A Guide to Thrifting: Saving and Shopping with Style

It’s dusty.

So disorganized.

Um…if I need a Halloween costume?

Just too used.

Those are often the justifications that you’ll hear for the resentment towards thrift stores. Some people feel that thrift stores are for low-income individuals and telling people you shop at Goodwill lowers their status amongst their friends. Others find stores too dark and unbearable with the amount or quality of products on the thrift store floor. We get it. Some thrift stores are not fun to play in. However, if your willing to spend some time to save a dime, you might be in for some fashion finds and deals that will up your fashionista quo.

The number one rule in thrifiting is understanding that you will have to dig to find your treasures. Often thrift stores organize clothing by size or simply color, which can make shopping all the more difficult. But don’t despair! We have put together this guide to enhance your thrift store experience and some tips to pass along about shopping with that budget in mind.

• See it all. You can usually find thrift stores in areas where there is low rent. But sometimes you can find them in places where upper class donors might drop off last season’s duds. Yes, you can find good quality Jimmy Choos in a Manhattan thrift shop. Do the search and know where the more quality clothing can be found. Go on a thrift shop tour and learn what these stores stock up on.
• Know the deal days. Several thrift stores run specials throughout the week, where they will have 50 percent or even 70 percent of items in their store. Usually, these are the busiest days of the week for a thrift store. Others might use the color tag or calendar deal system. Always know what’s on sale when you walk in.
• Get creative. Finding good clothes can be hard, but what is great about thrift stores that they almost lead to the most unusuable but fashionable buys. Examine what you find and compare it to what’s currently in your closet. Think abot the creative ways you can incorporate your thrift store finds. Maybe it’s an old pair of jeans that you can retro out into some funky high-waist shorts. Don’t forget that you can DIY to objects you find in the thrift store. And it will cost you a lot less than tearing up some 7 for All Mankind jeans. This may be the time to enhance those sewing skills.
• Quality exists. Know that. Usually branded items are recognized and might cost a little bit more than your average-joe designer. But it’s always a better deal than you realize so don’t be afraid to take off on the scavenger hunt to find those precious items.
• Check out accessories. These are probably the best items you can get from the thrift store because they are usually super cute, unusual, and cheap. Up your jewelry collection, which can almost always be the best way to stand out from the crowd, by glimpsing through accessories at the thrift store. It’s almost unbelievable the things that you can find.