And I know (or at least I HOPE) that my readers do not make this mistake…but VINTAGE is not ABERCROMBIE or HOLLISTER! lol I was in the Soompi forum one day, and nearly chocked on my drink cause this girl said she went vintage shopping and bought a ton of Hollister shirts! lol It was cute to see her make her mistake…but then I wondered how many of us really know?

Anyway…

How do you define Thrifting?

Personally Wiki seems to sum it up well for me.

Thrifting refers to the act of shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, or a shop of a charitable organization, usually with the intent of finding interesting items at a cheap price.

A larger philosophy permeates the act of thrifting which celebrates the recycling of formerly-owned items, finding new use and new love for vintage material goods which had been thrown out, and the thrill of imagining what the former life of the item was like.

HERE is another fun discussion on the word…

I shared one thrifting find a few weeks/months back…and I thought I would share a bit more.

First off, it does unfortunately take time. Nothing is organized in the way it might be in an actual store in a mall, but sometimes, especially when you are with a friend, it can be fun. Though this is one of the main reasons why I also dislike shopping at Winners (because nothing is organized and its hard to find things), but when you do dig and search through, and find something great it is all worth it :)

Second, if you find a great shop, you should stick through with it for a bit, cause then you become accustomed to their sales, deals, habits, etc. It makes things easier for you in the long run :)

For those in Toronto/Mississauga I find that Goodwill and Value Village located @ Dundas&Dixie is a good one. As well as the Value Village @ Lansdowne Station. Blackmarket was somewhere that was fun when I was in highschool, but the merchandise doesn’t appeal to me anymore.

(For a list of vintage stores check out the list HERE)

I stick more to Goodwill than Value Village, mainly because the employees at GW are NOT allowed to buy merchandise from their store (not sure if its just when they are on the job…) but it also means that they can’t take something that might be of high value and sneak it for them selves.

Case in point…The two  paintings that were donated to Goodwill sold at $134000. Had the worker been able to ‘keep/buy’ it for herself than this money couldn’t have been put into better use (not to say that she doesn’t deserve it. I mean wow, to notice that there was something special about these paintings…I looked at them in the photo and thought…meh…lol that coming from a non artistic eye!! )
Article    HERE HERE and   HERE
Though I can’t help wondering…Did the donator do it not knowing (therefore kicking themselves)? or knowing it and wanting to do something good??

Anyway one of the things I do like doing at Goodwill, is getting books. As my previous post shows, I love reading. But if I were to buy them all in a retail bookstore…I would be severely broke…actually I probably wouldn’t be able to feed my addiction after a few books :T So Goodwill is great for me, as Hardcovers are 3.49, Paperbacks around 2.75, and children’s books (which I also love collecting) is around 0.99-2.00.  It gets better than they have their 50% day sales…and my arms are filled with books and I’m standing in a ridiculously long line! lol

Anyway because there is a few stores close to where I help out my mom, I always enjoy going to check it out on my self appointed breaks (seriously with the customers that we get, I’m surprised I haven’t run myself into a tree…) and take some time to wind down from all the stress.

So that in part answers why I thrift. I do it for fun, and as a stress reliever, as there is hardly anything else around the neighbourhood. But I also do it cause well I hate paying full price for clothes. Mainly cause though I do keep my stuff in good condition, I tend to have way too many accidents that make me regret paying full price. Plus with being a student still (and it looks to be forever…) it helps stretch out my moola while juggling textbook and public transit fees.

So here I am babbling on and on.

What have I got to show for it?

We’ve seen these…Love them despite being half a size too small~

Funny cause I wanted these a few years back when they were on sale at Winners. Love the weave in the front. But runs a tad big on me without foot petals.

Again a tad large cause its size 8.5. But I love it. So comfortable, and the height (is is desperately needed on my short height :P)

I’m pretty sure it isn’t real…but its real snakeskin (or so my Dad and my Mom say). I loved it because of the different sections inside. And its got a nice feel to it as a clutch :P (I love Clutches. I shouldn’t use small ones cause of my heavier frame…but…<3)

Puma Evisu’s. The zipper pull was broken, which is unfortunate cause I do like their pulls, but otherwise in great condition…and makes my slightly flat butt look pretty lol

And my greatest find?…
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These Babies. But at Size 35, I had to give them to my friend. I figured she could put them to better use at the office. (btw do Choo’s run large? she is 6-7, and yet these fit her perfecting) This is when I wished that we could control feet size like we do our weight…lol Anyway the individual had worn them a few times, but replaced the heel, the price tag (the see through type stickers that you see at Holts or Perhaps Macy’s) was still on the shoe…oh the love…This was the first and last time I get to be in posession of shoes so expensive.

Anyway I guess it depends on the type of person you are, whether you pick VV or GW (since GW is more just thrown into sections, and you search through, whereas VV is more organized into sizes and colours…)

But I find it somewhat fun, as are Garage sales~ Picked up a few vintagey looking necklaces and brooches for cheap around the place…so that’s always fun (I love chunky silver colour jewlery :P)

Anyway have you ever thrifted?

Any thoughts?