You’re reading Jersey Girl Thrift’s bi-weekly newsletter! A quick and fun read, full of second-hand trends, style tips, local sales, store reviews, great reads, and a recipe or two. It’s everything you need to live a thrifty and luscious life.

Today, a little story time…

Larell and I are frequently asked how we know each other and how we came up with JGT, so today, I decided to put our typical Newsletter style aside to take you on a little journey to the past...

The year is 2008. Big belts and chunky scarves were in. Skinny jeans and jeggings were cutting off all of our circulation. Most of us were watching the Hills. And two bright-eyed girlies were fueled by dreams and caffeine, slinging coffees at their neighborhood Starbucks. 

I was working and taking classes at the local community college, and Larell was (canyouevenbelieveit) still in high school ((!!!)) and also working part time (((we've always been girls who knew how to hustle)))! 

This was back when Starbucks were not yet on every corner, and it still felt like an actual neighborhood hang. Our particular Starbucks in central Jersey was a really cool spot that really participated in the community, hosting acapella nights, art shows, book clubs, and everything in between.

Larell and I were not necessarily best friends yet, but we were certainly friend-ly. But we were brought even closer by one particular everyday customer who was a close friend to us both- our friend Lindsay was a fixture of the community- she was the first person to ever tell me about the VNA sale, and was bringing a ceramic mug to put her coffee in long before sustainability was cool. 

One particular Saturday, Lindsay decided to invite all her girlfriends over for a clothing swap in her house, where she would put up a bunch of clothing racks, and we'd all bring garbage bags of our pre-loved clothing to swap. 

We spent the first 30-40 minutes hanging up clothing, then we all took a break for a mimosa. She'd give a quick toast, you’d have some brunchy bites, and then it was off-to-the races to shop the swap and take home whatever we wanted.

It was THE BEST afternoon. I got to meet new people, have some brunch, and literally leave with a bag of new-to-me clothes. We all left feeling like we stole something- we couldn’t believe we got to fill a whole bag of clothes. I still have things from those swaps that I wear.

We went to a few of these clothing swaps over the years, and eventually our Starbucks days came to a bittersweet end when Larell went off to college, and I graduated and moved away as well. Larell and I stayed in touch though, and when years later Larell moved closer to me in North Jersey, we realized we shared a love of garage sales, and started hitting up the town-wide ones in our area and thrifting together. Almost 15 years later, we'd still find ourselves reminiscing about those clothing swaps we went to and what a joy they were to attend. 

Fast-forward to the fall of 2023, both Larell and I were looking for an opportunity to build something we could call our own. We had always each had our own entrepreneurial streak, but hadn't realized our opportunity for potential partnership until now.

It took many, many conversations over several months about how we could combine our love of thrifting with our business savvy- should we have a bay as resellers at a vintage store? Should we do thrifted subscription boxes? An online store? But we just kept circling back to the same idea...how can we recreate that magical clothing swap feeling again? Can we find a way to combine sustainability, building community, and that incredibly exciting feeling of filling up a bag of clothes you get to take home?

In March of 2024, Jersey Girl Thrift was born, and our first swap went live that October.

Since then it’s been a wild ride. We have been blown away by the instant feeling of community that permeates every swap. Watching the JGT girlies show up with their best friend or sister- or come solo and make new friends along the way- getting so excited to see the racks, trying on clothes and helping eachother pick out outfits- it’s literally our dream of recreating those beloved afternoons come to life.

We thank the Starbucks siren goddesses everyday for putting us together- and have eternal gratitude to our old pal Lindsay for showing us the way (who has a free-for-life golden ticket to any JGT swap she should ever attend!)

And that’s our story ❤️ you truly never know where a friendship is going to take you! Maybe your next business idea is only one giggly afternoon with a galpal away…

Until next time babez!

xx Kelli