Good morning! It’s Monday.
There are 37 days until the first official day of fall – the Fall Equinox is Sept. 22 – but only 22 days until the unofficial end of summer, Labor Day. Soak all the sun and fun in that you can, because that first hint of the changing of the seasons is already in the air.
When I was young, I used to go to Marshalls fairly regularly with my mom, who has the uncanny ability to find deeply discounted designer items amidst a sea of shlock. The key is to look through absolutely everything and to be able to tell quality fabrics and tailoring from knockoffs fast fashion. As a tailor’s daughter, she had early training in this knack, and I humbly believe that she passed it on to me.
I don’t frequent Marshalls much anymore because I think the quality has gone way down. The market has been flooded with cheaply made clothes that are not only poorly made and last for only a handful of washes – at best – but are also bad for the environment and often crafted in countries that lack fair labor practices.
According to one assessment, fast fashion companies like Shein and Zara are the world’s second-biggest consumer of water and generate about 10 percent of the globe’s carbon emissions, which is more than ALL international flights and maritime shipping combined. In addition, about 85 percent of all textiles produced end up in landfills every year.
If you’re looking to reduce your global footprint but also are a clotheshorse, like me (I’ve officially taken over every closet but one in my house), then there’s an easy solution: Thrifting.
Thrifting is experiencing a significant renaissance. The U.S. secondhand apparel market has doubled since 2020 to reach about $56 billion, and is projected to reach $393 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, visits to physical thrift stores have surged by more than 25% compared to traditional retail.
This dramatic shift in popularity is in no small part due to the boom in online resales – from independent resellers, who ply their wares on social media sites like Facebook, to sites like the RealReal, ThredUp and Poshmark (just to name a few; there are dozens at this point) – it has never been easier to find someone to buy your old stuff. And there truly is a market for just about everything.
Thrifting is also the preferred clothing source for Gen Z, which is both fashion AND cost conscious AND sensitive to environmental pressures. Reusing clothing (and furniture, and toys, and decorative items) keeps them out of landfills, while reducing CO2 emissions as well as water and energy use.
Another benefit of thrifting is that you don’t end up looking like a carbon copy of everyone else who is shopping at big brand stores. If you’re consistent – and lucky – you can find new-with-tags items and every some luxury goods.
I personally have thrifted Coach, Gucci, Zimmerman, St. John, and Valentino bags and clothing, which, after some internet sleuthing, I am fairly confident are authentic, though I haven’t bothered to pay someone to confirm that, because…well, why? If I like it and will wear/use it, then does it matter in the end?
I know that digging through other people’s stuff is not for everyone and gives some out there the ick. But I am a big fan, and I am thrilled that today is National Thrift Shop Day. I got my Goodwill on yesterday, since I have to work today, but last year I was there day-of and received a very cool (reusable) tote bag along with my haul. Bonus!
We’ll see a wet start to the day, with showers early in the morning, giving way to mostly clouds in the afternoon. Highs will peak near 80 degrees. In the evening, there’s a possibility of scattered showers and thunderstorms – those with noise sensitive pooches (like mine) should take precautions.
In the headlines…
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser, met with Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday, two Hamas officials and another official briefed on the meetings said. The talks were part of a diplomatic push to advance the president’s plan for the future of Gaza.
The president’s son-in-law met the Palestinian militant group’s leaders in Egypt, officials said. He will soon see Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader.
The United States and Iran today missed their 60-day deadline to reach a deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program under the terms of the cease-fire they agreed to in June, underlining the breakdown of a truce that President Trump promised would end the war.
President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon on Sunday to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea after the Republican president said South Korea declined to help denuclearize Iran.
Trump said in a social media post that the exercises slated to begin this week are costly and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” while Trump has been in the White House.
Trump cited his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for condemning the drills — and also noted on Truth Social that South Korea declined his request to help the U.S. denuclearize Iran.
This comes after South Korea’s president over the weekend proposed talks with its northern neighbor on officially ending the war between the two that is technically still active.
Todd Blanche, the newly confirmed attorney general, refused to say on Sunday that he would always act independently of White House control but claimed during an interview that President Trump has “never” demanded he prosecute specific people.
President Trump initially insisted that he needed to build a White House ballroom to entertain VIP guests. The president and his deputies have lately focused on a different argument: It’s crucial for national security.
Since April, four of the five members of Trump’s defense team have exited the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, either to rival shops or because the president elevated them to positions in his administration or the judiciary.
Families of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are condemning President Trump’s comments on the ship’s record deployment.
Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego reacted to reports of poor conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Sunday, saying they are ongoing and blaming the Trump administration’s leadership and the war with Iran for the ship’s extended deployment.
Service at sea “for long periods isn’t for everyone,” the head of US Central Command said after visiting the beleaguered U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, the latest aircraft carrier to report poor living conditions and poor morale after months in the Middle East.
Democrats now overwhelmingly have a more favorable view of socialism than capitalism, according to a shocking new poll.
Nearly 60% of party members support socialism compared to 18% who view it negatively, while just 32% have a favorable view of capitalism compared to 50% who see it as negative, according to the CBS News/YouGov survey.
With a wave of far-left candidates winning recent Democratic primaries across the country, the House socialist “Squad” is certain to expand — and wield far greater influence — after the November elections, likely doubling from seven to 14.
Police arrested a 19-year-old found hiding in a dormitory closet at Virginia State University on Saturday in connection with an overnight shooting on campus that left five people wounded, including one with critical injuries.
Camron Harris of Henrico, Virginia, is not a student on campus nor were four of the people injured, Chesterfield County Police said in a statement. They ranged in age from 17 to 23.
Emergency workers in Hawaii combed through soggy wreckage on Sunday in an effort to assess the damage wrought by Lala, a tropical storm that passed just south of the islands overnight.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing New York headlong into building more nuclear power capacity in the coming years than the entire country has added over the last three decades.
Oswego officials are hoping to be picked for more nuclear reactors as Hochul seeks to augment state’s fleet.
Trump ripped Empire State Democrats during a visit to Long Island on Friday, accusing Hochul of creating a “sanctuary for criminals” and seeking to boost her GOP rival, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
The president endorsed Blakeman’s gubernatorial run, attacking Hochul and other Democrats in the state as soft on crime.
“(Hochul) has been very very bad on crime — a nightmare for crime,” Trump said, later teasing: “Bruce, if you lose you are going to be ashamed for the rest of your life!”
Hochul has imposed a one-year pause on construction of new data centers in the state using at least 50 megawatts of power. But advocates of legislation awaiting action by the governor want even stricter rules for the facilities.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has drawn a Trump-backed challenger, with the president throwing his “complete and total endorsement” behind Republican Saritha Komatireddy in a bid to oust his longtime political foe.
Republican Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler is pitching a plan to reopen the Indian Point power plant in a bid to reverse New Yorkers’ skyrocketing energy bills.
Former Western New York Rep. Chris Collins, whose political career came to a halt seven years ago with a felony conviction and resignation from Congress, is asking Republican voters in Southwest Florida to help send him back to Washington.
A screening tool to gauge childhood development is used less in New York State than almost anywhere in the United States. Now, officials are embarking on a campaign to change that.
Likud launched a billboard featuring Mayor Zohran Mamdani with Iran’s Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, writing the four “want Netanyahu to lose” the October election.
Nearly 2,000 homeowners who the Mamdani administration threatened with a new pied-à-terre tax have already been told they won’t have to pay because their primary residences were erroneously tagged as possible second homes, city officials admitted this week.
The Mamdani’s attempt to create a business advisory council has been hampered by some concern that joining the council may be perceived as an endorsement of him and his policies.
Mamdani’s pick for a key housing post, John Mangin, once likened wealthy homeowners to “cartels” — prompting some City Council members to push back on the controversial nominee.
Mamdani, the city’s first Indian-American mayor, joined the Queens ‘India Day’ Parade in Floral Park as Indian-American communities across the Tri-state area marked India’s 80th Independence Day.
Mamdani released videos in three languages to highlight a program that offers free theater tickets to high school students. His Mandarin earned some praise.
State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, of Brooklyn, declared last week that shoplifters have a right to swipe items like soap and toothpaste from local stores without getting busted — because of their “biological need” for the products.
Larry Montes, 46, who stormed into a Manhattan synagogue during a Shabbat service Friday told cops that Jews were “swine” after the unhinged attack, prosecutors said as he was ordered held on bail late Saturday.
The head of a major lefty video agency who shot digital video ads for Mamdani’s successful campaign made an outrageous false claim about the unhinged attacker who terrorized Jewish New Yorkers during Shabbat services at a Manhattan synagogue.
NYPD officers fatally shot a 54-year-old man who police say advanced toward them with a butcher’s knife inside a Lower East Side building Sunday afternoon.
The family of an 18-year-old tourist killed in a runaway horse carriage accident in Central Park alleges stray electrical voltage may have contributed to the horse becoming agitated and bolting.
Congestion pricing has had only minor effects on air quality, with pollution levels either remaining stable or improving slightly around the city, according to a new report by the New York City Health Department.
A fatal accident has drawn attention to New York Harbor, a popular destination where not everyone necessarily knows the rules — or follows them.
The Glen Sanders Mansion, a centuries-old venue, restaurant and small hotel space owned by local hospitality lion Angelo Mazzone Sr., was put on the market within the last few days with an asking price of $8 million, according to his son.
The building is believed to be the third-oldest home in New York, dating back to 1658, when Scottish merchant Alexander Lindsay Glen built a stone dwelling on the Mohawk River and named the settlement Scotia, after his homeland.
A bloodhound that worked for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office was found dead Sunday morning shortly after law enforcement asked the public for help finding her.
The City of Troy created a time capsule that will hold memories of 2026 and be opened in 50 years.
Albany is confronting what city officials describe as its most serious fiscal crisis in decades, with a projected $22.18 million budget deficit in 2026 and a $33.3 million deficit in 2027, according to the city’s midyear financial plan update.
The Civil Service Employees Association has identified the Department of General Services worker who was injured in a gas explosion in Albany earlier this month. 47-year-old Anthony Hughes is currently recovering from severe burns.
Tommy John, whose major league career was extended after he became the first player to undergo the elbow surgery that now carries his name, has died. He was 83. He had been in hospice care at his home in Bradenton, Fla.
Hayden Panettiere, star of popular television series including “Heroes” and “Nashville,” has died. She was 36. Her cause of death remains under investigation.
In May, Panettiere published a memoir after a tumultuous decade that involved depression, substance abuse, losing custody of her daughter and stints in rehab.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
