20 May My Top 5 Thrift Store Faves + Tips on How I Scored Them

Posted at 20:41h in Thrift by

It’s safe to say that as a hardcore thrift shopper {I’ve been thrifting for pretty much all my life!}, I’ve found some serious gems. I’m talking pieces that are absolute showstoppers and have people asking, “where did you get that??” and the garments that make me smile every time I see them hanging in my closet.

While it’s hard to choose favorites, I thought it was time for me to round up my best thrift store scores and share the tips I used to find them…so you can find some gems as well at the thrift shop.

Thrift Store Favorites: red vintage Oscar de la Renta wool and velvet trim coat

When I was thinking of what my favorite thrift find has been over the years, at the top of my list was this vintage Oscar de la Renta coat. I mean, look at it!!! The bold color, the a-line trapeze style, warm wool with velvet accents. It’s hard not to love this beauty. She’s definitely kept me warm over the years.

Thrift tip: Don’t feel the need to thrift shop first thing in the morning. I know it’s tempting to think that if you’re going to a major sale or shopping on the weekend that you want to be one of the first in line. But that’s just not true. I found this vintage coat at the Salvation Army coat sale a few hours after the doors had opened. Even though the sale had been going on for about an hour or so, I knew there was more than enough to go around and I shouldn’t have a problem finding anything. This beauty was just hanging on the racks. Being the first in line doesn’t guarantee you’ll find everything and being last in line doesn’t mean you’ll find nothing. Just shop and keep an open mind.

 

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I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again, shop with a friend! This is something I utter more than once in my thrift shopping book, Looking Fly on a Dime: How to Find Fabulous Fashion at Any Thrift Shop & Make the Cheap Look Chic. The reason for that? A second set of eyes is always better than one. These disco gold pants were found at a small thrift sale my mom told me about. And mom also helped in another area. I was about to check out with three or four items in my hand when she alerted me about a better deal. Instead of buying items per piece {dresses and jeans were $6, tops about $5}, she told me there was a $15 bag offer where you can fill a bag and pay one flat price. Um, I totally overlooked that! So I picked up a bag at the register and filled it with a few additional items, including the gold pants, which I initially didn’t see during my first lap around the sales floor. This is why I suggest shopping with a fellow thrifter when you can. They can see things that you may have overlooked.

Thrift Store Favorites: vintage gold clip on earrings with cherubs and hearts

Speaking of overlooking things, you’re probably still overlooking the accessories at the thrift shop. Accessories are easy to shop for {you don’t have to try them on and they’re one size fits all} but they still tend to be put on the back burner while clothes and shoes get all the glory. I absolutely adore these cherub style clip on earrings but they almost didn’t make their way into my jewelry box. It wasn’t until I doubled back and checked the jewelry counter that I saw them just sitting there and looking gorgeous. I’m not sure if it’s because people are so focused on the clothes or maybe by the time they reach the accessories they’re just so tired, but for whatever reason, many people pass right by the jewelry. Don’t be one of those people.

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Thrift Store Favorites: vintage western inspired boots with zigzag pattern
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of anything western inspired, but when I saw these leather boots that had a bit of a Missoni-like vibe, I snatched them up immediately. And just as soon as I threw them in my cart, I placed them back. Why? Because the soles were a bit too scuffed up. I shopped a bit more but came back for the boots because I couldn’t get over them. They were just too cute and statement-making. Luckily they were still on the racks and I deliberated on whether they were worth buying even with the soles needing repair. I googled the average price to resole a pair of boots and I found a shop that did so for 30 bucks. Yes, that was more than quadruple the cost of the boots but it was still an amazing deal for a pair of vintage boots I adore. Sometimes it’s totally okay to buy something that needs a little bit of love and repair. But just be sure that you’ll actually make the repairs and the price is justifiable.
Thrift Store Favorites: Salvation Army leopard print dinner chairs
Finally, one of my favorite thrift finds isn’t something that’s in my closet. They’re actually a set of chairs. One of my favorite thrift stores {Salvation Army on 46th Street in Manhattan} also has a nice assortment of furniture and I when I was decorating a new apartment, I decided to venture to the top floor to see what I could find. Because I love all things colorful and bold, these leopard print chairs immediately caught my eye. They were $15 a piece and the set of four was just $50. But because my place was so small, I only had space for two of them. The sales associate let me break the set and I took them home a few days later {the store even offered delivery!}. The majority of the time I hit the thrift store I’m checking out clothes or accessories, so I had to remind myself that there was so much more to the secondhand shop. If your store has a nice home section, hit up those aisles. There’s typically tons of great pieces to jazz up your space even on the tightest of budgets.
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