All posts tagged: Thrift stores

9 Things You Must Know to Thrift Like a Pro

(Photo: TueNight) Ever since I was little, I have been singularly obsessed with Other People’s Clothes. I say this as a proper noun because, well, it’s a proper little obsession. I love new clothes too, but there’s nothing that makes me happier than buying something that’s already been broken in. This, of course, makes my mother practically apoplectic. She grew up in poverty, was adamant that I have brand-new clothes for every occasion so that I looked crisp and clean. My unrequited love for vintage and thrift was confounding and concerning for her. I can see her plight: a single mother working multiple jobs to give her child the things she never had, and yet the child insists on second-hand everything as the main source of her wardrobe. It’s nothing personal, Mom. I just prefer that lived-in look. My love for these items took on a life of its own in college, where I discovered the joy of “borrowing” my boyfriends’ items of clothing. I pilfered college sweatshirts and created quite the stash of broken-in …

Saying Goodbye To Creepy Baby

By Tamar Anitai

Creepy Baby. (Photo courtesy Tamar Anitai) As a teenager, I quickly learned that in my household there wasn’t a lot money “just laying around” (unless you happened to find a $20 bill just laying on the ground). Unfortunately, a scarcity of cash was in direct odds with my innate love of new things that, to this day, is the reason my alcove is usually filled with packages. But this isn’t an anecdote about the emotional highs and lows of online shopping. Childhood trips to the mall were pretty much off the table (no funds = no fun), trips to Marshalls were on an as-needed basis only. But thrift stores were like a Supermarket Sweep gold mine, minus the heavy turkeys, cat litter and ticking timer. Nothing was off limits, and quantity was key. A life-long love of 25-cent vinyl and old-man golf pants (to think — I wasted my thinnest years in plaid grandpa bottoms) and ironic tees began, as did a steady collection of lunch boxes, Avon figurines and ‘70s macramé basement castoffs, as …

Margit’s Note: I’ll Sell It To You For a Dollar

By Margit Detweiler

Hey cats, We’re out haggling for great bargains this week, so just a quick note about our fabulous Second-Hand issue. We’ve stocked this ish with thrift shops, sidewalk sales, vintage sparklies and even a giant gemsbok. Here’s what we have for you to rummage though this week: Kristin Booker helps you thrift shop like a pro. Tamar Anitai says goodbye to “Creepy Baby” (and oh is it creepy). Shelly Rabuse shares how she revamped a consignment shop from ho-hum to humming. I write about Brooklyn’s finest — a Stoop Sale. Kim O’Donnel will find you a good second-hand spatula — and many other kitchen items. Wendy Goldman Scherer finds quality time with her son through power sanding. And Jody Jones explains her love for taxidermy. Love it two times baby, Margit