Tales From The Thrift: Hits & Misses

It’s been rather quiet on the thrifting front lately; I’ve had less time (and inclination) to go lately, and the frequency of my scores has decreased in proportion. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating for any aspiring thrifters in the crowd: the more often you thrift, the more amazing things you will find. One thing I have noticed locally is that prices have gone up. Goodwill has increased its standard prices by 50 cents here and there; no big deal, especially considering that they are still running their weekly 50% off colour tag sales. Value Village prices on the other hand … oof. Scoring good deals is still possible (premium denim is where it’s at, as you will see shortly), but more and more of their people are wising up to designer labels. As both a VV shopper and donor, I have very mixed feelings about this. I have debated taking more of my donations to Goodwill (which is a non-profit, unlike VV), but Goodwill does not offer donation coupons in my area. I still support both organizations/companies with my shopping dollars, but I am doing so with a grumble when it comes to VV.

I’ve been seeing a ton of fake Burberry in thrift stores lately. It’s funny how coincidences like that happen. I have no idea if these pants were real or knock-off, but judging from the quality and workmanship alone, I sure hope it was the latter. With that said, Burberry is totally not my thing, coats and trenches excepted.

I have no personal experience with BDG brand denim, but I’ve heard good things online. I almost bought these two pairs to try out the brand; you’ll see in a minute why I ended up not getting them, but I am definitely keeping my eye out for it, and will probably end up buying some BDG in the future. For, um, blog science … or something.

Seriously, though, thrift stores = treasure trove of low-priced premium denim. I have found pretty much every brand you can imagine, including (in addition to the above) J Brand, Acne, Citizens of Humanity, Rich & Skinny, and others. Ironically, the brands that are priced highest at VV are the likes of 7 For All Mankind, True Religion, and Rock & Republic (although prices vary wildly, even within the same store). I have bought my fave brands (Rag & Bone, AG, and Pilcro) for under $10, and often under $5 — in brand new or like-new condition.

More denim. The Fiorucci’s were a nostalgia moment; anyone else growing up in (Eastern) Europe in the early 90s probably has fond memories of that brand.

I have been finding very little Anthro lately, which is probably for the better. I did spot this floral top … and passed, because it is not my current style. Pat on the back for restraint.

I am always low-key looking for my next great black blazer, so I was initially excited to see this Boss version on the rack. The price did make me raise an eyebrow; while it’s certainly low compared to retail, it is very high for thrift where most blazers are $10 or under. And then I had a closer look, and saw that, on top of everything else, the condition was not good. Pro tip: always check the inside collar and armpits on blazers. Dirt/residue in those places is often hard to get out (and dry-cleaning sometimes just “bakes” it in more) and nobody has time to deal with that — there is always a better blazer to be found.

I was tempted by this sweater — look at that huge funnel neck! — but ultimately decided to pass because of the length. It was not quite a tunic, but longer than I prefer my sweaters. I didn’t see myself wearing it enough (especially not for the rest of this year), and the bulkiness would have made storage a challenge.

Leather jackets (real or faux) in good condition and current style are few and far between in thrift stores, but since I adore my Joe Fresh version, I always keep an eye out for them. This Free People jacket was a decent deal (about $18 if I recall correctly) and in pretty good shape. The style was not my cup of tea, however, so I passed. Nicole did not approve.

Remember how I passed on those BDG jeans? Well, it just so happens that I found another pair of skinny grey jeans (which I’d been hunting for months) and dark red cords on the same trip — both made by two of my fave brands. Of course I bought them. And since I never say no to AGs (or Pilcro or Rag & Bone), I also snagged a pair of dark grey skinny velvet cords. They were $3. I am not kidding.

This cobalt blue shell is not quite on all fours with my colour palette, but it’s close enough to Dazzling Blue and I knew it would work well with lots of existing pieces in my closet. It was less than $3, which for 100% silk was a no-brainer. There was a tiny spot on the blouse, which I didn’t notice when I bought it, but it luckily came out when I (hand) washed it. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have about 20 outfits featuring this blouse lined up in my Stylebook app. It’s going into heavy rotation starting next month

This DVF blouse was a similar story, albeit the colour is definitely off-side my palette. It’s a really lovely, really unusual blue. Not cobalt, not royal blue. I tried, but couldn’t accurately capture it on my camera phone. Since I love blue in almost all its incarnations, I decided to get the blouse, even though it will probably be difficult to wear with anything except black.

Lastly, this light grey pin-striped blazer was not quite what I was looking for (I want a medium grey, plain blazer) but the quality and condition made it too good to pass up. It’s made out of light wool, and judging from the lining, it was not worn by its previous owner. Judith & Charles is a less well-known label but they feature a lot of great business wear options, and their pieces are made in Canada. A blazer like this would run about $400; definitely worth checking out if you see it in thrift stores.

And that is it, my friends. Tell me all about your thrifting adventures this month.