Out with the new and in with the old! Thrifting has become the thing of the season as people are starting to think more ethically and environmentally friendly. Thrift shops are a great source for updating your wardrobe without breaking the bank without contributing to fast fashion. You can often find some really amazing pieces when thrifting that you can give as gifts for this holiday season, or just to treat yourself! Below are a few tips to help you find those hidden gems at the thrift stores!
Come In With A Plan
Thrift stores can be daunting when you first start out. The racks are often crowded which can be very overwhelming. A helpful trick if you find yourself avoiding thrift stores for this reason is to create a plan beforehand. What are you looking for specifically? Pants? Dresses? Is there a material you would prefer to find? Corduroy? Silk? These questions can help narrow the scope of your field, so you aren’t looking through the vastness of a Goodwill for eternity. This trick is also helpful if you’re thrifting on a time limit.
Leave No Rack Untouched
Now, you don’t always need a plan going into a thrift store. Most times, the best thing you can do is to conquer the entire store. It is often the case that the clothes in thrift stores aren’t always in their assigned sections or size categories. If you’re skilled with a sewing machine, you can also repurpose a lot of clothes found in thrift stores. So it is a good idea to go through each and every row to make sure that you don’t miss anything! Always check the men’s section for great graphic tee’s, pants, and layering pieces!
Remember the Sale Days
Many thrift stores often have sale days where you can get pieces at an added discount. Many stores also have a color system, where different colored tags have different levels of discount! It’s a pretty cool system and definitely one to be aware of when shopping!
Don’t Be Afraid to Travel
Not all thrift stores are equal. Depending on what you’re wanting to get out of the experience, it might be worth your time to travel outside of your city and local thrift store to a different one. Thrift stores in neighborhoods of a higher average salary will often have more high-end pieces for you to find! Don’t be afraid of smaller thrift stores either, you never know what you might find there!
Remember What’s Good Where
Once you become a seasoned thrift shopper, you’ll start to figure out which thrift stores has the best of each category. Maybe your local Goodwill has a fantastic jeans selection, while your local Salvation Army has wonderful coats! Remembering these details will help you save time in the future, and create a more streamlined thrifting experience!
With these tips in mind, remember it is your duty to shop responsibly. Thrift stores are the saving graces for low income individuals, so bear that in mind. Reselling thrifted items on clothing market spaces such as Depop or Poshmark inflates the value of thrifted items, causing thrift stores to raise their own prices.