The Ultimate Guide to Thrift Shopping

Thrift shopping has its ups and downs. On the one hand, you have the opportunity to find amazing unique stuff (hello, fish skirt!) and on the other hand, there's the trips where you don't find anything even semi-modest or, if you do, it looks as attractive as your grandma's church outfits. And no one wants to dress like their grandma...


It can be tough, though. Racks and racks of dusty, smelly baggy t-shirts followed by piles of way-outdated denim jeans. Seriously, who thought washed denim was a good idea? However, there are ways to successfully navigate thrift shopping expeditions to get the most bang for your buck.

In Part One of this ultimate guide to thrift shopping, I'll share my top five tips on how to walk out of that Goodwill with more swag than Macklemore ever dreamed of. Part Two will cover how to find cute, stylish (not-your-grandma's-church-outfit) modest clothing in thrift stores.

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Part One: The Ultimate Guide to Thrift Store Shopping

1. Stop by your local thrift stores frequently

Obviously, thrift store merchandise changes all the time and the more times you can stop by, the more chances you have of finding the good items before they're gone. It doesn't have be a long, drawn-out shopping session. I personally just hit a couple sections (dresses, skirts, shoes, tops) and, if I don't see anything I like, I'm out of there in ten or fifteen minutes. Basically, I just quickly sort through the racks and if I see something I think might work, I'll just throw it over my arm and keep going. Think speed. You are on a mission and your time is valuable.  

2. Take a ton off the racks

Listen, you're never going to know how something looks on you unless you try it on. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at something and wasn't sure if I liked it or not. But I still bring it into the dressing room and try it on because it lets me know for sure if it works or not. (And, honestly, usually it's like, "Gah, no, what the heck, this fits like a sheet..." Trial and error.)

3. Try on everything

There's the obvious things like check for holes and rips and stains. Oh, and broken zippers. Seriously, check those. And another thing; make sure it fits! Just because it's cute and cheap doesn't mean you should get it. Let someone else get it and buy something that fits you correctly.

4. Take advantage of sales

Goodwill especially has lots of color-coded sales that you can really save on. I got a pair of super cute shoes for $3 bucks because the purple tags were half off. Although, honestly, I would have paid $6...seriously they are my favorite pair of shoes ever.

5. Make "outfits" so you know how pieces fit together

If you are about ready to try on a shirt, bring a pair of jeans and a skirt into the dressing room with you. That way you know how it looks with both bottoms and you can make sure it'll look good on the clothing you already have at home. A blouse that looks good with jeans may look awful with a skirt and it's good to know those things upfront.