5 Things: Thrift Store Finds (Clothing)

I love my Solo Adventures around South Carolina and the surrounding states. Thrift stores and flea markets are especially fun for me. I love finding a good bargain. If I had more hands to help me move stuff, I would have furnished my home with all kinds of used furniture.

Tips for Thrift Store shopping (Clothing):

1. Examine the garment for defects and stains.
I was in the dress section looking for a nice sash to go with my "gown" for a formal ball that I am attending this next weekend. What I found were lots of "sample" dresses from David's Bridal. The gowns were in perfect condition except for the word "sample" embroidered on the back of the dress. If one were in the market for one of these beautiful dresses, you could easily take out the embroidery OR leave it there and cover it with jewels or sequins. You are only limited by your creativity.

If you find stains or defects, you can always ask for a discount. However, everything at the thrift store is already deeply discounted. Come on. A formal dress for $5.99. It's a no-brainer to buy the garment as-is and not aggravate the associates by trying to negotiate the price down. Nothing is more annoying than seeing someone be cheap-as-hell.

For something that I really like that has a stain, I usually have a plan in mind to cover it with something. You can add sequins or bejewel the heck out of it. You can dye the entire garment. You can rip it in that area to give it that shredded look. I have done that with jeans. As I said before, you are only limited by your creativity.

2. If you love the garment, buy it NOW. It will NOT be there when you come back.

3. Go through the entire rack.
All of my name brand items have come from thrift stores. I have found Michael Kors blouses and jeans. DKNY. Nike. LV. You name it, it can be found in a thrift store. When the season is over, people get rid of their items. Their trash is my treasure. Season? What is that? I will wear clothes until I'm tired of them or until they fall apart.

4. Pants and Jeans were made to be CUT!
I am notorious for hunting through the pants and jeans section looking for the perfect pair... to turn into shorts. When you buy shorts brand new, it's normally a length that is either too short or too long and you don't want to really modify it because you spent so much money on it. It's easy to cut a pair of jeans to the perfect length, fray the ends to make it look like you bought it like that on purpose. You could even bleach some spots or lines into it.

5. Check the thrift stores near affluent neighborhoods.
Need I explain the reasons behind this? You will find the quality of clothing is very good in the thrift stores near the rich-people-neighborhoods. In lower economic areas, you might find some good stuff but nothing like you would if you went to a store near the rich neighborhoods.

Let me know in the comments what some of your tips are to a good thrift store run.

Seattle In Review

Husband and I went to Seattle last weekend. We spent just a day in Seattle but visited enough places to generate a review.

Directly from the airport, husband and I headed over to Pikes Market. I posted the pics in a previous post. I got some really good shots. I wish it weren't so cold. I would have really enjoyed it more. The market is open air and unheated. Brrrr.... that morning we arrived it was in the low 30's.

The treasure find of our visit to Pikes Market was Left Bank Books. Bookstores always attract me especially the tiny ones. They have the best book selection for people like myself and my husband. Several of the books that I have on my Amazon.com wish list were in the store and since they were running a sale, I bought a couple of them. From what we were able to gather, the store is in a temporary location for a couple weeks while their old location gets some needed earthquake upgrades. Their temporary locale is quaint and very intimate (I haven't seen the normal location). It doesn't feel sterile like a big Borders or Barnes and Noble. It's like comparing a hospital room (Borders) to your bedroom at home (Left Bank Books). There's just no comparison. I rather be in my own bed where there's still good energy in the room and where I feel alive. I don't want to be in a sterile environment.

There were two clerks in the store. They were helpful and seemed to be really interested in the topics and subjects of the books they were selling. I love that! I like to imagine that they thought of each and every book like it was a pet. They knew each one by name and all the wonderful things it could do. It seemed as if they knew a lot about every single book that we picked up to browse. I love that! In comparison to a Borders shop where the workers hardly acknowledge my presence, many of them are not well read, it's just too impersonal. Give me the Mom & Pop over the big box store.

By my own estimate I'd guess that the store was maybe 10x10. It was not very large at all. The only word I could use to describe it, really, is intimate! $60 dollars later we left 4 Books richer:
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Willful Disobedience >>huge treasure because this book is HARD.TO.FIND.
Black Women and Feminism
Leopolds Ghost

After Pikes Market, we headed over to Southcenter Mall where my sister and her boyfriend took us to lunch. They selected Rain Forest Cafe... a place that none of us had eaten at. Of allllll the places I have ever... ever... eaten at, the Rainforest Cafe in Seattle is THE WORST. This is what I ordered and this is what is in the menu:

FISH TACOS
Your choice of tempura fried or blackened mahi mahi wrapped in corn tortillas with red cabbage, fresh cilantro, pico de gallo and our avocado cream sauce. Served with carribean rice and black beans.

Doesn't that sound delicious? The server, Mary, suggested the blackened mahi mahi. I have to say that the servers we encountered were all very good but they can't have repeat customers with the food they served us. The corn tortillas were very limp and greasy. The fish had no taste. What was I thinking eating mahi mahi in Seattle when there's an abundance of it in Hawai'i? The food was very, very bland. My husband selected fish and chips and the "chips" were very greasy. So -- skip the theme restaurant if you're looking for really good food. They probably make more money on the "novelty" things they sell like the tshirts and magnets and all that stuff. I will never eat there again. Even if the PR person contacted me to offer me a free meal -- I will NOT eat there. If they significantly change the menu and have more control over how the cooks are trained then I might consider.

Photo Credit

My new love... Forever 21. I visited the Tacoma Mall because my sister suggested it. The Forever 21 store in that mall is gigantic. It is almost as large as the anchor stores like JCPenny and Macys. Love it! I snagged several outfits and mix and match stuff that fit like a glove on my body. Many stores can't produce exceptional plus size clothing. Especially the WalMarts of the world but Forever 21 has it down! The prices are affordable. The clothes are trendy. Large selection. It has just become my new favorite store. Oh... Nordstrom Rack is another store that I didn't venture into until Seattle. I just always figured they didn't carry plus size clothes. I went in there because my sister suggested that it is one of the best places to get shoes. She was NOT kidding. They had my size also. Love it!

Husband and I ended that very cold evening doing take out from Red Robin. We get the same thing every time we go there -- Whiskey River BBQ Burger. Yumm-o! No Red Robin in Hawai'i so when we can, we always get a bite to eat there. They never disappoint. When you eat-in, bottomless fries. Terrible for the diet but easy on the wallet.

Dessert was @ Marie Callenders. This is the perfect example of how BIG stores cannot guarantee good quality baked goods. I'm not sure how Marie Callenders produces their baked goods but the cupcakes we purchased were HORRIBLE! Just like the Rainforest Cafe, I will never consume anything from Marie Callenders ever again. Yuck!

My review of Seattle sounds so negative but at the same time I had such a good time.... had excellent quality time with my husband. It was our late Valentines celebration. I spent a ton of money in Nordstrom Rack and Forever 21. Spoiled!