I’ve worked in a thrift store for the last two years. Two very different thrift stores, the first a small newly opened store in Los Angeles; and lately one major corporation in small town, North Carolina. Before I started working in the thrift business, I wasn’t the biggest fan of thrifting. I thought it was a cool concept but it never seemed to work as well for me as other people. Maybe you’ve thought the same, that you’d love to be a successful thrifter but it just doesn’t work for you. Well it can! If you’ve ever wondered how to find good stuff at thrift stores, this post is for you.
In high school, my favorite blogger was The Stylish Wanderer. She posted all these amazing outfits that she found at vintage and thrift stores. I’d always feel so inspired when I saw her outfits. But my experience at thrift stores was typically browsing through a bunch of unappealing junk, finding a few books and maybe a sweater that I wouldn’t mind owning, and then going home and never wearing or using anything I had bought. But now, my experience has completely changed. I now do about 90% of my shopping at thrift stores.
I’ve loved to shop since I was 10. I started out at Limited Too, where I made many unfortunate purchases, such as a fuzzy purple newsboy hat that I wore relentlessly. Thankfully, I moved on from that and towards the end of high school I primarily shopped at Gap & Forever 21 in my attempt to have a “classic, Audrey Hepburn-esque” style. That didn’t really ever happen, but at least my end of high school clothes were a LOT less embarrassing than the beginning. Side note: I’m listening to Taylor Swift’s Fearless album while writing this which is really taking me back to the most humiliating years of my life. The point I’m trying to make with this ridiculous walk down memory lane is: over the last fifteen years I’ve tried to move away from fast fashion. It’s been more of a journey than a move, but hey, progress.
The only way I’ve been able to accomplish this is by thrifting. Maybe someday I’ll be able to source my entire wardrobe from wonderful small businesses, but until then my best option is buying second hand. Maybe that’s more realistic for you, too.
Admittedly, some of the best deals I’ve ever gotten were due to me being an employee. But you definitely don’t have to work at a thrift store for good finds. Every week I see customers find the most amazing deals. Just the other day a regular walked out with Chanel heels for $4, a brand new rose gold Nike sweatshirt for $3 (I’ll be bitter about that one for a while), and a Lululemon tank for $1.81. I’ve seen hundreds of these hauls over the last few years. So what’s the secret?
- Wisely pick your one thrift store. Go to all the shops in your area a few times. See what you find just on a casual walk through. Take a look at their pricing structure. Personally, I prefer thrift stores that have uniform pricing on clothes, i.e. all sweaters are $4, all jeans are $5. It makes it a lot easier to score a good deal. Also, look for a store that looks overstuffed and disorganized. Sure, it’s annoying, but you’re thrifting not browsing at Nordstroms. Lastly, pick one that’s convenient to you. You want to be able to have frequent convenient access.
- Once you’ve identified one thrift store that seems to stick out to you above the rest, go frequently. Go as often as you can. Yes, this is time consuming. I recommend wearing headphones and listening to a podcast because the ambient noise of thrift stores is typically not what I’d call relaxing. Why go frequently? Because it’s totally possible that you’ll stumble into a random thrift store one day and score a pair of Christian Louboutins in your size for $10. But more likely you’ll walk in, do a loop, and not find anything. Frequency is key. I’ve known many customers that come through daily, or even multiple times a day.
- Know what you’re there for. Sure, if you have hours to kill than you can do a thorough investigation of the entire store. But chances are you have limited time on your hands and if that’s the case, you need to thoroughly examine the areas that are important to you. Personally, I’m always looking for dresses, shoes, and purses. Those are the items I need the most, and the items that resell best for me (you can read about my side reselling biz here).
- Get to know the employees. Be kind and pleasant, in a genuine manner of course. Unfortunately customers that are nice and make an effort to be friendly are surprisingly rare. But that makes the one’s who are particularly memorable, and so I would get to know their tastes and keep an eye out for things they would like. At my first thrift store job there was a sweet older lady who hardly spoke English. She came faithfully every day, and she had a great sense of humor that crossed our language barrier. She loved Michael Kors so I would keep an eye out for her, and she definitely got some great picks because of that.
- Always check the dressing rooms! This sounds a little crazy, but most thrift stores don’t have a lot of staff–ie no dressing room attendants–and stuff tends to pile up in the dressing room. Sure, you can view that as an inconvenience, but really it’s a blessing. If it’s in the dressing room, it means someone probably wanted to buy it. I always take a look through what’s left behind and usually it’s pretty good stuff! I found one of my favorite maternity dresses this way.
This is the dress I rescued from a dressing room floor - Don’t feel like you have to buy anything. This can be the hard part, because who likes to browse for what feels like forever and then walk out with nothing? Not I. A lot of times I’ve bought something just to feel like I hadn’t wasted a trip + my time. But in reality, that’s just piling more waste on existing waste. Discipline yourself to just walk away! Going back to point 3, keep your focus on what you came for.
Obviously, this process takes time and persistence to reap the benefits. But it’s worth it! I’ve found so many awesome items in thrift stores that I would’ve never dreamed of paying full price for. So many times I’m left baffled, asking “why would anyone EVER give this away?” It doesn’t matter how much it originally cost, inevitably someone will give it away. I’ve spent many days sorting through bags feeling like the Grinch at the top of dump it to Crumpet. But people value their stuff differently, and their discards can be your new darling wardrobe.
What’s your favorite item you’ve ever thrifted? I’d love to hear about it. Presently mine is my most recent find: an Instax mini camera. Definitely something I would have NEVER bought new! I’m also thrilled with the variety of maternity clothes I’ve gotten from thrift stores. If you’re pregnant and looking for maternity clothes, definitely check your local thrift store!
