Thrifting is the common word for second hand shopping and it means buying something cheap in the garage sale or flea market. The word originally means “ prosperity, savings” or the characteristics of using the minimum of something.
There is no definite information regarding second hand usage or thrifting in the period of the Soviet Union. But according to historians and economists the market in the Soviet Union often encountered shortages of any kinds of goods. The main reason for the shortages was the controlled nature of the economy, any inconvenience in the production or harvest of the raw material. That is why the lines for the goods were common in the Soviet Union. Sometimes people would just join the queue and after finding out the kind of goods that were sold. There were some special stores where you could use foreign currency and buy goods that were from Hungary, East Germany or Czechoslovakia, but as you can imagine, not everyone had access to those stores. These stores were called Beryozka and the most obvious category of the shoppers there were elites. People who had high positions in the Communist Party, diplomats, military servants, celebrities such as athletes, musicians, etc. According to historian Anna Ivanova, these stores were also available to all kinds of people, provided they put their mind to it. For example, while travel to the West was restricted, almost any specialist could apply for a job overseas in any one of the Third World nations allied with the USSR, and where they were paid in foreign currency. Ivanova cites sociologist Georgi Delugian, who volunteered to work as an interpreter in Mozambique for a year, and then bought his family a GAZ Volga with the earnings.
Considering these problems and way of living, people who were not able to purchase new things immediately or buy in the black market would use the things that they already have or buy second hand things. Especially if they are from other countries which were popular for their high quality goods, including clothing. Commission stores, or “komissionki”, were particularly popular in the USSR. The Soviet authorities created a whole chain of these second-hand stores to fight the black-market resellers. Such stores were essentially intermediaries between those selling (who paid a commission to the store) and those buying. They were full of old and unwanted bits and pieces. That said, it was possible to find imported shoes and clothes, worn or repaired, but in fair condition and on sale for a song. They also sold decent, albeit old, photo and video equipment. The usage of second hand goods and especially clothing was not something fashionable or trendy. It was solely meant to meet the needs of ordinary Soviet citizens.
When you take a stroll around Tbilisi you can see a variety of second-hand clothing stores. They are on almost every corner of the streets of Tbilisi. The prices are different depending on the location of the stores, and the items that are sold. If you go to Station Square or Dezerter Bazaar you can spot the second-hand stores where the clothes are piled up and waiting for the good researcher to sort them out and find the hidden gems. These places are one of the cheapest ones in the city. When it comes to the central part of the city, you can see little stores with the clothes hanging outside. These stores contain better things which are considered vintage or retro. The prices are average in these stores. The third group of the stores are “fancy” second-hand stores, the prices are the highest among all of them. These stores are prettier, more organized and fun. The items are chosen specifically according to the taste of the buyers and owner of the stores. But there are always people in these stores despite relatively higher prices.
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