Aleatha says that a lot of going thrift store shopping is being able to see the potential in clothes or other items. Unlike new stores, everything isn't nicely arranged or displayed, and a to die for sweater can be surrounded on either side by fifty old lady sweatersfrom the eighties. So it's a hunt for that sweater, for a unique and femine skirt. All of the ugly clothes tends to disguise the nice clothes, so that when you do see them, you have to separate it out from its neighbors and mentally see it as part of a killer outfit, as cute, in it fullest potential.
I love it. And I love that everything is preshrunk, so that way you don't spend a lot of money on new clothes, only to have them shrink the first time you wear them. Even if money weren't a factor in my life, and let's face it, the more money you have, in some ways the larger a factor it plays in your life, I would still basically exclusively shop at thrift stores. I just love them.
Really what I ought to do here is post some pictures of clothes I've worn from thrift stores, but I'm not that organized. Trust me, though. I have some cute clothes. And I like shopping, too. I don't think I'm one of those people whose hobby is shopping, nor do I think that shopping is therapy. But I do like it. A lot. It's exciting; I never know what sort of exciting new thing I'm going to bring home. Like shoes. I love shoes.
I know I'm rambling. This is because this week has been information and action overload, so all of my spare brain cells are spent. I even just wrote "brain spells" as an example.
Oh, and here for you, Jami, is a bona fide family picture.
And just for kicks, this is me las fall in Yarnton in "my" Manor house. I used to go there and drink pepperimint tea and read and wait for Avram to get out of class. I liked to pretend it was my manor house, and I was British and from the Nineteenth Century.
I miss Goodwill! When my husband finished grad school we ended up in a tiny town with no thrift store. I haven't had a "fix" in almost two years now!
ReplyDeleteYour manor house looks simply lovely! I often wish I was British and from the Nineteenth Century as well. Then my desire to sit around reading books, playing the piano, and stitching all day wouldn't seem so odd!
OK, Beautiful, you and your family are every bit as good-looking as your B&SIL.
ReplyDeleteI love Goodwill and DI. LOVE them.
And every holiday the local Goodwill stores all have a half off sale. So half of cheap is...super cheap!
It's like a treasure hunt. Land's End here. Gymboree there. Crud, crud, crud. Wow! Hanna Andersson! Priceless book for $2. A worthless pack of outdated pamphlets $1.50.
When I am in sincere need I pray before I go and God unfailingly has provided what we've needed. He's very good to us.
We're blessed with Three Thrift Stores in Moab they are great for getting all kinds of stuff. They also have a wishlist so if you need furniture and someone donates it you can be called to see if you want it. We got a entertainment center that way. It also has provided Hans with Clothes which is wonderful as he grows and grows and grows. Usually every other week there is a 25 cent sale on different items so we try and go to see if there is anything we need. Now we are careful though because like my Grandmothers Home in Alaska things can fill up very very quickly. When she moved we had to clear the place out with dumptrucks most of the things in it had tags from the local thrift store
ReplyDeleteThora, is it possible that we never in all the time we were together at BYU went thrift store shopping together? I love Thrift stores. I will admit, however, that compared to Vallue Village, every other store (particularly the Salvation Army and DI) seem pointless. Value Village, I believe, is the same store as Savers in Utah.
ReplyDeleteI have no pleasure in buying clothes anywhere but thrift stores. And most pleasureable of all is Vallue Village. There are 3 of them within reasonable driving distance from our house. They are so much more clean and organized than anywhere else, but not more expensive. And they have super sales.
As for money being the only reason to shop there--no. If I had endless money, I'd still shop at thrift stores because of the variety and the non-confinement to curren trends. You can find so few clothes at clothing stores. OK, they have lots of clothes, but they are all the same as eachother, dependant on the season and current fashion. And none of them ever seem to be suited to my body shape. At thrift stores I can find whatever I want whenever I want, provided I keep and open mind.
A couple of days before my highschool graduation, my mom announced that she wanted to buy me a new dress to wear. This was a very significant thing. I didn't get new clothes often, and since highschool had pretty much been buying/making my own with my own money. She actually said she wanted to take me to Target or Fred Meyer to get a new dress. I was very grateful, but felt unaccountably reluctant. I didn't tell my mom no, but wasn't enthusiastic until I realized it was not the new dress that was a problem, it was where to buy it. Target and Fred Meyer very rarely suit me in the fashion department. After I figured out my problem, I asked her if we could go to a thrift store, to which she agreed, and I found a wonderful dress that I continued wearing for years (although it did shrink in the wash. Good thing it wasn't fitted.)
And here is your very own novel of a comment as a gift from me to your blog.