Meet the personal shopper for thrifters – who charges up to $285 for a personalised style bundle of second-hand clothes.
Kalita Hon, 22, spends five hours a day in thrift stores and charity shops – shopping for other people.
She has always had a passion for shopping on a budget and started selling her old clothes and thrifted items on Depop when she was a psychology student at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, US.
She would make around $1,000-a-month – which helped with her living costs – and started posting her finds on TikTok when she graduated university in June 2023.
After her videos took off, Kalita decided to offer up her services as a personal shopper and now has a waiting list with more than 300 people signed up.
She picks out the styles she thinks she can fulfil and heads to thrift stores to pick out the right pieces – spending hours scouring the rails for the perfect outfits for her client.
So far, she has put together 40 bundles since launching properly in August 2023.
Kalita, a stylist, living in Los Angeles, California, said: “I have a passion for fashion and styling.
“I got the feeling I was really good at styling outfits.
“I’m there when the thrift stores open at nine.
“I spend half my day there.
“I try to accept every single kind of fashion sense.
“It’s a really personal experience.”
Originally from Taiwan, Kalita, has been thrifting since she was in middle school aged 11, and after moving to Connecticut for college she sold on her finds as a side hustle.
She said: “It was my way of making money on the side.”
Kalita is very passionate about sustainability and said her wardrobe is “95 per cent thrifted”.
While searching for jobs after graduating, she saw others on social media selling style bundles – a collection of second-hand clothes personally sourced to suit someone’s style – and decided to give them a go herself.
Kalita said: “I used to do it for my friends for their birthday.”
Her videos took off and she now has 300 people signed up on her waiting list.
Anyone can fill out her form and describe their style, sizes and what they are after and choose the size of their bundle.
Kalita’s prices range from $105 for two items, a handmade accessory and for the styling fee to $285 for six statement pieces. She also charges for shipping separately.
She said: “Sometimes I like choosing challenging ones.
“I shopped for a girl where her style was super preppy – Korean preppy style.
“I found her a matching set.”
Kalita has worked on all kinds of styles – whimsical gothic, street wear and a cowgirl style.
The style bundles can take a couple of weeks to a month to put together – depending on how quickly Kalita can find their items in the stores.
She said: “It’s very physically taxing.
“People see the effort that goes into each bundle.”
Kalita loves getting to “learn” about each individual through their style.
She said: “You can learn a lot through a sense of style.”
She has also been thrifting to create a stockpile of statement pieces – ready to add to her bundles.
Kalita describes her own style as “coastal cowgirl” – wearing lots of cowgirl boots and maxi skirts in the summer – and switching it up to lots of leather and a darker “chic” and “polished” look in the winter.
Kalita said: “In every day life, do you really know someone who has a stylist?
“It’s a really great opportunity for people who don’t have the funds to afford a personal stylist.”
Kalita's fees for her bundles -
Small – two items and one accessory - $55 + $50 styling fee
Medium - three items and one accessory - $85 + $60 styling fee
Large - four items and two accessories - $110 + $70 styling fee
Extra-large - six items and two accessories - $130 + $95 styling fee
Limited edition style bundle - six statement pieces - $200 + $85 styling fee
Kalita Hon, 22, spends five hours a day in thrift stores and charity shops – shopping for other people.
She has always had a passion for shopping on a budget and started selling her old clothes and thrifted items on Depop when she was a psychology student at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, US.
She would make around $1,000-a-month – which helped with her living costs – and started posting her finds on TikTok when she graduated university in June 2023.
After her videos took off, Kalita decided to offer up her services as a personal shopper and now has a waiting list with more than 300 people signed up.
She picks out the styles she thinks she can fulfil and heads to thrift stores to pick out the right pieces – spending hours scouring the rails for the perfect outfits for her client.
So far, she has put together 40 bundles since launching properly in August 2023.
Kalita, a stylist, living in Los Angeles, California, said: “I have a passion for fashion and styling.
“I got the feeling I was really good at styling outfits.
“I’m there when the thrift stores open at nine.
“I spend half my day there.
“I try to accept every single kind of fashion sense.
“It’s a really personal experience.”
Originally from Taiwan, Kalita, has been thrifting since she was in middle school aged 11, and after moving to Connecticut for college she sold on her finds as a side hustle.
She said: “It was my way of making money on the side.”
Kalita is very passionate about sustainability and said her wardrobe is “95 per cent thrifted”.
While searching for jobs after graduating, she saw others on social media selling style bundles – a collection of second-hand clothes personally sourced to suit someone’s style – and decided to give them a go herself.
Kalita said: “I used to do it for my friends for their birthday.”
Her videos took off and she now has 300 people signed up on her waiting list.
Anyone can fill out her form and describe their style, sizes and what they are after and choose the size of their bundle.
Kalita’s prices range from $105 for two items, a handmade accessory and for the styling fee to $285 for six statement pieces. She also charges for shipping separately.
She said: “Sometimes I like choosing challenging ones.
“I shopped for a girl where her style was super preppy – Korean preppy style.
“I found her a matching set.”
Kalita has worked on all kinds of styles – whimsical gothic, street wear and a cowgirl style.
The style bundles can take a couple of weeks to a month to put together – depending on how quickly Kalita can find their items in the stores.
She said: “It’s very physically taxing.
“People see the effort that goes into each bundle.”
Kalita loves getting to “learn” about each individual through their style.
She said: “You can learn a lot through a sense of style.”
She has also been thrifting to create a stockpile of statement pieces – ready to add to her bundles.
Kalita describes her own style as “coastal cowgirl” – wearing lots of cowgirl boots and maxi skirts in the summer – and switching it up to lots of leather and a darker “chic” and “polished” look in the winter.
Kalita said: “In every day life, do you really know someone who has a stylist?
“It’s a really great opportunity for people who don’t have the funds to afford a personal stylist.”
Kalita's fees for her bundles -
Small – two items and one accessory - $55 + $50 styling fee
Medium - three items and one accessory - $85 + $60 styling fee
Large - four items and two accessories - $110 + $70 styling fee
Extra-large - six items and two accessories - $130 + $95 styling fee
Limited edition style bundle - six statement pieces - $200 + $85 styling fee
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FunTranscript
00:00 No surprise here, I'm back at the thrift store, so come thrifting with me.
00:03 Today was labor day, so they were having a 30% off sale, which is the only reason why I came.
00:06 Started off in the t-shirt section with this little baby tee.
00:09 Thought this car graphic was really cute, so I put it in the cart.
00:12 I'm trying to get some more stock for some bundles,
00:14 and I figured this t-shirt would be perfect in a granola girl style bundle.
00:17 Love the cute graphic on it, so into the cart it goes.
00:19 Headed over to the dress section next, which is where we struck gold.
00:22 I found this stunning beaded shimmery dress that just kind of reminded me of like a fairy.
00:26 Of course I couldn't pass this up, so I added it to my cart.
00:28 Then I found this eyelet dress, which I think is super popular nowadays.
00:31 I like the baby doll sleeves on this one, so we added this one to our cart as well.
00:35 Let's do another style bundle breakdown.
00:37 This one's for Santa.
00:38 Her style was an interesting mix of whimsical, bohemian, and cottagecore.
00:42 And for her second request, we had to get her something with fall sleeves.
00:44 So I happened to find this one that is almost identical to the one that she had in the photo,
00:48 but it has some extra little sequin details, which I think is so cute.
00:50 For jewelry, I was inspired by these flower earrings, specifically the sunflower one.
00:54 And I also seem to like these puff sleeve tops,
00:56 which is why I found her the short sleeve version.
00:57 It even ties up in the back, which I think is so adorable.
01:00 For her other accessory, I thought that these pearl earrings would pair perfectly
01:03 with the previous top that you guys saw.
01:04 Another item I kept seeing over and over again on her board were these little neck cardigans.
01:08 And look at the one that I got for her.
01:09 Let's do another style bundle breakdown.
01:11 This one's for Psalm.
01:12 She had a sort of maximalist sense of style.
01:14 I was on the lookout for a tiered miniskirt like these ones in the photos.
01:17 Now, if we were to mix these two tops together, it would look something like this.
01:20 I thought this one matched that vintage vibe the other one had,
01:22 and it also was in the same pastel yellow color.
01:24 And it looks really cute paired with the previous skirt.
01:26 Psalm also loved these little sheer beaded tops, so of course I had to get her one.
01:29 It also has the beautiful beaded details that she was looking for.
01:31 Another common item I kept seeing on her board were these gold chain belts,
01:34 which is why I got her this one.
01:36 For the final touch, I wanted to give her a necklace similar to these colorful beaded ones
01:39 she seemed to love, and I thought this one matched the vibe really, really well
01:42 with all the beautiful chunky beads.
01:43 Plus, look how good it looks paired with this outfit.