Increasing Your Thrifting Luck
[ 3 June 2007 ]
“The past few days I’ve been hitting up the vintage shops here in the San Francisco area (the Haight-Ashbury district, Berkeley) and I got to thinking about how I could improve my thrifting luck. I know that some people just have that certain knack for finding the diamonds in the rough in vintage/thrift/resale shops — I’ve had brief brushes with it, but I was wondering if you had any ideas for how to increase the odds of finding something amazing, besides just taking along someone with Thrift Luck and hoping it rubs off.”
Dear clever, iCiNG-dipped cuties,
I am a terrible thrift-shopper & I have no hints or tips to share on this subject! However, I know that a lot of you specialise in this area. Help a sister out & tell us your best secrets!
Thanks x 1,000,000!
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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Shop frequently.
Set a budget.
Learn where the most affluent areas of your town are and visit their second-hand/charity shops the most, since they are likely to be well-stocked with quality goods.
Look at clothes labels: don’t buy second-hand viscose if it’s pilled (this means it’s been mistreated and is about to fall apart), cotton that’s faded unless you like that look, and favour natural fabrics.
Check everything for holes and stains, but if you find any don’t immediately discard the item, think seriously about whether you can repair it or remove the stain.
Don’t make a list of things you’re looking for, let it all be a surprise.
i actually wrote an article for adorn last year about this, and when i spoke about wardrobe_remix at the maker faire here in the SF bay area a couple weeks ago, i gave out a handout with tips for thrifting, and some suggestions on cool thrifts in SF proper to the attendees there!
it’s a pdf file with two pages that people can print out and share.
http://bitsandbobbins.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2007/05//wardrobe_remixing.pdf
One thing you definitely need is lots of time.
Add to that lots of patience.
I tend to just scan my eye over racks and see what jumps out at me, be that colour or fabric or whatever. The great thing about fashion is that looks are endlessly recycled, so that smock dress that was considered unwearable three years ago is suddenly the height of style!
I like the big op-shops, like Savers, especially the ones that aren’t in particularly trendy areas, because the good stuff stays there longer (I’ve found the best stuff at Greensborough or Frankston, rather than Brunswick).
My personal attitude is – go into every op-shop you see. Hunt thoroughly. Carry a mental catalogue of your wardrobe so that you can imagine how something might work with things you already own.
Good luck!
My trick is to go in with an idea of what I’m looking for, but only in the category of color. Obviously – if I get distracted by a gorgeous purple top when I was looking for something blue, that’s fine too. But narrowing it down also helps me expand my wardrobe color factor (self-confessed-recovering-black-shirt-aholic)
1. Look for holes/stains/weird smells.
2. Think about the upkeep of the item (need for dry-cleaning, etc.)
3. Once in a while, I’ll to a thrift store & set a goal for constructing an entire outfit for a certain price. It makes you go outside your boundaries as far as taste & you can often wind up with a great new find.
4. Don’t buy something just because it has a low price. If you don’t like it ‘that much’, you don’t like it. Otherwise you’ll end up with a bag of thrifted clothing that you don’t really go gaga for.
Shop often (I tend to go at least once a week), and if you see something you really love, buy it then, or else someone else may grab it.
Figure out which stores have changerooms. For the ones that don’t, wear really loose clothing you can try clothes on underneath, or tight stuff that you can slip clothes on over top. It’ll make your shopping a fair deal easier.
Watch especially for good-quality clothing that is well made and will last – you’ll build a great, lasting wardrobe for a really great price.
Don’t get too hung up looking for a particular colour or style – you might miss something truly fabulous that’s not what you’d normally look for.
Go often… very often! For me this is sometimes a couple times a week. Get to know the staff and become familiar with when they tend to restock. Be open minded about what you’ll find that day. If I go looking for something particular, ten-to-one, I don’t find it! In other words, don’t have any preconceived ideas and if something jumps out at you, buy it! I have found some amazing things, and its just from lots of patience and frequent shopping.
Also, never-ever “expect” to find something when you go thrifting; I find this tends to put me in a bad mood if I don’t find anything that day!! :)
Good luck!
I don’t actually have consistent thrift luck, but since I’m originally from the Bay Area, I just wanted to say that in the SF Bay Area (and maybe other metropolitan areas too like London?) the thrift stores are heavily checked by stylish shoppers and are overpriced, in my opinion. So the trick is to get out of town! The outer East Bay usually had better stuff, especially huge stores like ThriftTown in San Ramon (I think that’s where it is), or thrift stores in Richmond. In my experience they have more stuff, on the racks longer, for better prices, than the places in Oakland or San Francisco.
Read “Thrift Score!” by Al Hoff!
I love seeing everyone’s favourite thrifting finds. I went last week and fell hopelessly in love with a pair of green velvet heels and a pink slip. My friend Tara also spied this Victorian parlor cut-out book. It’s beautiful.
Not really “practical” advice, but I always bring a donation when I go thrifting – I call it an “offering to the thrift gods”!
My advice is to ravage the entire store; you never know when inspiration will strike. Some of my favorite finds have been in the children’s, men’s, or houseware sections.
Go all the time, especially ont he days you know they restock their shelves.
Get friendly with the people who work there, they’ll be more than willing to hold stuff for you I’m sure. It doesn’t hurt to butt kiss (bring in brownies, cup cakes, muffins, or coffee).
Estate sales are always so much more fun than thrift stores. They’re trying to get rid of everything in a hurry. They almost always have bargins and wonderous things.
And you just have to dig and dig and dig, don’t just skim, really look hard.
Sometimes estate sales are advertised in the paper. Check The Age classifieds section or your local newspaper.
What I mean is, I bring some old clothes/items of mine to donate to the thrift store. ;)
I love the donation idea. I will have to do that next time.
If thrift stores aren’t working for you, try garage sales or Sunday markets. Since most stalls are just one person’s clothing, everything is already somewhat sorted by size and style. Wear a tight singlet you can try tops on over and take your hip, waist and bust measurements before you go – it’s a lot more reliable than ‘size 10’.
In Melbourne the Camberwell or Bentleigh markets are great – I’ve had most of my best finds there.
If vintage is what you’re looking for, get to know what vintage fabrics look & feel like. It is so different than modern fabrics. I’m at a point now where all I have to do is run my hand across the racks and I can “feel” the vintage.
This also goes for higher quality items.
A lot of great tips here! I read a great book on vintage and thrift shopping, “It’s Vintage, Darling!”, by Christa Weil and it’s a great eye-opener, since it deals with clothes-shopping from “A-Z”, meaning: from discerning good quality to building an individual wardrobe. It changed my perception of clothes, no matter if they’re vintage or not.
I’ve just started doing this but I think it keeps me from buying things I’ll later regret: I grab a shopping cart and go through the aisles, pulling out anything and everything that looks vintage or fun, Then after I’m sure I’ve hit up all the places I usually like to check, I stand in front of a mirror and either hold things up in front of it or try clothes on over what I’m wearing to see if I’m still in love with them.
A while back I did a guest post for The Bargain Queen:
http://www.thebargainqueen.org/2007/02/guest-post-a-nz-thrift-shopping-story/
One problem I often have with vintage shopping is that I go in with high expectations. Because I don’t go shopping that often, everytime I pay a visit to a store I feel like I HAVE to buy something to make my trip worthwhile, especially so with vintage since it is a one-piece only item. So I think the tip to shop often is a good one (if you have the time!) and to go in without any expectations.
What a wonderful thread! So much good advice.
Mine to add: much as others have said… – Go often – good things get snapped up quickly. – Go everywhere! You never know when you’re going to find that treasure. Never make a judgement about somewhere or you might miss out. – I take a previous treasure with me for good luck: if going to Camberwell market, I wear something great bought on a previous trip. – Like Saxy, I donate goodies to op shops when I visit them. It’s a karmic “what goes around” thing. I like the idea that it’s a gift to the recycling gods. I figure that I need to look after the system so the system can look after me. – I judge by fabric: you can tell what’s good without seeing it as good fabrics are made into good things. Vintage fabrics (I don’t buy anything made in the last thirty years) jump out at you when surrounded by all that polyester. – Inspect the condition thoroughly. Op shops rarely price according to condition and you can never assume anything.
Keep an open mind! The more open you are to possibilities, the more likely you’ll find something great.
This is kind of late on (and very very long), and a lot of these are common sense, but this is what I have found out to be mostly true!
Sometimes it helps to go with a friend. They can spot things you might have missed and be a big help in some cases, and you can help them, so it’s rewarding in that sense.
By the same deal, don’t bring along anyone who might be unhelpful or annoying, ESPECIALLY if you think they’re going to put you down or deter you from buying something you might want, even if you love it.
A lot of stores won’t let you return anything, so imagine yourself actually wearing the clothing outside of the store. Ask yourself “am I going to wear this (more than once)?” If the answer is no, don’t buy it. Leave it for someone who is going to enjoy it (even if it’s something really rare or hard to find; if you don’t plan on selling it, don’t just let things hang in your closet)
Be selective! Sometimes it’s really easy to say “but it’s not that expensive!” but most everything in the store is going to be inexpensive, and you’d be better off buying something you’re going to wear a lot.
Keep a list of thrift shops you’ve been to, maybe add what you liked / didn’t like about them, the location, general thoughts and a rating. Stick to your favorites, but don’t be afraid to go back and retry stores you didn’t like!
DO NOT let yourself get caught in the collecting trap. Okay, those little porcelain bunny statues are cute, but you don’t need 1092 of them. And you don’t need to buy every porcelain bunny statue you see! I read somewhere that a collection should be only things that are your most favorite or most dear to you, if you have a collection at all.
Be wary of buying furniture with cushions, because they could have infestations of bugs in them. Look at everything very carefully!
Don’t be rude to anyone!
Lastly, I COMPLETELY AGREE about bringing something to donate with you. It keeps you thinking about your wardrobe, makes you feel good and helps out the store! Give back! Rock on! Yes!!
Find the biggest and/or best thrift shop in your area and be a volunteer worker there on the day that their new stock comes in (even if it’s just for a few hours). If this is feasible of course – all the thrift stores in aus. are always after volunteers. That way, you’ll get good thrift shop karma for donating your time, and you will get first dibs on all the stock that comes in before it even hits the rack. And you’ll most likely get a heavily discounted price as well for being so sweet for being a volunteer :)
try going to www.poshgirlvintage.com
they are a bit expensive BUT they have already sorted through the hootie and the blowfish tee shirts for you