ToniOnThrifting

ToniOnThrifting – Thrift Shopping Made Simple

Tag: Goodwill

17th St in NYC and some vintage! — April 20, 2015

17th St in NYC and some vintage!

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Welcome back!

While doing my spring cleaning I looked at my “finds” and I realized that I have a few top quality pieces that I otherwise would not have had but for my “eagle eye” in thrift stores.

I have been to some thrift stores where I gasp at the prices and I walk into some thrift stores and do a little victory dance 🙂 it all depends on how you look at it. Me personally, I do not need a Dolce and Gabbana tee-shirt that is normally $275 for $39 – but for some, that is their spectacular buy and I get it and totally respect it. 🙂

At the Goodwill in New Rochelle I talked about in my last post, I bought a Tory Burch summer dress for $29.99  (not on sale) – it wasn’t because it was Tory Burch but rather black which is my favorite clothing color (I know, I know) and it fit perfectly. But I think it had more to do with luck — they had just restocked the racks a couple of hours earlier. Please don’t be discouraged by this, you will find some great buys just not every trip. I tend to stick with familiar brands that are a good fit rather than “label” shopping. And you never know, you might find that extraordinary piece or label you always wanted while looking.

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You can spend days and days in the city going to all the “major” thrift shops let alone some smaller ones that aren’t even on the radar yet.  I have always found the city thrift shops although pricier have a much wider variety of style and fashion trends. If vintage is your niche, the city is the place to find the best selection of vintage whether through thrift, consignment or vintage stores. Vintage stores like Screaming Mimi’s, No Relation Vintage and Vice Versa are all absolutely amazing and I think three of the TOP RATED vintage stores in the city. I promise any one of these stores will be a shopping experience you will thoroughly enjoy.

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Screaming Mimi’s
http://www.Screammingmimis.com
382 Lafayette St.
New York, NY 10003
212-677-6464
Monday-Saturday 12-8pm
Sunday 1-7pm

Vice Versa
http://www.viceversavintage.com
241 Bedford Ave
Brooklyn, New York
718-782-8847
Monday-Thursday 1-8pm
Friday-Saturday 12-10pm
Sunday 12-8pm

No Relation Vintage
http://www.ltrainvintage.com
204 First Ave.
New York, NY 10009
212-228-5201
Sunday-Thursday 12-8pm
Friday-Saturday 12-9pm

Please note that Vice Versa and No Relation have multiple locations.

I digressed but I do hope that you enjoy this information.

I thought about how I will handle all the thrift shops in the city and I thought that geographically would be best. After all, if I tell you about Angel Street (which I will today) I should also focus on the thrift stores in the near vicinity.

About Angel Street, the proceeds benefit the innovative programs of the Lower East Side Service Center. The LESC is dedicated to improving the lives individuals and families affected by substance abuse, HIV/Aids and mental illness. Kudos to Angel Street. I enjoy telling you who benefits from the proceeds of thrift stores so you know who are ultimately helping. 🙂

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Angel Street is one of my favorite thrift shops in the city. I find the BEST accessories in Angel Street. They have such a great selection and all reasonably priced. They have headbands (I use them to cover the greys 🙂 in between salon appts), earrings, necklaces, brooches, hair pins, you name it.  They have great furniture and home décor but it never ever lasts very long. The clothes are little pricey but all great brands and good quality and a respectable selection. They have shoes and handbags but again, the items in Angel Street have a generally short “shelf life” so if you fall in love with something, buy it.  It is just so much fun to browse around Angel Street; it is definitely worth a visit and the selections will be different each time.

Angel Street Thrift Shop
118 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10111
212.229.0546
http://www.angelstreetthrift.org/about.html
Monday-Friday: 11AM-7PM
Saturday: 10AM-7PM
Sunday: 12–5PM

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Housing Works is another great thrift shop. There are numerous Housing Works scattered throughout the city. They have a Bookstore Café downtown that is such a fun place to go alone or meet friends. It is a NYC institution. In Brooklyn, the have a $25  “BUY THE BAG” shop (we all know how much I love this type of sale) and it is known as “thrifters paradise”. I will treat each Housing Works separately as each has its own “personality”.  This is another organization supporting those in need.

The mission statement — Housing Works is a healing community of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Our mission is to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS through relentless advocacy, the provision of lifesaving services, and entrepreneurial businesses that sustain our efforts.

This particular Housing Works that I am addressing is right down the block from Angel Street and another not to be missed. It has a lot in common with Angel Street in that most items have a very short shelf life. I absolutely love their jewelry selection. I bought a pretty crystal necklace for $19.99 last year and I always get compliments when I wear it. I am sure that it is worth triple what I paid. Because both these shops are popular and there is a lot of foot traffic so the shelves/racks are constantly being replenished. I can guarantee that every visit will have all new selections. The furniture barely gets there before a “sold” sticker is slapped on. The clothes fly off the shelves and the housewares/books disappear as fast.  It is worth going just to experience. FYI – The window items are only available through auction.

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Housing Works
157 East 23rd St.
York, NY 10010
212.529.5955
http://www.housingworks.org/locations/detail/gramercy-thrift-shop/
Mon-Fri: 10 AM- 7 PM,
Sat: 10AM-6PM,
Sun: 12-6PM

I will tell you all about 23rd St in my next blog – so many options – all good!

So until next time, HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!

Toni’s Thoughts on Thrift Shopping (And The Beginning of Her Dream Blog) — March 29, 2015

Toni’s Thoughts on Thrift Shopping (And The Beginning of Her Dream Blog)

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Welcome to my blog on thrift shopping. I have been dreaming about writing this blog for a very, very long time and I am excited to finally be starting it. Please bear with me as I am new to blogging so this will be a learning experiece. Thanks in advance.

I thoroughly enjoy shopping in thrift stores. I have spent countless hours in numerous Goodwill, Salvation Army, and many, many other various thrift shops and consignment shops (although I do favor the thrift shop over the consignment shop).

The thrill of finding that little black dress that I otherwise would never have been able to afford and those occasional trendy pieces that I normally would never even think of purchasing are pure enjoyment to me (yes, one of life’s pleasures for me). There are so many things that I have learned from my countless excursions and from talking to other “thrifters”. I will never claim to be an expert; just an overenthusiastic thrift shopper who loves learning how to get the best buys. I hope that you enjoy my blog and find some interesting bits of information that you can use.

In later blogs, I will share my favorite thrift shops with you but for now, I hope to share some useful information with you.

Thrift shopping has changed over the last few years due to the recession. More and more people are using consignment shops for their designer clothing and accessories so that has cut into thrift shopping quite a bit. Also, websites like Tradesy (www.tradesy.com) are making it easy to buy and sell designer clothes and handbags at competitive consignment prices. Not to mention Facebook has many groups in your area where you can buy and sell clothes, accessories, household and many other items online. Times are tough for many and people are looking to make some extra money to help with the bills, that is totally understandable. But don’t worry; there are still plenty of bargains to find and plenty of places to find them.

I have visited countless places in Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester County and lower Connecticut. I will try and include websites and addresses/phone numbers wherever possible.

The first thing that I must emphasize is that you cannot go thrift shopping in a rush. Patience is the key and the most important factor when thrift shopping. You must take the time to look and most importantly, inspect, inspect and inspect again. You can find an amazing piece of clothing but if it has a stain that won’t come out or a tear that can’t be repaired, it is just wasted money and then you are defeating the purpose. The same goes for household, what might look good from far away may have chips or cracks that can’t be repaired and wont look good on that shelf/furniture in your home. The dish set in the box may say eight dishes but upon inspecting the contents, you find mismatched pieces. I have found some pretty spectacular home furnishings and décor in my travels and the best part is that most of them are unusual and end up being conversation pieces.

While in a thrift store in Connecticut, I learned the best piece of advice from another shopper. She and her husband went through the departments/racks that they were interested in and then pulled the clothes that they were considering and put them in a shopping cart. They then went to the back of the store in a quiet corner and inspected and I mean thoroughly inspected each piece of clothing to make sure that it was in good shape and worth the asking price. What impressed me most was the fact that her husband helped and really seemed to be into it. They were both happy and animated when they were talking to me and eager to share their thoughts. I wish that I got their names; they definitely deserve a shout out and lots of thanks.

You must also be open-minded. You are not going to find items that you like every time but you can use the time to find out which stores are carrying things that are in “tune” with your life and style. You pretty much know what name brands fit you well and look good and that also makes it easier when thrift shopping.

Much more to share so until next time!