You may have read this in our last post, but M was here visiting me this past weekend. Yay for visits with good friends! We really did have a great time, and we did TONS of thrift shopping! I mean TONS! Over a 4 day period, we hit 6 thrift stores, and that was with taking one day off for church! We did go to a couple of "regular" stores, too, so that all totals up to a lot of shopping. Good times! :)
I thought I'd share some tips with you that I either learned from, or was reminded of by M. She's a thrifting expert!
1. To find the best stuff, be prepared to put in the time. Looking through things takes time! If there are certains types of clothes you're wanting to find (ours were mostly dresses, skirts, and shoes this time around), be willing to go item by item through the racks. Here in El Paso, it's a little faster to do this at Savers, which has things grouped by size, than Goodwill, which has things grouped by color. You never know what you might find buried between two hangers!
2. Know your brands. I'm always amazed at how M knows what store almost every item of clothing came from originally. It's not that we're brand snobs or anything even close, but it is helpful to know where it came from when you're deciding whether you want to buy something. For instance, it would be a little crazy, in my opinion, to pay the same, or even more, for an item for what you could have bought it for brand new on clearance at the store. We found some Old Navy tees at a thrift store for $7... you can buy brand new tees on clearance for less than that! What is doubly crazy is that the same store had a Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress for $7! Unfortunately, it didn't fit either of us... So, it really helps to know what store carries what brands. I think M's expertise comes from years and years of "in the field research!"
3. Try things on! While shopping, we both ended up with armfuls of clothes that we hauled to the dressing rooms... and then only ended up buying 4 or 5 things. What if we had just bought those things because they were cute on the hanger and got them home, only to find out they didn't fit, or didn't look right? Take the time to try things on!
4. Have fun! This tip actually comes from my poor, longsuffering husband. He was still on leave, so he got the "privilege" of going shopping with us a couple of times. I felt bad for him, but I soon found out that he could amuse himself... he kept bringing me the craziest shirts and jackets he could find and asking me what I thought. He was even able to find a Star Wars Nascar t-shirt... who knew those even existed? Thrift shopping (even for guys) should be a fun experience... if you're too tired or you're getting stressed, just stop! You can come back another day when you'll be able to enjoy the "thrill of the hunt."
M and I had a great time and I'm already looking forward to the next time we get to spend some time together- she needs to come back when she can spend more time!
Happy thrifting!
-J
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