Thrifting with kids and other great Finds

This weekend, went Goodwilling with my lovely SIL Debbi, her two little ones, and The Other Elisabeth*.
Not only did we have a marvelous time (well, I know I did.) But Elisabeth found a fantastic, vintage 40's navy blue dress that fit her like a dream.
Okay, the real truth went something like this:
Her: Oh this is nice (Moves on)
Me: This has a metal zipper! In the side! The tag is original! THIS IS MID-FORTIES! TRY IT ON, IT WON'T FIT ME!
She rolled her eyes and took it, since people were starting to look at us funny.

But, in the end, the Rules, strictly enforced by Me, paid off, as it fit her like it had been made for her, and was generally adoreable. She told me she wore it out the other night, but did not send me pics.
We also introduced Debbi to the wonders of Thrift shopping. Debbi is Queen of Dollar Stores, Empress of Bag Days, and Mistress of the Community Garden, so it was about time we showed her what second-hand was all about. We forced her most cruelly to try on stuff, and she ended up with several cute things, some of which she even admitted to liking.
But the real revelation for me was my 6-year-old niece. It was my first time Thrifting for kids, and, if possible, it was even more fulfilling than Thrifiting for myself. We let her be amused by rooting around finding things she wanted while we shopped. Then I went in the dressing room with her and strictly enforced the "no you can't grow into a size 16" rule. (This is a new rule. I Might have to write all new rules for thrifting with Kids. I need to find some more kids to practice them on!) She ended up with such a haul of cute stuff that fit her, that I had to hide some of it so she would forget about it. And get this- kids clothes are even cheaper than adult ones!
As for me, I got two cute sweaters (which was insane because it was approximately one-hundred-and-seventeen-degrees outside) and a great khaki dress which I can wear to my lovely new job where wearing skirts is smiled upon.
All in all, a fun trip.

*I thought of abbreviating this, but calling her "T.O.E." just doesn't seem very nice.

The Rules in Practice

So, last week when Elisabeth came over with The Dress, it took like five minutes to fit it, measure her, and record the Befores. Then she said that she thought we should go to Goodwill. You know, to get material for the Blog. And we did, of course.

Off we went, and we just made a quick trip. Only an hour or so. Which for us, is more than enough Time. (Rule One.) And I documented it. For the Blog.

Here is Elisabeth demonstrating Rule Two: Touch everything. (Well, she is at least being a good sport and cheating out while she does it.)


Here is our combined cart full of stuff showing off Rule 3: Take It. We took it!


After that, we went into the dressing room, and all details of Rule Four just between us. I will say that neither of us got stuck in anything. But we laughed a lot anyway. Then, I took a picture of out sorted piles. It was a good haul that day, so we took the sternest possible take on Rule Five: Thin it out.


The yeses are on the left, the Nos on the right, and down at the bottom, the maybes. We sorted as we went. As you can see, the Nos are the biggest pile. Yes, I did try on that fuschia MuMu. Yes, she is a very good friend. I ended up getting a sweet black dress and a black slip to go with it. And a T-shirt. As we did the final sort, Elisabeth commented that, "The Maybes are Maybes for a reason." And she stowed them with the Nos on the put-back rack.



Once again, the Rules paid off (Yes, we talk about the Rules while we shop. We are Thrift-a-nistas. And slight Nerds.) We left with our new clothes and went off about town to look at wedding Items. A good day.

The Rules

Secondhand shopping can be perplexing- where to shop? when to shop? how to shop? It's not the same game as regular shopping. Things are rarely in order by size (and even when they are, they aren't). There are no displays of the season's newest in five colors. There are just racks and racks of mixed up things. To me, that's exciting. It's like being some kind of crazy Archaeologist: if I sift through enough rubble, I just might find a priceless treasure.
But if you head in there thinking, "I just want to grab a pair size 9 and run out", you will be disappointed. You need a plan of attack. Here are the tried and true rules for finding great clothes at great prices. I promise if you follow these rules, your wardrobe can be as Fabulous as mine.

1. Take the Time. And I mean time. Clear an afternoon, find a girlfriend, and wear comfy shoes. You'll save a lot of money, but you must invest time. There is nothing more irritating than having to leave before you get to the skirt section!
2. Touch it. Get a cart, start at the front, and walk down the row slowly, touching each item. I like to slide the hangers by one at a time, as touching so many fabrics can be hard on the skin. But you must look at every single thing! If you want a skirt, look at every skirt; for jeans, touch every pair. If you don't you will miss the really great finds amid all the rubble.
3. Take it. Everything that catches your eye, put it in the cart. I mean it! If the color, fabric, style, or tag makes you look twice- Put it in there! Be open minded and take things even if you have the slightest whim. You are only excused if the item in question is clearly more than 5 sizes difference from your size-- if you are a 2 and it's an obvious 22, okay you're excused. But in many cases, the size marked has no bearing on reality, so ignore that, and put it in the cart! (For example, I'm currently a 7 in jeans. But I have a pair of 7's that are too big, and a pair of 11's that are too tight.)
4. Try it on. Once the cart is so full you can't pile any more on, head for the dressing rooms. (if your cart is not that full- go back and touch more things!) You'll find about one fabulous thing for every 6 you try on, so take as many things as you can fit in there and pile them up. Strip down (I often wear camis or other under-layers that will fit under anything, but keep me from getting quite so naked!) and start trying on everything. Don't deliberate or think too hard- try things quickly, and make decisions quickly. It really isn't that hard to see if you like something- If you do you just know, if you don't, you don't. Which brings us to the last rule:
5. Thin it out. As you try each item, sort it into one of three groups: Yes, No, and Maybe. Or if you prefer: Fabulous!, What was I thinking?, and Hmmm. Your biggest pile should be the No pile (until you get really good at this). When you finish, you should have a small pile of really fantastic things, a huge pile of misfits, and another pile that needs one more look. I like to compare the maybes against the yeses, and see if they hold up to the standard of fabulousness. Usually they end up as Nos too.

It's fun to go with a friend who can help you find the finds and can gag in sympathy at the horrible watermelon-colored vintage polyester pantsuit that you thought (for a fleeting second) might be cool. When you've followed all the rules, you should end up with a few things that you really like that fit you. Be nice to the people who work there- put each item back on the hanger, and Hang the no's up where the rejected things go. Take your new treasures and wander over to housewares Triumphantly.