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 :).

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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. 🙂

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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;

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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.

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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!!