In second-hand news, apparently a midtown-Manhattan H &M was discarding and destroying clothing that went unpurchased. This practice has ceased, thanks to a CUNY grad student and some investigative journalism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/nyregion/06about.html?bl
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
What makes a thrift store great?
I'm often stopped on the street and asked, "Oh mighty and beautiful one, what makes a thrift store great"? Over the years I have experienced many fantastic and many more not so fabulous second-hand shops, so I have compiled a list so as to give the people what they want--the truth. This list is, of course, just my humble opinion, so I look forward to reviewing the opinions of my loyal readers--please leave a comment!
Traits of the greats:
1. Low prices; this has to be number one. If I wanted to spend $10 for a Janet Evanovich book, I would do that at Border's where the bright lights and sweet smells make it worth the extra price--but I don't do that, I go to thrift stores for the fun and the good deals. I love nothing more (and my boyfriend probably hates nothing more) than responding to a compliment on a garment by stating, "Oh, thanks, I got it a thrift store for a dollar."
Regardless of how popular a thrift store becomes, the prices should always stay cheap. In my mind, cheap means that t-shirts should be no more than two bucks, long sleeve blouses and sweaters around four dollars, dresses around five, and shoes at three dollars or less. Books should never be more than a dollar, especially paperbacks, and all the houseware nick-nacks should definitely be less than three bucks. I went to a thrift store yesterday which was clean and well organized, but the prices were ridiculous: $15 for an outdated sweater with pits tains, and that was the norm! I actually heard one of the women pricing in the back complaining that the frame that had been donated to them already had a price tag of $1.50 (perhaps from a yard sale), and she just didn't know what do to because there's no way she could sell it for that cheap...why not? You work at a thrift store not Crate and Barrel, after all.
Thrift stores should be cheap, and that's my bottom line; otherwise the whole essence is lost.
2. The thrill of the hunt; this goes hand in hand with low prices because one of the best parts of thrift store shopping is thinking I could find a Betsey Johnson jacket or pair of Seven jeans for two bucks (both of which have happened to me at the same store!). Therefore, organization is important (I don't want my dresses with my breadmakers), but a store need not be so organized that the thrill is sucked out of the experience. I do not like it when stores pull out the fancy shoes, purses, and clothes and keep them in a special section: those things were just as free to them as the stinky sneaks with the mud stains, so why should they suck more money out of shoppers? Plus, by doing that, they take away the adventure in the possibility of finding something great.
3. Friendly, perhaps even crazy, workers; my associate and I once learned that the checkout clerk was gay with a history of anorexia all in the course of ringing up three items (for which he gave us an extra 50%discount "just 'cause." We have also learned that you can tell if a pair of jeans will fit by wrapping them around your neck (fodder for another post, I suppose), and the detriments of leaving children unattended for even a moment in a store. I like knowing that if I make a little small talk, learn a little about the person, and share something about myself, I may just squeeze an extra two bucks out of an already discounted item--is it cheap? perhaps, but it also adds to the thrill of the hunt and the opportunity to keep some extra money in my pocket. Listen, I like my thrift store workers like I like my cheese: unusual, flavorful, and a little stinky. (Ok, I know that comparison didn't really work, but I was stretching...)
4. Cool stuff; Now 'cool' is a very subjective term, and an elusive one at that, but in general I mean the store has to have things that are worth taking home even if they are only a quarter. When I go into a shop, I want to see a large variety of clothes with a wide range of styles, colors, and sizes. Of course, high end brands are appealing given that the garments may be a few years old already, so quality matters to ensure that you can get a little more life out of the piece. And I like to find brands I've never heard of before to know that the piece might be a little more unique than what I could find at the mall. The 'cool stuff' that most interests me, personally, is great dresses, fabulous sweaters, decent shoes and accessories, and lots and lots of books. But like I said, that's just my definition of cool.
5. Non-profits with a good cause; Some of my favorite shops meet all of the first four criteria, but are just businesses making a profit. There's nothing wrong with that, and they are still some of my favorites (I'm thinking of Village Thrifts and Red, White, and Blue shops in particular), but a truly ideal shop would also the opportunity of free donations and low overhead to do something meaningful with the money. Perhaps my favorite thrift store of all time is completely volunteer run by Kiwanis members; it's only open one day a week for three hours, but they gross over $250,ooo a year and that all goes back into the community to support a variety of programs. While it is not essential, the purpose driven thrift store gives the shopper a sense of meaning in their hunt. Further, it creates a sense of community and tradition among those who shop, donate, or volunteer at the store something akin to a farmer's market. It just makes the process even that much more pleasant; but all shops at least aid us in reducing waste by reusing others unwanted goods, so any thrift store shop is an ok shop by me!
So, let's hear what you think!
Traits of the greats:
1. Low prices; this has to be number one. If I wanted to spend $10 for a Janet Evanovich book, I would do that at Border's where the bright lights and sweet smells make it worth the extra price--but I don't do that, I go to thrift stores for the fun and the good deals. I love nothing more (and my boyfriend probably hates nothing more) than responding to a compliment on a garment by stating, "Oh, thanks, I got it a thrift store for a dollar."
Regardless of how popular a thrift store becomes, the prices should always stay cheap. In my mind, cheap means that t-shirts should be no more than two bucks, long sleeve blouses and sweaters around four dollars, dresses around five, and shoes at three dollars or less. Books should never be more than a dollar, especially paperbacks, and all the houseware nick-nacks should definitely be less than three bucks. I went to a thrift store yesterday which was clean and well organized, but the prices were ridiculous: $15 for an outdated sweater with pits tains, and that was the norm! I actually heard one of the women pricing in the back complaining that the frame that had been donated to them already had a price tag of $1.50 (perhaps from a yard sale), and she just didn't know what do to because there's no way she could sell it for that cheap...why not? You work at a thrift store not Crate and Barrel, after all.
Thrift stores should be cheap, and that's my bottom line; otherwise the whole essence is lost.
2. The thrill of the hunt; this goes hand in hand with low prices because one of the best parts of thrift store shopping is thinking I could find a Betsey Johnson jacket or pair of Seven jeans for two bucks (both of which have happened to me at the same store!). Therefore, organization is important (I don't want my dresses with my breadmakers), but a store need not be so organized that the thrill is sucked out of the experience. I do not like it when stores pull out the fancy shoes, purses, and clothes and keep them in a special section: those things were just as free to them as the stinky sneaks with the mud stains, so why should they suck more money out of shoppers? Plus, by doing that, they take away the adventure in the possibility of finding something great.
3. Friendly, perhaps even crazy, workers; my associate and I once learned that the checkout clerk was gay with a history of anorexia all in the course of ringing up three items (for which he gave us an extra 50%discount "just 'cause." We have also learned that you can tell if a pair of jeans will fit by wrapping them around your neck (fodder for another post, I suppose), and the detriments of leaving children unattended for even a moment in a store. I like knowing that if I make a little small talk, learn a little about the person, and share something about myself, I may just squeeze an extra two bucks out of an already discounted item--is it cheap? perhaps, but it also adds to the thrill of the hunt and the opportunity to keep some extra money in my pocket. Listen, I like my thrift store workers like I like my cheese: unusual, flavorful, and a little stinky. (Ok, I know that comparison didn't really work, but I was stretching...)
4. Cool stuff; Now 'cool' is a very subjective term, and an elusive one at that, but in general I mean the store has to have things that are worth taking home even if they are only a quarter. When I go into a shop, I want to see a large variety of clothes with a wide range of styles, colors, and sizes. Of course, high end brands are appealing given that the garments may be a few years old already, so quality matters to ensure that you can get a little more life out of the piece. And I like to find brands I've never heard of before to know that the piece might be a little more unique than what I could find at the mall. The 'cool stuff' that most interests me, personally, is great dresses, fabulous sweaters, decent shoes and accessories, and lots and lots of books. But like I said, that's just my definition of cool.
5. Non-profits with a good cause; Some of my favorite shops meet all of the first four criteria, but are just businesses making a profit. There's nothing wrong with that, and they are still some of my favorites (I'm thinking of Village Thrifts and Red, White, and Blue shops in particular), but a truly ideal shop would also the opportunity of free donations and low overhead to do something meaningful with the money. Perhaps my favorite thrift store of all time is completely volunteer run by Kiwanis members; it's only open one day a week for three hours, but they gross over $250,ooo a year and that all goes back into the community to support a variety of programs. While it is not essential, the purpose driven thrift store gives the shopper a sense of meaning in their hunt. Further, it creates a sense of community and tradition among those who shop, donate, or volunteer at the store something akin to a farmer's market. It just makes the process even that much more pleasant; but all shops at least aid us in reducing waste by reusing others unwanted goods, so any thrift store shop is an ok shop by me!
So, let's hear what you think!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Dyin' to Consign it?
As a teacher who decided to take it easy this summer, I have had some time on my hands as of late. A few weeks ago I dedicated a day to doing one of my favorite things--cleaning out my closet and making piles to bring to a thriftstore. I realized while I was sorting that some of the things I no longer desired might be worth something. I pulled out all of the clothes that still had their original tags (thankfully there were only two things) and then I pulled out the well known and better quality brands.
I did some research before taking my clothes to the shop to see what the stipulations were. I used yelp.com to find local consignment shops, and then searched their websites for specifications. One shop, Greene Street Consignment, had very clear expectations for the brands they would accept as well as the type of clothing depending on the time of the year. I found this information very helpful, but it ultimately turned me off from bringing my clothes there because the description requested 'high quality' clothes with brand names starting at Gap and increasing in quality which seemed a little snooty to me. Additionally, this shop was a traditional consignment shop in the fact that a person drops their clothes off but does not receive any money until their clothes sell; I believe this shop sends you a check at the end of every month for 60% of the sale price of the garment. Then if nothing sells after a certain time frame, you have to come back and get the extra clothes or allow them to be donated to a charitable thrift store.
While I think overall that is a good system, I was interested in getting some quick cash because I was planning a big garage sale trip with my sister, so I opted for another type of consignment. Ultimately, I took two overflowing bags of clothes to a Buffalo Exchange shop. This store also looks for high quality clothes, but they price the clothes they take from you while you wait and then offer you a percentage of the price--50% as store credit or 30% in cash.
I was a little bit sneaky...I wanted the cash for my garage saling bonanza, but that shop also has some fantastic finds--so I bought a gorgeous green dress priced at $17.50 with my store credit and still ended up with $23 in my pocket. Not bad for a fun day of going through my clothes!!
http://www.greenestreetconsignment.com/
I did some research before taking my clothes to the shop to see what the stipulations were. I used yelp.com to find local consignment shops, and then searched their websites for specifications. One shop, Greene Street Consignment, had very clear expectations for the brands they would accept as well as the type of clothing depending on the time of the year. I found this information very helpful, but it ultimately turned me off from bringing my clothes there because the description requested 'high quality' clothes with brand names starting at Gap and increasing in quality which seemed a little snooty to me. Additionally, this shop was a traditional consignment shop in the fact that a person drops their clothes off but does not receive any money until their clothes sell; I believe this shop sends you a check at the end of every month for 60% of the sale price of the garment. Then if nothing sells after a certain time frame, you have to come back and get the extra clothes or allow them to be donated to a charitable thrift store.
While I think overall that is a good system, I was interested in getting some quick cash because I was planning a big garage sale trip with my sister, so I opted for another type of consignment. Ultimately, I took two overflowing bags of clothes to a Buffalo Exchange shop. This store also looks for high quality clothes, but they price the clothes they take from you while you wait and then offer you a percentage of the price--50% as store credit or 30% in cash.
I was a little bit sneaky...I wanted the cash for my garage saling bonanza, but that shop also has some fantastic finds--so I bought a gorgeous green dress priced at $17.50 with my store credit and still ended up with $23 in my pocket. Not bad for a fun day of going through my clothes!!
Helpful Resources:
http://www.buffaloexchange.com/http://www.greenestreetconsignment.com/
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What if it doesn't fit just right?
I'm sure you, like most people not named Barbie or Ken, don't have a body that is shaped exactly like a mannequin's, so while this can lead to frustration when trying to find clothes that fit, thriftstores offer an option that regular retail does not: buy it for two bucks, and try your hand at fixing it! I just bought a BCBG dress for $8 because one of the straps had come unsewn from the dress--it took me less than five seconds to fix it, so it was well worth purchasing even though it had that minor flaw. During many, many years of thrifting, I have learned a thing or two about when it's worth altering, and when it's best to just let it go. My gift to society is to share this knowledge with you, our loyal readers. So, here goes!
1. Look for easy fixes!! Some examples are:
*shorten/lengthen straps *hem pants/skirt *reattach a broken/missing strap *replace missing buttons (you can change all of them if one has fallen off, and it won't take more than ten minutes--you can even take the buttons you like from another piece that you don't like.)
*add material to sleeves or a skirt to make it longer (if any of you have seen my monkey arms, you know I've had to do this plenty of times!)
*add darts to pants, skirts, or dresses to take them in a little bit (a dart is when you sew at an angle; for example, when a woman has a big tush but a small waist, there is often extra material at the waist that sticks out--one can easily sew a stitch starting very gradually and then getting more intense as it gets closer to the top of the pants so that the seam lays flat, but the material is still taken in--leave a comment if this is confusing, and I can explain in greater detail in another post.)
2. Pay attention to fabric!
Some easy fabrics to work with are:
*cotton *polyester *stretch jersey *rayon *silk (if it is something easy like a hem or strap problem--be careful about detailed silk work because it will easily show errors.)
Some fabrics to avoid fixing yourself are:
*denim (it eats sewing machine needles if you don't know what you're doing!)
*wool
3. If you really love it, take it to a tailor!
Some things are better left to a tailor because if you are not very skilled, the outcome may look sloppy which would prevent you from wearing it and defeat the whole process. Personally, I would send the following things to a tailor if I found a cheap piece that I loved dearly:
*hemming jeans (it costs $10 or less at a tailor, and it's well worth it!)
*a bodice or dress with boning *taking in a dress with a lining
*beadwork that will need to be redone (this can be very expensive, so you may save this for a wedding dress or something equally important)
*fixing or attaching a new zipper
*altering a suit for work (you want it to look as nice and professional as possible--it's worth the investment)
If you find something that knocks your socks off, but it needs major alterations, it may still be worth it to take it to a tailor. Even if the work costs $20 (probably only dresses would cost that much or more because they're time consuming--hemming is usually around $10), you probably spent less than $15 on the garment, so a total cost of $35 is still reasonable if it's something you love and will wear often. If, however, the tailor estimates the work to be over $50, you should strongly consider whether it's worth it or not--perhaps you can reuse the fabric as a pillow or a handbag.
Recently, while doing research around Phildelphia and South Jersey, my associate and I found two great examples of this idea of alterations. We took pictures of the small repairs we made to show as an example--one dress needed to shorten the straps, and one dress was too long in the torso, so we took in some material at the top of the shoulder.
Both alterations took less than 30 minutes total from start to finish.
The blue Anthropologie dress cost $5, and the purple Ann Taylor dress cost $3--not bad for $8 bucks!
1. Look for easy fixes!! Some examples are:
*shorten/lengthen straps *hem pants/skirt *reattach a broken/missing strap *replace missing buttons (you can change all of them if one has fallen off, and it won't take more than ten minutes--you can even take the buttons you like from another piece that you don't like.)
*add material to sleeves or a skirt to make it longer (if any of you have seen my monkey arms, you know I've had to do this plenty of times!)
*add darts to pants, skirts, or dresses to take them in a little bit (a dart is when you sew at an angle; for example, when a woman has a big tush but a small waist, there is often extra material at the waist that sticks out--one can easily sew a stitch starting very gradually and then getting more intense as it gets closer to the top of the pants so that the seam lays flat, but the material is still taken in--leave a comment if this is confusing, and I can explain in greater detail in another post.)
2. Pay attention to fabric!
Some easy fabrics to work with are:
*cotton *polyester *stretch jersey *rayon *silk (if it is something easy like a hem or strap problem--be careful about detailed silk work because it will easily show errors.)
Some fabrics to avoid fixing yourself are:
*denim (it eats sewing machine needles if you don't know what you're doing!)
*wool
3. If you really love it, take it to a tailor!
Some things are better left to a tailor because if you are not very skilled, the outcome may look sloppy which would prevent you from wearing it and defeat the whole process. Personally, I would send the following things to a tailor if I found a cheap piece that I loved dearly:
*hemming jeans (it costs $10 or less at a tailor, and it's well worth it!)
*a bodice or dress with boning *taking in a dress with a lining
*beadwork that will need to be redone (this can be very expensive, so you may save this for a wedding dress or something equally important)
*fixing or attaching a new zipper
*altering a suit for work (you want it to look as nice and professional as possible--it's worth the investment)
If you find something that knocks your socks off, but it needs major alterations, it may still be worth it to take it to a tailor. Even if the work costs $20 (probably only dresses would cost that much or more because they're time consuming--hemming is usually around $10), you probably spent less than $15 on the garment, so a total cost of $35 is still reasonable if it's something you love and will wear often. If, however, the tailor estimates the work to be over $50, you should strongly consider whether it's worth it or not--perhaps you can reuse the fabric as a pillow or a handbag.
Recently, while doing research around Phildelphia and South Jersey, my associate and I found two great examples of this idea of alterations. We took pictures of the small repairs we made to show as an example--one dress needed to shorten the straps, and one dress was too long in the torso, so we took in some material at the top of the shoulder.
Both alterations took less than 30 minutes total from start to finish.The blue Anthropologie dress cost $5, and the purple Ann Taylor dress cost $3--not bad for $8 bucks!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!!!!
Dear faithful readers,
As these words pass before your eyes, three million pairs of leggings have just been sold at Goodwill stores across this great nation. Want to get in on the fun? We'll tell you how! By sharing our tips and experiences in the world of thrift, we will hopefully make it easier and more fun for you to explore the resale shopping universe.
Thanks for taking some time to read us, we hope you are inspired to go out and get some hand-knit coasters of your own!
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