Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
It's hard to find good stuff at thrift stores, it really is. I've been lucky. But here's my tips for good thrifting:
Only go on a day that you REALLY feel like shopping, because good thrifting is work. If I'm doing a hardcore thrifting day, I will literally end up shopping for 4-6 hours solid. There's 5 or 6 thrift stores down in Bangor, and when I go down there, I hit every single one. The larger ones, like Goodwill and Salvation Army, might take me well over an hour apiece. I literally look at almost every item in the areas I'm interested in - dresses and lingerie, mostly.
I have better luck for certain items at certain stores. For everyday clothes - old slips, t-shirts, thermals - I go to a tiny store here in town, run by one of the local churches. I like giving them the business, and their prices are WAY cheaper than the bigger stores. For vintage stuff, Goodwill is just about the best.
Finding anything older than 1970s is PURE luck. Nothing else. I found that 1920s blouse at Goodwill for $3. It's not in great shape, which is probably why it was so cheap. But anyway, if you want to find nothing but older stuff, your best bet is to look for a vintage-clothing shop in your area (be warned: theyre usually EXPENSIVE), or try ebay.
I call thrift and resale shops the same thing - thrift stores. A vintage shop is more specialized, and because of that, it's likely to be more expensive. A consignment shop is somewhere between the 2 - because the owners need to pay a portion to the person who donated it, their prices tend to be a little higher than thrifts... but the upside is that they can afford to be a little more selective, so they're good choices for things like evening wear, coats, and better clothes.
And I just went on way longer than I needed to, but I love my thrifts. I hardly ever buy clothes new, I just love digging through those dusty racks and finding treasures!
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LOL!!
I hardly ever buy clothes new, I just love digging through those dusty racks and finding treasures!
