting.

“You never know what you’re going to find and that’s the beauty in thrifting,” says Young. “A vest, a fur jacket, you never know.”

As a college student herself, Young is aware of the financial boundaries that come along with having a passion for fashion, but shopping at thrift stores allows her to shop on a budget.

“It’s definitely a pro when thrifting, being able to go and find a sweater for $3, for $5,” states Young. “You can get a whole, entire outfit for less than $20. Talk about amazing, you can’t do that everywhere.”

Shopping at thrift stores isn’t just a hobby for Young: it’s a challenge. “I always look for unique pieces, I never want to buy what other people have,” said Young. “Dare to be different.”

Young’s close friend, Jennifer Polite, believes that Young is different than other thrifters and designers due to the fact that “her fashion is unique, it’s just a whole different style.”

One of Young’s best finds while thrifting was a sequin top she bought for $22 at Mars Mercantile, a vintage store in Berkeley. “I’m a big sequins freak, you can never go wrong with sequins,” claims Young.

In addition to her knowledge of thrift stores, Young has experience in making her own clothes as well.

“A lot of people don’t know this but here at CSU East Bay we have a fashion design class in the theater department,” says Young. “I’ve taken the class twice and I’ve designed both times.”

While in the design class with Ulises Alcala, who teaches the fashion design course at CSUEB, Young was able to have her designs and visions to come to life in a whole new way.

Young’s dreams don’t end at designing or thrifting. This summer Young hopes to intern with the television network BET, and once she completes her degree at CSUEB, she wants to pursue a career interviewing celebrities about their fashion and style.

“You’ll see me one day,” says Young. “You’ll see me interviewing people about their style, I promise you.”