VINTAGE & THRIFT SHOPPING TIPS

January 22, 2020

Happy Wednesday, ladies! I wanted to pop in today with a quick post about some of my favorite vintage shopping tips and tricks. I’m by no means a master thrifter, but I do enjoy a good bargain hunt. These tips are not meant for the wannabe thrift queen, but more so the gal looking to start incorporating a little more eco- and wallet- friendly shopping habits. Today’s post is a quick overview of the most important tricks I’ve learned when it’s come to vintage shopping. Also, since we are in the new year, I’m using the same spreadsheet as last year for my goals so check that out if you don’t have a plan yet. I’m only getting started on my resolutions/goals this week.

This post may contain affiliate links.

VINTAGE TANK (IDENTICAL) // H&M SKIRT (SIMILAR more sizes) // RED SHOES (I can’t remember the brand as I’m writing this, but here’s ALMOST IDENTICAL) // KENDRA SCOTT NECKLACE // PANDORA RING // VINTAGE CHAIN BRACELET (SIMILAR) // KATE SPADE SUNGLASSES (SIMILAR) // REBECCA MINKOFF BAG (SIMILAR, SMALLER)

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KNOW THE SALES DAYS

Vintage and thrift stores often have a lot of product coming through constantly, as a result, they need to get rid of old product to make room for the new new. But it’s not very effective to just toss all that out – it can still be profitable. So many stores run sales on specific days or for specific demographic groups.

Locally, our Goodwill has a military discount every Tuesday and The Arc has huge sales every Saturday. My mom and I went Black Friday weekend and found so many great things. I swear, if I wasn’t in school and teaching full time right now, I’d be there every weekend.

Give your local charity shops a call, or check out their social pages to see when their discounts are. But if you use the social page, be prepared to be wrong. Our local Salvation Army doesn’t keep that info updated so I know I need to call to know for sure.

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HAVE A PLAN

Browsing is fun, but it can also be really overwhelming if you are on a time constraint in any way. Even when I have plenty of time, I like to have a goal in mind when I go in. Sometimes that goal is just scoping out the kinds of items in that particular location – or it’s something more specific, like a specific material or item type.

This tip is how we found my amazing vanity for $23. We were on a time crunch, but I knew exactly what I was looking for, so we were able to hit a bunch of locations before finding the treasure site.

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SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO HUNT FOR

There’s a few particulars that I really enjoy looking for at thrift shops and vintage stores. As you may or may not know, I am in interior design school and I do have quite the fondness for interior design (go figure). So I really love thrift shopping for home decor finds. We’re also in the midst of wedding planning, and I’m going for a vintage feel so thrift shopping has been key for that. I also enjoy hunting down certain fabrics – these days, I’m always looking for quality knits.

Back when I had more time on my hands, I also loved to shop for items I could upcycle or DIY into something really fun. If you’re learning to sew and overwhelmed by the prospect of working with a pattern, try practicing on some already finished pieces that you can modify by changing the sleeves, tapering the waistline, etc. It can be really fun to watch a piece transform.