It doesn’t have to take the Daily Graphic to report that the oh-so-famous thrift shops in America, unfortunately, aren’t so famous in Ghana. In fact, such shopping habits seem to be frowned upon by the so-called wealthy or “well-to-do,” as though buying vintage pieces from thrift shops was the most outrageous thing to do and, reserved only for the “poor.” Thrift shopping, as many have come to realize, isn’t just for the “poor”; the fact that someone thrift shops doesn’t mean he or she cannot afford to buy items at regular prices or does not possess expensive clothes. It simply is a smart way of shopping.
Ask Barbara Streisand, Mandy Moore, Drew Barrymore, Sharon Stone, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, as well as almighty celebrity fashion stylist Rachel Zoe and they’ll tell you that classic items found in thrift shops can never be found in regular, so-called refined shops. And they cost way less too! The question then is this: Why are some Ghanaians so against shopping at Kantamanto, the base of Accra thrift shopping? Could it be the location – right in the heart of Accra accompanied by loud noises or sometimes squalor environs? If Kantamanto were moved to a place like the Accra mall and spruced up a bit with the taste and feel of American thrift shops, would it have an impact on people’s attitude towards it?
Many Ghanaian thrift shoppers or Kantamanto shoppers, you’ll find, fall within the working class and prefer to mix up their store-bought clothes with “second hand” selections but it’s a secret they’ll never reveal for fear of being labeled as “cheap.” With social class being such a big deal in Ghana, the stressful task of keeping up appearances prevents many smart shoppers from exploring and enjoying the liberation and variety that come with this kind of shopping.
Will Ghanaians ever adjust their attitudes towards thrift shopping? Who knows? But for a society caught up in the war of class it might take a while before people, even celebrities, begin to feel comfortable to disclose their secret trips to the noisy streets of Kantamanto.