I got a lot of compliments on the outfit that I wore to the opening night of To Think of Nothing. Sleeveless white v-neck blouse with ruching down the center seam, long red skirt with black and white butterfly patterns, silver-gray pashmina over the shoulders, silver pumps, and a matching silver clutch purse. It was very chic, in my opinion, and looked incredibly polished.
Guess how many of those pieces I found at thrift stores? Three-- the skirt, the shoes, and the clutch.
My budget is pretty tight these days, but even before I had to watch it so carefully I always enjoyed shopping at thrift stores. People donate perfectly good articles of clothing for a lot of reasons-- change in tastes, weight fluctuation, closet overflow, whatever. So with a little effort and patience, you can certainly find really nice stuff for cheap. To experiment with a look without committing too much cash to it in case you don't like it, hit the thrift store. For costume pieces that you need for one occasion but won't wear enough to warrant spending a lot of money on, hit the thrift store. To score a fun new piece on a budget to spice up your existing wardrobe, hit the thrift store.
I have a few rules, however. I don't see much point to buying a discount brand (like Target, for example) which doesn't have much of a wearable life when it's new, and is only going to be shortened by buying it used, and isn't all that expensive new anyway. I'm not exactly a germophobe, but I won't buy anything intimate that isn't brand-new.
I find the key, though, is to never thrift basics. I define a basic as anything you will wear frequently and variably, whether weekly or just in many different combinations. For these things I feel like it's a better value to spend a little more to get new pieces in higher quality that will look better and last longer. In a retail store you're going to have a larger selection of sizes so you're more likely to find something that fits you properly, and because everything's new the garment will have a longer wearing life. I buy expensive jeans because I wear jeans every day, so they'd better be flattering and able to endure the use. The blouse from opening night is one of my favorites, bought at Express several years ago in three different colors because I found the style so flattering. It is crisp, well-fitting, and has gotten tons of wear with tons of different outfits.
What do I think you should thift? "Fun" things. Pretty or fancy or unusual things that are hard to match other pieces to and too distinctive to wear all the time. Stuff in colors you don't have a lot else of. Any style you want to experiment with.
I myself tend to stick mostly with skirts, blouses, and jackets when I thrift. I don't wear a lot of skirts, mostly due to spending most of the year too cold, so blowing a few bucks on a pretty one is no big deal and can sometimes pay off big (as in the opening night outfit.) Blouses are versatile and a big enough part of my wardrobe that I like having a fairly large rotation of them. Having options for jackets can give you more room to mix up your combinations when you're required to layer for the weather. Dresses are a good option to thrift as well, and though I don't often because I don't wear them very much, I scored a black cocktail sheath and the gown Frances wore in TToN that way.
I only thrift pants if they're far enough outside my commonly worn styles that I won't need to wear them all the time. My camo pants were second-hand, but I'm not going to be wearing them so often they're going to have to endure tons of washing and use. I would never thrift jeans, and to thrift khakis or dress pants, it would have to take my finding an absolutely perfect pair in as nice condition as if straight from the original store. I've thrifted shoes before, but you have to be discerning. Shoes often get donated because they're worn out, and I for one can't wear a shoe without arch support, so I'm very careful about amount of wear the pair has already seen. Sweaters can be tough-- I'm considering it lately because I really want to expand my options in that department, but sweaters wear notoriously badly. Buying second-hand sweaters may just be a shortcut to Stretched-Out-and-Pilly-town.
Of course there are always exceptions. If you find the perfect thing in a thrift store that meets all the criteria for buying, go on and snap it up. Heh, if I could thrift a brand-new pair of black Express Editors in a double-zero-short, I'd be on that in an instant. But shopping at those places can be really fun and satisfying. It always makes me smile when I get a compliment on looking polished and chic when my ensemble is built from things I got for dollars apiece at a thrift store.
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