Thrifting tips

Coming from a divorced family, where both sides of the family probably have diverse feelings on thrift stores, I can see both of the usual arguments you hear when people discuss this subject. On the one hand, I can say that, yes I have been to thrift stores that are dirty...not only dirty, but disgusting and scary.On the other hand, I am a struggling college student, who loves to be fashionable and loves new clothes. I also believe in the old adage "One mans' trash is another man's treasure" or in this case "One woman's cast outs are another woman's new favorite outfit".  My grandmother on one side, I'm not sure would go into a thrift store, although she does yard sale, which to me has no real difference.  But as if embarrassed by this, she always exclaims, "But it came from a very nice, clean lady".  Trust me, hearing her justify it to someone who can barely talk is quite comical.  Just this week, I ran into my other grandmother in the Goodwill scoping out the sweater rack.  I'm not saying that the first grandmother is stuck up, or saying she thinks she is better than anyone; I am simply saying I have never seen or heard of her thrifting and highly doubt she would.


When I first began thrifting, I was thrifting for the wrong reasons.Wrong reasons, you may ask?  When I was a child my parents divorced and I did not graduate from the school I started at.  I went to the Goodwill to attempt to find a shirt from what I considered my alma mater.  I was successful in finding a shirt, and continued to thrift, usually finding vintage jewelry in the form of the beaded necklaces, like the ones below.
I didn't really start getting into thrifting until about a year ago.  I will say the past few months it has progressively gotten better...or worse depending on how you look at it.

I really started getting into it because I am a struggling college student.I simply do not have the money to go buy new clothes like I did when someone else was paying for them.  I am an education major, which means you have to go out into the schools an observe in classrooms,which in turn means dressing up.  I did not own a lot of dress clothes, so I decided to start looking in thrift stores.  I found some fabulous things, many new with tags. This led to an even deeper love of thrifting.

I have some personal tips on thrifting...I'm sure some have been said before but hopefully here area few you haven't thought of before.

1.Leave any prejudices at the door.  I realize that to many people,thrifting sounds "dirty" or for "poor people".  But leave those misconceptions at the door.  With the economy the way it is, thrifting is a great way to enlarge your wardrobe on a budget.

2.Speaking of budgets...Set a budget.  When you first begin thrifting. this can be difficult.  It can be overwhelming seeing so many things for so cheap.  Also if you set a budget of say, $25 it can be interesting and almost like a game to see how many good things you can get!

3.  Cheap does not equal free.  Just because an awesome find is cheap, does not make it free.Just because it is cheap does not necessarily mean you will like it more than you would if you had paid full price for it, nor does it mean that you should buy things "you may use one day" or "you may fit into one day".Just say no.

4.  When looking at clothes, be willing to step outside your comfort zone.  This can be hard to do at first, but always be willing to try on something that you may not typically like.  It may not look good on the hanger, but on you, it could look wonderful.  Let's say like me you don't like yellow.Try some on anyway!

5.  Always go with a friend.  Someone who will give you an honest opinion about what you are looking at or trying on.  If you go alone you may be more biased to say because it is cheap it looks good.

6.  Always try things on.  You may be surprised at how different sizing can be, not only with different eras, but with different brands as well!

7.  Always go in feeling good about yourself.  This goes out not only to girls who in some cases are "plus size" like me, to women bigger than me and smaller than me and anywhere in between.  If you go in with a pessimistic attitude, you will think everything you try on looks horrible.  Trust me, I have done it before.  If you go in thinking your hips are a mile wide, everything you try on will make you feel that way even if in reality it looks fabulous on you!

8.  Examine items carefully.  You don't want to go home and find out the fabulous shirt you got has a huge hole in it, or that the skirt you got is missing a zipper.  Also check for stains.Sometimes you can get these out or cover them up by layering, but know your own style to know whether you  can do this.  This also includes checking washing instructions.  you don't want to buy something that is dry clean only if you are unlikely to go to the dry cleaners.

 9.Shop off-season. Think ahead and buy items for winter in summer and vice versa.  You will find awesome deals.  For instance, a couple weeks ago, I went to my local Goodwill and they had a sale on sweaters "Buy one for 99 cents get one free".  I literally thought it was too good to be true.

10 .Look at brand tags, but expand you horizons.Everyone has favorite brands.  For me I personally like Old Navy, Charlotte Russe, and Ann Taylor's Loft(my new favorite).  But, by no means does that mean you should only look for those brands, or name brands in general.Sometimes, a never heard of brand can give you your favorite piece of clothing (like my white dress with blue flowers!)

11.  Try new colors.  I personally have always hated the color yellow, but over the summer the color started to grow on me. By no means am I going to go buy a whole new wardrobe, paint my room the color, or buy a car in the color, but touches of it are fabulous!  Use thrift stores to expand your wardrobe and try things you wouldn't normally be willing to try.
12.    Take your time.  Normal clothing stores have clothes neat, tidy and organized, but that is not so in a thrift store.  Yes, most thrift stores have them organized by type of clothing (skirts,pants, sweaters, etc.), but they are not organized by size and sometimes things get put back in the wrong place.  Be patient, there are often gems in a thrift store and it is not always like finding a needle in a haystack.
13.  Have fun with it!  Thrifting can be quite the adventure!  I go mainly with my best friend and we have just as much fun shopping for ourselves as laughing at things we can't imagine anyone wearing.  Our inside joke is on the particularly scandalous clothing.  We say we are wearing it  to "bike night".  The local Goodwil must think we are crazy.