i'm over here in the green section, see you by the hats

It's blue and purple flowers with a lace bust ruffle. This hilarious man at the checkout next to me said, "Oh that dress is very nice. No man will ever look at you in it." and I was like O_O Mister, are you blind? He clarified by saying that what he meant was that it was very European.

So weird.

Maybe I'll give it a spin in front of the camera and just crop out my head. You'd think it's a hilariously awful dress!

None of that exchange makes the slightest bit of sense but it does crack me up.

OK so what kind of thrift store do you find the best stuff in and do you generally spend a long time searching for things? $8.50 for three dreses is extremely appealing.

it was good natured but very strange

other good things about thrift stores in 2012:

* when you take a spin around the blazers to see if there's anything good, you can take a little side trip to the mugs and records, maybe even lamps if there are a lot of them. tapes are everywhere too.

* there are no boxes or packaging or advertising costs involved in the transaction you make there.

downsides: sometimes the proceeds go to a charity you would not otherwise support

I find the very best stuff at resale shops where the collection is pretty well curated -- things are a little more expensive, but they are also WAY cuter than your average crummy thrift store

that said, i don't usually go there unless i want a special treat

usually it's one of two places, one independent thrift store with some kind of environmental cause behind it and a salvation army in evanston. and a lot when i go home to ohio.

stay away from anywhere near hipsters, but near a college is good because college kids often give away their nice clothes that their parents bought them, at least IME.

there is also ebay etsy etc but

i have just found liketwice.com, and i feel like my work clothes problems are basically solved now

OK, that's basically what I was wondering. There's a local chain of the curated kind around Boston that I've always been curious about. I will give them a try some time soon.

i just stop by when i feel the pull, don't really shop for anything specifically, buy nice stuff when i see it and find an occasion to wear it later

Ll, you gotta come out to the bay area - I will take you to this (sort of hipster) thrift store that has the most amazing vintage costume-y dresses

Oh that site is interesting!

i will admit to actually enjoying the looking-through-stuff part -- it's no skin off my back to just look around for a while and examine the things that people give away

j - will take you up on that if i ever find myself out that way!

I will take some photos next time I'm in there - their stuff is insane!!

i feel drooly thinking about it tbh

oh hey thanks for making this thread for me LL

You're welcome! I knew you were an enthusiast, this will be our palace.

EA do you have experience with Poor Little Rich G? I think there's one in Prov.

Oh wait - there's only one of those. I think I was thinking of Second Time Around.

i have a general method of approaching thrift stores.

records / tapes -> books / mags -> housewares -> art -> furniture -> shoes -> ties -> shirts -> sweaters -> blazers

oh you gotta have a method!

i look for magazines and books (heavy), then women's shirts --> dresses --> purses ---> hats ---> shoes ---> nighties (shut up, i found a lot of pretty things in there) then put some stuff back, then finally records and housewares.

usually. sometimes i skip the clothes because i can tell there won't be anything.

i can't say that i've ever found anything great at 2nd time around but I'm not there very frequently, tho i recall their prices being absurdly high for non-vintage consignment

There's a giant Goodwill by my office that I go to usually to look for costume accessories etc when I'm goign to a theme party or whatnot.

I tend not to shop for clothes a whole lot, bc I find that a v disappointing exercise being larger than most of the stuff on the racks. I tend to limit myself to jackets, occasionally glance at skirts.

But I always get a kick out of looking at things like furniture and books and coffee mugs and framed pictures and whatnot. Years ago Mr Veg found these awesome matching coffee mugs printed with PRESBYTERIAN FAMILY CAMP :D

also - i skip pants usually because really, like i am going to find any pants that fit me? ha. it has never happened.
i used to look for men's pants when i was a teen who wanted to disappear and even got some super sweet and durable *perfectly snug* turquoise Levis cords from the little boys section yeeeeears ago (RIP) but i think that covers my success with used slacks/jeans/trousers/pants.

also lol because 'second time around' is just the most common predictable names for a consignment store, like that or 'second helpings' or 'second-hand rose' or whatever.

my boyfriend and i joke that when we open our consignment store it will be named 'sloppy seconds'

ANYWAY, my clothing scores have been limited lately, the only thing of note would be a couple vintage pendleton wool shirts and a few ties. always, always with the neckties.

oh, well that's not entirely true, i did buy a vintage denim jacket during my trip to the east bay (i needed a layer, so) -- it's got a navy / gold / red wool plaid for the collar and placket facings, raglan sleeves, and a drawstring waist? it's a bit odd and is fitted more like a parka than a denim trucker jacket. but it's nice & i like it.

I've lived in poor areas for a while, and the goodwill & second-hand stores are useless except for housewares so that's the only section I check (but housewares can be a good mine--witness the rare Fiesta candlesticks I found this summer). Would have to go way out of the city, or else uptown to rich neighborhoods to find good clothes.

*gold mine

i feel like there should be some sort of demographic analysis you could perform to locate the areas where thrift stores most likely to contain treasures

A long time ago, around 2001-2003, I used to take the train out into NJ to Paterson and Passaic and walk from the train station to a local Sal Arm in a building with one of those big chalet-style rooflines and an all-glass front wall. It always had THE BEST STUFF, including great furniture that I just had no way to truck home. My favorite shirt in the world in my entire life came from there, it says "Vulcan Science Academy" on it and is the perfect degree of falling-apart soft.

The Red, White, & Blue in Paterson used to be amazing as well, I bought a bunch of silk Vera scarves from there for $2 each.

it would depend on what you consider a treasure, no?

as far as i am concerned, i long for the golden age of the late 80s/early 90s, when there were lots of people in NEOH giving away their old tiny party dresses
other dream area would be in california in the mid-late 80s (?) when people were giving away their crazy 60s and 70s clothes

i think higher-than-average median income + low or negative population growth provides a pretty good starting point, tho

ime it helps to go where the old folks are (or had been, until recently, r.i.p.)

Bingo.

one of my best finds is an oscar de la renta shirtdress with gold tinsel and brown embroidered lederhosen
it was like $2 because it was in the kids section

but i could reminisce about old clothes forever -- there's another thread for that

i really love church & community thrift stores the most

and the old ladies who volunteer there 7 hours a week

oscar de la renta shirtdress with gold tinsel and brown embroidered lederhosen

wait is this one item or two?

i love the woman who runs the thrift at the episcopal church in providence, she is always there and ALWAYS at least a little bit drunk

I love the places where they hand-write receipts and you get awesome little old lady handwriting

oh, i'm kind of obsessed with boxes of old postcards...but those are more often in antique stores than thrift stores

one item -- the dress had the lederhosen sewn on
i still have it

wait waht, i thought for sure you were talking about 2 items

waow

can you take a photo of it? it sounds incredible!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8316/8003444599_5725fd6e57_m.jpg

those little poofs all over the dress are gold tinsel

You mean the dress had little picture of lederhosen embroidered on it or that it had actaul lederhosen attached to it that you wear as part of the ensemble? This is a very confusing sounding dress.

Oh so it has like suspenders embroidered on it. I think I get it now.

i just googled and there are apparently abundant options -- you should get one! you can even get a puffy one a la missy

it was super weird because just a couple days ago i watched Single White Female (hilarious, awesome, template for so many USURPER Lifetime movies, that weird little orange hairdo) and Bridget Fonda's clothes were really cute in that movie (heels aside). She had a silver raincoat that would have been a holy grail type item if Jennifer Jason Leigh hadn't waltzed out with the same exact one! lol

i saw a little girl at the farmers matket yesterday in a silver windbreaker & i nearly squueeeed out loud in envy

this is within your grasp -- we are living in a rich era of wacky affordable clothing. i looked around at Target the other day and marveled at the variety. It almost made me want to stock up for those times when things become more austere.

I need a raincoat and am now looking up silver raincoats.

look at this thing

https://screengoblin.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/bridget-fonda-swf2.png

thing = her coat, not her specifically

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_04/EastendersBBC_468x316.jpg

(jk - the leather one looks ace)

who are those miserable-seeming people?

the ginger lady is the iconic Bianca, from British aspirational soap opera 'Eastenders'

aha
i've heard of that but clearly not familiar with the characters

tbh i'm pretty useless at figuring out what people mean with solitary image posts

sorry, that silver puffa jacket is kind of famous over here!

no need to apologize! i wish we all could be more forgiving of people not knowing things/needing to ask questions, self included.

i forgot to post about this when i executed the score but i scored so huge at this very small thrift last month. i got:

* black sweater with a sexy blue/white leopard on it (i am in love with this sweater)
* bizarre gigantic black sequined shirt/dress with red feathers around the collar that makes me look like phyllis diller or a shrunken latter day liza minnelli (idk where i will wear this but it's mine now)
* amazing brown/orange peasant dress with laces that corset up the back that fits me *perfectly* and is comfortable (this is going to be nice for special occasions)
* psychedelic orange/pink/brown/green flowered skirt that has *shorts underneath it for total comfort and protection omg* (i can comfortably play drums in it!!)

i got all this for $14.33!!!! half price for the holidays, love this place so much

also let's all raise a glass to the next few months when Kondo-following people will be discarding their perfectly good but joyless items and making them available to us at reasonable prices. i feel like i could start my own store if i shopped well enough during the next 6 months!! all the vultures are gonna be out though...

also i will mention that upon paying my $14.33 i felt a palpable noticeable surge of whatever that good-feeling hormone is. like i felt flushed with...what is it? joy!!!????

yay! very much looking forward to Kondo acolyte discards ... also, tis the season for discount cashmere

got some great thredup scores this week (i bought them in December, just came in the mail this week)

* black designer coat dress with chunky beads and jewels on the collar that fits perfectly ... tags attached, priced at $380 ... I got it for about $40
* this amazing art deco looking sleeveless top, kinda like the bodice of a fancy flapper dress
* 80s-ish puffy sleeved blue & black leopard print v-neck sweater

also, a not very exciting boatneck-ish black crushed velvet blouse that I bought for exciting refashioning -- a year or so ago I got rid of a bunch of clothes that hadn't really fit me since the late 90s ... including a half dozen cute patterned bras that I took apart and kept the cup fabric, which works well as a stitched on collar for a boatneck, scoopneck, crewneck, etc.

anyway, so now this blouse has a cute collar that is black & red lacy skull & bones, plus some additional beadwork I did

omg that is so cool -- how satisfying is it to wear a garment with a decorative bra cup collar?!?!?!

we should wear our black/blue leopard sweaters together sometime!!

ok that is a terrible idea but i am still enjoying the idea of wearing similar but not matching secondhand sweaters

that is actually an awesome idea -- we could perform together wearing said garments

yessssssssss
i can only travel in the summer or winter but i am fully into this idea and not even joking

yknow i have seen online animosity/competitive behavior between kondo-enthusiasts and thrifters -- 1) this is divisive and 2) who cares? don't fight amongst yourselves. keep giving it away/recycling your stuff and everyone's happy, the ecosystem is healthy. it's cooperation not competition!!

so weird! - the animosity/competitiveness - is it that the kondo-kin think thrifters are hoarders or gluttons in need of discipline or ...?

idk what they think honestly -- that seems otm based on what i can glean from the snarking i have seen.

to me it just seems like "defending my 'position' means insulting yours" mindset that seems to plague some modern online discourse. unfortunate, imo. i'm sure some people would say "lighten up, it's a joke" but isn't that what people always say to excuse themselves? idk i wish we could celebrate because this is a win-win for everyone.

That is so strange! Yeah, it would seem like a mutually beneficial system.

also there is the shared value of objects providing pleasure, er, joy

it is symbiosis of the highest order, what's not to like!?

also, it's not like I keep all my thrift scores forever -- I let things go when they cease to be useful or there are enough other things that have surpassed it in terms of joy and use value ... granted, I might have more things than some people believe I should, but what can I say ... i have so much love to give

especially when it comes to things that are relatively unique ... like the things I get rid of first are the more generic-looking items that would be easy to replace if I changed my mind

like i said, symbiosis!

“It’s a good time for thrift shopping. I have the people who are purging, and then I have the people that need those things and can have access to them at a lower price. It’s a beautiful, mutual symbiotic relationship,” she said.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/01/11/marie-kondo-has-everyone-tidying-up-and-chicagos-thrift-stores-are-reaping-the-rewards/

i have plenty of things to get rid of too. maybe i should organize a swap. i found the handout i made for aspiring swap organizers for my speech class last semester and i make it sound so easy! maybe it is easier than i think it is.

i think you just need a space and willing participants and a plan for what to do with stuff that is left behind ... clothing swaps have always been awkward for me because I'm significantly larger than most of my friends

since we don't have a thread for swaps, i will put my q here in the hope someone can give me a quick answer:

what is the most inclusive language for inviting women + femme people of all stripes ?

is the swap just for women's clothing? Others I've seen have been "all genders/gender identities welcome" -- but if you want to specify that the clothing to be swapped is gendered, do that separately? Also, you may want to say something about sizes.

opening it up to men's clothing would open a whole new can of worms that i am not ready to host in a week, so yeah -- just women's + children's at this point. the swaps that i have been to are all women's clothing but there are people of various identities there (not cis het men though)

this is why i haven't hosted before. too complicated!

i am definitely going to mention that there will be diversity of sizes and style + a changing room w a mirror
it's the invitation process that is giving me hives at this point :-/

then i would say, "women's and children's clothing!" "all sizes and gender identities welcome!"

ok thank you -- that is helpful!!

let us know how it goes!

someday i would like to host a monster swap for everyone but not right now. party planning is so hard for me! i get really hung up on things that aren't important and then the stress fritzes me out
i also want people to know that even if they don't have stuff to bring or don't want to swap they are still welcome to come over and hang out and meet some new people/talk with me and who knows -- maybe a free accessory or other item may fall into their laps! you never know what you're gonna get at a swap.

i will def let you know how it goes.
it's a week from tomorrow :)

i have since let go some of the items i found at the beginning of this thread almost 7 years ago! wow
time flies!
my swap failed btw. i had to cancel it!

It’s 2023 now and I just got home from a trip to hometown, where I visited my hometown first and fave thrift and scored many items to my immense satisfaction.
Haul included: 4 nice sweaters, one denim skirt, one pair cords, two blouses for work, one tweed jumper dress, and a pair of shorts to sleep in bc I forgot mine.
The thrill is not gone!!

yay!!!

a friend on fb who lives in Canada recently posted complaining about how fast fashion is most of what you see anymore in thrift stores ... I do a lot of it online now, and seriously, there is so much of it. I am tempted to suggest to the online thrift site I frequent that it should have a way to filter out certain brands. Like, can I just omit all the Shein, Lularoe, etc. crap?

I’ve never taken to internet thrifting in spite of years of attempts. Being in the store and being able to hold the items, it makes choosing so much easier for me. I tried on the skirt over my jeans but overall everything I bought fit nicely and I didn’t try anything else on before buying. Part of that is my size, I know. The other part is the eye, which doesn’t work the same way for me on a screen. I’m so relieved to have some fresh work clothes and not have to sweat it or shell out hundreds of clams lol