On my way to the dentist, I just had to check out Cauz For Pawz and their new location on First Avenue between 19th and 20th Street. All I can say is impressive! To sum it up, it is as if they took their best merchandise and moved it to their new location. It also has a very fun feeling with the décor outside the store (see pictures) and it is bright and cheery inside the store. I hope that anyone that used to go to the old location checks out the new location — AND if you have not have shopped there — you should check it out — it would be a shame if you didn’t.
Did I mention that the staff was excited about the new digs and happily working on stocking the store. 🙂
The new shop is much smaller but I can assure you it is jam picked with the finest merchandise. I was very excited with the quality of the selections and they were still working on stocking the store while I was there. The women’s selections were outstanding in the blouse, skirt and dress department. The men’s selections looked good as well. The display case in the front was being diligently worked on with some wonderful pieces of costume jewelry and I thought that they had quite a few significant pieces and they had just started filling up the displays so I am sure I missed out on seeing some great pieces.
So Cauz For Pauz is still in the area and a very short walk from all the other thrift stores on 23rd Street so I suggest that you do not miss the new location, you will be more than pleasantly surprised and I will bet you find something — I bought a beautiful polka dot dress for $15. 🙂 🙂
Cauz For Pawz
333 First Avenue (bet 19 & 20 St)
New York, New York 10003
(212) 684-7299
cauzforpawz@outlook.com
Store Hours: Mon-Sat 10am – 8pm
Sun 11am – 7pm
When you are in the Union Square area, you absolutely positively have to go see the new Goodwill Boutique on 14th Street. In fact, I actually recommend that you make a special trip just to see this place – WOW!!! They are celebrating Fashion Week and judging by the selection in the boutique, this is one huge party. This boutique has flown to the top of my favorite Goodwills. The selections are plentiful and the quality of the merchandise top rate, the prices are amazing and the staff incredibly helpful. 🙂 🙂 🙂
The brands are endless, I saw Monaco Club, Searle, Vince Camuto, J. Crew, Calvin Klein, H & M, Banana Republic, Gap, Jones New York, Tahari, Levi’s, Coach, Diesel and the list goes on and on and on. There were so many brand new items on the racks, it was incredible. The housewares section was extensive and it included a linen section. The men’s section was broad with an excellent selection of men’s shirts, jackets, jeans and so much more. The children’s section was abundant all around. And the women’s section was nothing short of epic. The selection of jeans alone was great. Not to mention blouses, dresses, sweaters (sweet) and every other item in the women’s department. 🙂
Did I mention that have a superb winter coat selection for men, women and children. 🙂
The donations that this store received are some of the best that I have ever seen. I thought the best way to tell you about this Goodwill Boutique is through pictures!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
What I love most about Goodwill is their mission – ” Goodwill Industries empowers individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment to gain independence through the power of work.” I admire and respect Goodwill, always have, always will. I wish them continued success and I applaud them for all their efforts.
GOODWILL
14th Street Store & Donation Center
7 West 14th Street (just west of 5th Avenue)
New York, NY 10011
212-206-1619
Regular hours
Monday-Wednesday 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
I fell in love with this Goodwill the moment I walked in. It is spacious; clean with an incredibly friendly staff. (Thanks Janae for all your help and patience with me 🙂 you were great). I absolutely love love the layout, you can go through the roomy racks and shop with ease. Of course Sunday is a great sale day at Goodwill (two different color ticket items at 50% off ) and in my opinion, the best day to shop and I did very well for myself. I bought a Ralph Lauren denim skirt for $2.49 🙂 (almost new condition) and Ann Taylor (also almost new condition) slacks for $4.29. 🙂 (FYI – When I mention a label, it is with the intent that I would like my readers to know the quality of the merchandise that I am purchasing. 🙂
What this Goodwill lacks in the casual/work dress selection (my favorite department) – it certainly makes up for in every other department.
The women’s’ section is filled with jeans, slacks, blouses, shirts, skirts, jackets and wide selection of coats. They also had a rack with women’s suits that were reasonably priced. I saw Harve Bernard, Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein, Jones of New York amongst others and all in great condition. The men’s section was equally as impressive with a very wide selection of merchandise. The shoe rack was amazing and if you are a women’s size 10 shoe especially, I would definitely check it out – the shoes were all stylish and quite a few (more than usual) were brand new.
I did not see too much art work, but what was out was in decent condition.
The housewares section was extensive with the usual dishes, glassware, etc. What I did score on was a glass percolator for $7.99 (GREAT PRICE) and it had just got in the store a day earlier (Goodwill dates the items for when they came in). I just love percolator coffee from the stovetop; it is absolutely delish in my book.
All in all, I walked out with 2 pairs of pants, 2 skirts, a leopard scarf, a pair of shorts and my percolator for $23.62. Bear in mind I used $5 in Loyalty Points – but I still did brilliantly well and enjoyed my little excursion. I have a feeling that the store was not fully stocked on Sunday, it seems to be in a high traffic area – it had a nice crowd shopping on a Sunday morning. I can’t wait to see it fully stocked. This Good will is definitely worth a return trip or two or three. 🙂
Goodwill
380 Saw Mill River Road
Elmsford, NY 10523
(Westchester County)
914.347.4376
Monday – Sunday 10am-8pm
What Habitat for Humanity does is give people affordable housing among many things. The Habitat for Humanity Restore in New Rochelle helps fund efforts for the Habitat of Humanity of Westchester. Last year Habitat for Humanity along with a multitude of volunteers was acknowledged for turning two formerly foreclosed houses in Yonkers into places to call home for two Iraq War veterans and their families in the newly named Battle Hill neighborhood. Also, Veterans Build is Habitat for Humanity of Westchester’s initiative to provide housing solutions and volunteer and employment opportunities to U.S. Veterans, Military Service Members and their families. What better reason do you need than this to go to this fairly new Restore to shop? Plus these stores were “green” long before it was “cool” to be green and did I say that the prices are reasonable.
According to a recent article in the City Review New Rochelle article — In addition to class offerings, community activism and raising money for a variety of important causes, ReStore hires vulnerable members of the community that have faced challenges, including local veterans and fire victims that have lost their homes, and provides them with an honest way to make a living while giving back to the community.
There is 10,000 (yes 10,000) square feet of retail space and it is filled with everything from furniture, lamps, home décor, appliances and so much more. Some of their stock is from the sets of television shows.
The day that I stopped in they had a magnificent array of dinner wares, housewares, lamps, home décor, art work and so much more. They had shelves and shelves of the housewares. The furniture was in abundance and all in good condition and reasonably priced. I saw some wonderful home accent tables. The furniture at the Restore comes in a wide variety of decors so please go take a look. There is just so much to see, you will be pleasantly surprised at what the ReStore Offers.
Whether you are going off to college, moving into your first apartment or just want to update, this is a definite stop you should make!
Habitat For Humanity of Westchester Restore
659 Main Street
New Rochelle, NY 10801
Phone: (914) 699-2791
Hours: 10AM-7PM Tuesday-Saturday
10AM-4PM Sunday
There is another “Unique Boutique” but this one is in Chelsea and what fun it is. I had previously written about this shop very briefly in Chapter 5 but I thought this shop worthy of going into more depth. I went on a Sunday afternoon and it had quite a few customers perusing the racks and bookshelves. Like the other Unique Boutique on the Upper East Side, this one has quite a bit to offer. If you have the patience, there are some really great finds. And what is the crème de la crème is that there is a Tasti-D-Lite less than a block away. Life doesn’t get much better for me than finding some really great deals at a thrift store 🙂 and then having some of my most favorite frozen yogurt!
There are racks and racks of ladies and men’s clothing with quite the selection. And they have the color coded tag sales so Sunday orange tags were 50% off. I saw all good quality clothes with a wide variety of style and fashion. There was a Michael Kors dress that literally needed maybe 6-8 stitches on a seam marked down to 12.99. They had a very nice dress selection along with a good selection of jeans, skirts and shoes. They had summer clothes in abundance.
The bookshelves are packed and they must have a really good selection, a gentleman had a pile of 8 hardcovers and they were going for $2.00 each and he seemed to be thrilled with his selections and he told me he was only half way done going through the shelves.
The only issue I had was that the men’s suits seem to be priced on the high side; I saw a generic non-label suit that was $54.99 which I thought was a bit overpriced.
I must also mention that the people that run this shop are so nice and professional and ever so helpful.
There are so many great thrift stores in this area; you can spend a whole day in this area visiting them all and enjoy each and every one.
Unique Boutique
402 Third Ave. (between 28 & 29)
New York, NY 10128
212.427.0077
Mon- Sat -10am-9pm
Sunday -11am-8pm
I hope that you are enjoying your summer and until next time, HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!
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 low 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. A zine called “Thrift Score”, published in the 1990s by Ms. Al Hoff, celebrated this lifestyle. Many “resale” shops pull their more interesting items from thrift stores and sell them at higher prices – the premium is because the “digging for gold” has already been done.
This is from Definitions.net – I just thought you would enjoy! 🙂
I always find thrifting much more fun when I am not on the hunt for a particular item. It is because I am going through most racks and I stumble upon pieces that I may have otherwise missed if on a specific hunt. I have also noticed that my wardrobe is becoming much more eclectic and fun because I am mixing traditional with funky or vintage when appropriate. I have received compliments on some of my outfits so it must be working :).
There is a “Unique Boutique” on the Upper East Side that is pleasantly nice. There is a good selection of men and women’s clothes, a decent book selection and the inventory seems to constantly change. They have some housewares and the good news is that they do use the color coded tag system so there are always sales. 🙂
I enjoy this small shop because it is reasonably priced and if you are lucky enough to find items that you like and they are on sale, all the better. They have a great tee shirt section and if you are job hunting and need a suit, the suits are sensibly priced. The shoe selection is not bad and quite often, there are some new shoes on the rack for sale. (I think what happens with shoes is that us lovely ladies buy shoes and then have buyers regret or they are too tight, heel not right, etc. and it is not in the window of returning so we donate 🙂 which works out well for thrifters. 🙂
Unique Boutique
1674 Third Ave
New York, NY 10028
(between 93rd & 94th)
212-427-0077
Mon-Fri: 11 AM- 7 PM
Sat: 10 AM-6 PM
Sun: 11 AM-5 PM
There are two Housing Works that are in the area that are worth a visit;
Housing Works
202 East 77th Street
New York, NY 10021
212-772-8461
Mon-Fri: 11 AM- 7 PM
Sat: 10 AM-6 PM
Sun: 11 AM-5 PM
Closing at 5 pm on July 4th.
Housing Works (Yorkville)
1730 2nd Ave. (at 90th Street)
New York, NY 10128
212-722-8306
Mon-Fri: 11 AM- 7 PM,
Sat: 10 AM-6 PM
Sun: 11AM – 5 PM
Closing at 5 pm on July 4th.
I must say that I favor the 90th Street location as they always seem to have a great inventory (both men’s and women’s) and the prices are reasonable. They seem to jam pack some great finds in this smaller space. I think that this is most definitely worth a visit. The 77th Street is also worth a visit.
I tried to capture the 77th Street windows above – Housing Works does a great job on their windows.
Have a safe and wonderful July 4th holiday and until next time, HAPPY SHOPPING!!
If you are into repurposing furniture or like DIY projects, no better place to start than the flea market.
You can turn a $25 coffee table into a repurposed center piece. Find items to create one-of-a-kind wall décor and repurpose furniture to give your home an inexpensive makeover. Just watch “Flea Market Flip” on HGTV. I have gotten so many decorating ideas from that show and they demonstrate great ways to repurpose many different types of items. It is a great show and I highly recommend especially if you are handy and like DIY projects.
With that in mind, let me tell you about a GREAT flea market I visited last weekend;
GreenFlea Market on Columbus Ave between 76th and 77th Street
About GreenFlea:
The market is made possible through the support of the NYC Department of Education. The proceeds from the GreenFlea Market benefits four public schools: PS 87, The Computer School, PS 334 (Anderson Program) and PS 452.
Money generated by the market is used by the Parents Association to provide enrichment opportunities for the schools. Since 1985 GreenFlea has provided the schools with more than $7,000,000.
I really enjoy going to GreenFlea. There is just so much to see and browse through. Absolutely anything and everything that you can imagine and then some. Jewelry, clothing – new and vintage, accessories, antiques, lighting, vinyl records, soaps, candles, too much to list. And as an added bonus, they have awesome noshes while you are there. You must go to the right when you go in and have a piece of spinach pie, baklava, mini mushroom pastry or any of the delicious treats they are selling – the prices are more than reasonable and the food is absolutely scrumptious. The mini spinach pastry ($1.50 each) was almost sold out by 12:30pm and the flea market opened at 10am. And they have a whole space indoors that you should also check out.
One in particular vendor that I loved the merchandise was Latifs Designs. He has the most beautiful lighting fixtures and chandeliers, both traditional and a bit funky. I fell in love with them all.
The jewelry is unique and there are many different types from ethnic to funky and so many unique designs so you are sure to get noticed. You will never find your run of the mill items at GreenFlea. The antiques are extraordinary (or they were when I was there) and they also carry a few modern pieces.
The merchandise for the most part is above average. What I like most about GreenFlea is that they actually have an approval process for a vendor which includes submitting a bill of sale for designer merchandise. All counterfeits and knockoffs are prohibited. They even have a moratorium on items so the market is not repetitive. I have been going for years and I loved it back then and I still love it now.
GreenFlea
100 West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024 Text: 212-239-3025
Sunday: 10am – 5:30pm www.greenfleamarkets.com
While we are on the subject of flea markets, here are a few others that you must visit:
Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market
39th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues
Sunday: 9am – 5pm (weather permitting)
Chelsea Market
It is on the uptown Side of West 25th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue,
(Near The Flatiron Building, Eataly, and Madison Square Park).
9am–6pm
Every Saturday & Sunday, year-round (weather permitting)
Chelsea Market and the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market is most definitely worth a visit –you can spend hours just looking at some of the items on sale here. Even if you don’t buy anything, I can guarantee that you will have a blast just browsing. Again, lots of unique and interesting items just like GreenFlea. I particularly love checking out the vintage jewelry especially brooches. I just love brooches; they dress up everything, a denim jacket, that little black dress, so many different ways to dress up any outfit.
$1 admissionat both
I would have loved to recommend the Antiques Garage as my most favorite flea market in the city, but unfortunately, it closed last June after twenty years. I found so many unique items there; I will treasure them more now that it is closed. I am sure some of you remember it.
Now let me get back on track;
While I was at GreenFlea, my next stop was Housing Works on Columbus Avenue. We all know how much I love Housing Works but this one was insane on the day I was there and it was early in the day. It was jam-packed and there was quite a selection of furniture. I thought that the furniture was reasonably priced but the housewares were a bit overpriced. You could barely get by the racks of clothes so many people were browsing. I am not sure if it always that crowded or if the gorgeous weather had something to do with it. J But I am sure that the furniture I saw is sold and long gone.
Just a FYI – Housing Works has membership packages – here are just two —– (please check the website for exact information and other membership packages).
$60 Friend membership gets you 10% off books at the Bookstore Café, a Housing Works tote bag and other special perks.
$120 Advocate gets you all the above plus special member discounts and 25% off on Sundays (exclusions apply). (That could explain the large crowd on Sunday.)
Housing Works
306 Columbus Ave. (At 74th Street)
New York, NY 10023
212.579.7566
Mon-Fri: 10am-7pm
Sat: 10am-6pm
Sun: 11am-5pm
Right nearby are not one, but two Goodwill stores;
The West 79th Street store is small and I think clothes are the specialty here. Nice variety and setup well for a small space. Being this is spring cleaning season, now may be the time to go. I have seen some beautiful suits, dresses, jeans on the rack and the pricing for the most part was reasonable. The housewares get an honorable mention here.
Goodwill West 79th Street
217 West 79th Street
New York, NY 10024
212.874.5050
Monday-Wednesday: 9am-8pm
Thursday-Saturday: 9am-9pm
Sunday: 10am-8pm
The West 72nd Street store has only two dressing rooms which can be a pain when there is line of people waiting BUT I do like the clothes selection here and I thought the dress section was above average although the pricing a bit steep for certain brands. I thought it had an excellent men’s section. This shop is definitely worth a trip.
Goodwill West 72nd Street
157 W 72nd St
New York, NY 10069
212.799.2723
Monday-Wednesday: 9am-8pm
Thursday-Saturday: 9am-9pm
Sunday: 10am-8pm
When you find a thrift store that you like, make sure that you sign up for their email notifications and like their Facebook page when available, it is a great way to find out about sales and promotions and even see a preview of merchandise . And if you are very lucky, an occasional coupon!!
I thought I would cut right to the chase today and let you know about an abundance of thrift shops on 23rd Street and the surrounding area. Sort of like a pub crawl but for thrift shops. 🙂
There is such a great array – City Opera, Cauz for Pawz, Housing Works, Vintage Thrift (off 23rd St.), Unique Boutique (3rd Ave and 29th), Goodwill and Salvation Army.
So here we go;
City Opera Thrift Shop
222 E 23rd St
New York, NY 10010
212.684.5344
Mon-Wed-Fri – 10am-7pm
Thursday 10am-8pm
Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 11am-6pm
You have to love City Opera; it is a great thrift shop with lots of character. It has high quality clothing and not at exorbitant prices. They have a wonderful women’s selection with lots of dressy styles (fun to browse through) and I have seen some top brand men’s shirts/suits at reasonable prices. Upstairs is the artwork, books and assorted items. The costume jewelry is always fun to look at in the front of the store and you can find great buys in the shoe department if you are lucky. As far as furniture, I have seen some extraordinary furniture but it is gone as fast as it comes in. Join their Facebook page so you can see when they are having special events which are worth going to. City Opera is one not to miss!!!
Cauz for Pawz
212 E 23rd St
New York, NY 10010
212.684.7299 www.cauzforpawz.com
Mon-Fri – 10am–8pm
Sun – 11am-7pm
Cauz for Pawz provides animal welfare organizations, rescue and no kill shelters with financial funds and supplies – they host animal adoption events and even run a community pet food pantry for animals in need. What is their not to love about this – I definitely want to help this cause!
They have two floors with the better quality clothing upstairs and the big markdowns downstairs. The housewares are downstairs as well as well as the majority of shoes. They have a fine selection of costume jewelry in the front of the shop and they are having a 20% off sale on it from May 8 – 10th just in time for Mother’s Day. PSA – the elevator is a bit rickety but don’t worry J.
I like this Housing Works (I like all Housing Works). The clothes are great – both a men and women’s section with a good variety and a nice sized shoe department with bags and accessories. They have a decent book section and I have never seen housewares jump off the shelves like this Housing Works so there always seems to be a limited supply. They have a sale rack which is worth going through and as in most thrift stores on 23rd Street; furniture has a short “shelf life”. The window displays are always fun to look at but the items are only available through auction. Another not to miss!
Vintage Thrift
286 3rd Ave. (between 2nd and 3rd)
New York, NY
212.871.0777 http://www.vintagethriftshop.org/
Mon – Thur – 10:30am-8pm
Friday – 10:30am until dusk
Sun – 11am-7pm
Saturday – Closed
Purchases from the Vintage Shop benefit the United Jewish Council of the East Side which operates three senior centers. They have also developed and now manage 170 units of low income, elderly and special needs amongst many other programs. I salute UJC for helping the senior citizen population.
The sales here are great when they have them and it is just so much fun to browse through this shop. The displays are charming and have been set up quite nicely. There is just so much to see. I think that there are some great finds to be had here. Vintage Thrift – Another definitely not to miss!!!
Unique Boutique
402 Third Ave. (between 28 & 29)
New York, NY 10128
212.427.0077
Mon – Sat – 10am–9pm
Sunday – 11am-8pm
This is a great shop just have a little patience. Sweet book selection – the hardcovers are $2 and the paperbacks $1 with some new releases (obviously they don’t last long). The clothes selection is good but not extensive. They carry some good name brands but look over the clothes closely before purchasing. I think this is one of those places where you may find that “buy” but it will take a little work. The prices are reasonable and it is definitely worth a trip especially if you are in the neighborhood.
Goodwill
220 E 23rd St
New York, NY 10010
212.447.7270
Mon – Sat – 9am-9pm
Sunday – 10am – 6pm
Salvation Army
206 East 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010
212.532.8115
Mon, Tues, Thur and Friday – 10am-6pm
Wed and Sat – 10am-7pm
Sun Closed
The Salvation Army operates over 7,475 centers in communities across the United States. These include food distribution, disaster relief, rehabilitation centers, anti-human trafficking efforts, and a wealth of children’s programs. Their work is funded through kettle donations, corporate contributions, and the sale of goods donated to our Salvation Army Family Stores. Eighty-two cents of every dollar we spend supports various missions across the country.
I will touch upon this Goodwill and Salvation Army briefly.
I like this Goodwill and Salvation Army, I do — but you really have to go through the racks to find something. I just don’t seem to have much luck clothing-wise in this Goodwill although I have found a few nice things in the housewares section and very reasonably priced. I will say both have decent tee-shirt sections and both have vintage tees at times which are fun. FYI – This Salvation Army does not have a dressing room. I will say this about both stores – they both have heavy foot traffic and always have long lines at checkout so there is some good merchandise to be had and they are cheaper than the others on the block but the quality is not always as good.
PLEASE NOTE – all constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated and let me know if there is a specific shop in mind you would like to know about!!
ToniOnThrifting 