Looking good and shopping on a college budget is difficult. During my sophomore year at Mizzou my good friend Addison Ford introduced me to the thrift store and I never looked back.
Since then I’ve spent a lot of time in thrift stores and I’ve devised a set of rules that will help you obtain the best results
Rule Number 1) Stay Away From Big Cities
Thrifting in cities like Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco is irritating because you’re competing with indie gals who know their labels. Many vintage storeowners thrift to find stock for their stores. Thrift stores in these cities are picked over and usually over priced. Head to the burbs were the hicks don’t know their Akris from their Etro.
Rule Number 2) Find the Wealthy Suburbs
Wealthy suburbs, especially in the Midwest are gold mines for a few reasons
1) The bored housewives are compelled for some reason to give their goods to places like Salvation Army and Goodwill. (I’m guessing it’s their bible study group.) 2) Most of the shoppers at these stores have NO IDEA what they are looking at. And 3) when many elderly die (sad) the kin pass their belongings on to these stores. You’ll be in tears too, over the labels and fabrics you find. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Rule Number 3) Have time and cash on your hands
You’re going to have to go through racks and racks of crap before you get to the labels and some thrift stores are quite large. There’s a Salvation Army in Chicago that’s three stories tall. If you want results be willing to devote your Saturday morning to the thrift.
In this day and age most thrift stores take debit cards but some of the independently owned ones don’t. In Columbia, MO there’s a thrift store called The Wardrobe that has dime days, where everything in the store costs a dime. My friend Addison found a Lacoste bomber jacket on a dime day. Thank god he had 50 cents.
Rule Number 4) Look in both the Men and Women’s sections, no matter your gender or sex
You can find luxury items in both sections. My friend Addison found a women’s Chanel suit and sold it one E-bay for $1,000! I found an YSL tie and Cole Haan loafers and gave them to my boyfriend. Don’t let size bog you down either. In Kansas City I found a beautiful cobalt blue Dior blazer that was a size 10. I had it tailored and now I wear it every day. Guess how much I paid for it? 3 dollars! If something is too small, give it your anorexic friend. She’ll love it!
So next Saturday don’t work out, pop an Adderall, grab your best queen and hit the Goodwill in your aunt’s neighborhood.