When it comes to the dopamine hits of the world, very few can emulate the singular joy of a successful thrift store excursion. Whether it’s a pair of snazzy sneakers, some high-rise jeans that fit just right, or an official Microsoft Teams staff shirt (true story!), thrift stores consistently prove that they’re some of the greatest agents of discovery out there.
The caveat to this is that fashion is one of the most untamable beasts ever dreamed up by mankind, with the heinous architecture of the industry playing host to a culture that isn’t too fond of you if you’re fond of your body. And it doesn’t end there; sometimes a garment is so impossibly unhinged that you can’t picture it existing anywhere else but a thrift store. Such a thrift store was recently visited by TikTok‘s @mentallyillblondbimbo, and it’s entirely possible that someone could get fired here.
In four quick seconds, we see two of what are soon to be some very appropriate reactions from Jordan and her shopping companion before shining a light on the object that evoked them; a white, sleeveless crop top that, after momentarily parsing the godless font, reads “I hate Nigerian men.”
Now, perhaps this is the thrift store’s way of stunlocking their customers in an attempt to make them stay a bit longer, or perhaps that item is out on the floor to make every other option look better by comparison. In fact, there are a million other things that could have gone through the head of whichever employee decided to roll this out, each of them a mental trainwreck more severe than the last.
One commenter prayed that it was a white lie shirt, which are white tops that have such phrases on them like “I’m not going to cry tonight” or “I trust the government,” or other such statements that are meant to be humorously taken as false. It wouldn’t be that much better if it was the case, though; there’s not much “nudge nudge wink wink” that one can extrapolate from saying such a thing even ironically.
Suffice to say that this is an item that probably won’t be selling any time soon; according to one Brendan Hurley, who was a spokesperson for Goodwill of Greater Washington back in 2019, if you donate an item that you wouldn’t feel comfortable giving to your friend or neighbor, it probably won’t sell.
But then again, if you do feel comfortable donating something like this to a friend or neighbor, that’s probably a much bigger, much more intimate red flag.