Out of our four kids, there’s just the one boy. (Poor kid, surrounded in older sisters.) And he’s all boy. Dirt. Football. Boogers.
But even with all the dirt, football and boogers, you wanna know what’s super awesome about having a boy?
I can shop for his clothes anywhere I want, and without him present.
The girls? That’s a different story.
Me: I bought this cute pink sweater for you today.
Girl Child: That’s not pink. That’s fuchsia. I don’t wear fuchsia anymore.
Me: You wore fuchsia yesterday.
Girl Child: I know. That was yesterday.
Clothes shopping with the girls requires large amounts of time, coupled with regularly scheduled 1/2 hour breaks, and a background in negotiation tactics.
With little dude, as long as there is nothing pink or ruffle-y involved, he’ll wear it.
So every fall and spring, just before the heat of summer and cold of winter hits Northern California, I make a stop at some of the nicer thrift stores in town to see if there are any good deals to be had before I head to the department stores to round out the seasonal wardrobe.
[Side note: Some folks are really freaked out by thrift stores. I was too, until I realized that the clothes they sell come from people like…me. I donate clothing to charities all the time, and where does it end up? Thrift stores. And I’m picky…I only visit the clean, organized ones.]
But this time, I scored big. In one trip, to the first store.
I found 5 pairs of name-brand basketball pants in excellent condition, and 5 name-brand t-shirts, all for the grand total of…
$32.33
It’s good stuff too…Puma, Quiksilver, O’Neill, Aeropostale, Adidas.
That’s an ENTIRE WEEK’S worth of clothes for a little over $30!
Moral of the story? Thrift stores are awesome.
May the odds of finding something awesome be ever in your favor. And avoid the underpants.
Yes! On my last thrift store trip, I found a beautiful red Banana Republic cashmere sweater for $2.50. Business professional outfit for cheap 🙂
Great finds for Britton! Also, my cousin shops almost exclusively at Thrift Shops for her 4 kids and you can’t tell at all! I’m a fan.
I love thrift stores too – one of my favorite shirts for years was a $2 find at a Salvation Army store. Even Ross and Marshall’s are pretty great, you just need a lot of patience to sort through the racks.
I agree with avoiding the undies. Used shoes also freak me out.
Gotta love thrift stores. A friend of mine had a great side hustle with thrift stores. She would go to Dallas thrift stores and look for high end menswear. She would use a steam press and light box for good quality photos and then turn around and sell those items on Ebay. Men’s cloths rarely go out of style and she did very well on the resale.
Jason
I learned the fine art of thrifty shopping from my MeeMaw, who still works at a thrift store for fun now that she’s 75. I love going shopping with her. She knows all the best stores, even for a plus sized woman like me! Last time I went to visit her we spent the whole day thrifting.
I definitely shop Thrift Stores…at the same time as I drop stuff off. I don’t buy often, but nearly every item has been a keeper. Only $2.50 worth of stuff I ended up donating back because I just didn’t end up using it or didn’t end up liking it ($1.50 for a small cooler & $1.00 for a ladies’ camisole that I only wore a few times). My best find so far was a matching leather chair to complement a donated couch in our basement (yes, you read right…matching!!!).
I love thrift stores and my 18 year old daughter has always enjoyed picking out her own clothes there so I got lucky with her. My teenage son used to enjoy getting clothes there, but has become more picky recently. Ironically, he is my thrifty child and my daughter is a big spender on other things. The only trouble I have is that my favorite and closest thrift shop does not have a dressing room and there have been times I purchased something only to get it home and it doesn’t fit. They don’t accept returns so I was just out my money and ended up donating it back to them.
No dressing rooms? I guess that pretty much is a crap-shoot, isn’t it? 🙂 But I find that even if my kids don’t end up liking something I bring home, I can usually sell it on eBay!