I'm gonna pop some tags...

"Thrift Shop" - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

This song completely tickles me and the video's just perfect (bar the wearing of fur coats, of course). Be warned though, it's a little explicit so best kept out of range of younger ears.

As a self-confessed Thrift Store Junkie (get it???), I might just have found my theme tune. Mind you, if this song gets too popular then maybe everyone will start hitting the thrift stores, darn! They already seem to have become much more popular in recent years, which I count as a good thing from a recycling and less obsessive consumerist standpoint, except for the fact it's pushing up prices and often I can't find anything because it's already been so picked over.

I'm all in favour of recycling - much moreso than for avid and unnecessary spending and 'buying into' relentless commercialism that endeavours to convince us we should keep buying, accumulating more 'stuff', snatch up the latest-and-greatest and spend silly money on things just because of the hype and brand/designer name associated with it - or, worse still, because it's what all the 'celebs' are gushing over. Next thing you know it's getting thrown away once the next model comes out.

Thankfully I'm proudly lacking any overwhelming desire to consume for the sake of it or to load up my wallet with a multitude of store/credit cards. I never spend beyond my means and don't even like having a balance on my Visa at the end of the month. I've religiously paid what I owe, as long as I could afford it. Admittedly there have been times I just couldn't, such as unexpected veterinary bills or needing to spread out the cost of a UK flight, but for the most part, my credit card is there for emergencies only and booking holidays.

Shopping at thrift stores (or second-hand/charity shops as we'd call them in England - and they're generally set out much nicer than their dumpier, sticky-carpet, musty-smelling canadian counterparts) is my secret and guilty pleasure - tinged with utter excitement and an awkward, underlying element of shame all at the same time. You just never know what treasures or bargains you might find - and I've had some incredible deals before now that left me with a real 'shopper's high' - but for me, even though I've shopped at thrift stores on and off for many years, there's nevertheless a latent nervousness that I'll bump into someone I know or, worse still, work with. I don't know why I carry such fear of being found out, since I'm secretly proud of recycling, saving money and getting a fabulous outfit for under $50. Besides, I've been a poor student, a poor single person trying to afford rent (not always easy, especially at Vancouver prices!!!) and unemployed more than once - so I know what it's like to really have to penny-pinch without looking like a complete bum. Oddly enough it's more often than not the items I've purchased second-hand that garnish more compliments than those I bought new. Go figure!

I suspect any niggling inner shame stems from childhood, when less popular, scruffier kids suffered the relentless jeering of their peers for having bought their clothes, shoes, sports bag etc. from Oxfam as if it was the scabby equivalent to having dragged them straight from the garbage or off a dead body. Similarly I've worked with people who are all about the labels and always ask exactly where you bought something rather than just complimenting you. There's only a very select few to whom I might own up and proudly admit that I got it on consigment for $15 or at a thrift store for next to nothing. Besides, not everyone needs to know! If someone thinks I look a million dollars, even though I know the outfit is something I got for a steal, I'm certainly not going to burst their bubble now am I?

"Who loves ya, Baby?" We did! I wonder if this
game ever came with lollipops.

Somewhere during my teenage years I certainly had my phase of thinking second-hand was tacky and 'scavvy' (UK slang for scavenging/begging) though I remember my mum sometimes taking us to second-hand stores as kids to get bits and pieces for our school uniforms, my first pair of ice-skates and even some of our favourite board games were ones she'd picked up at Grimsby's well-known 'Parkins Second Hand'; Kojak, Payday, Star Trek to name a few. Just looking at these pictures gives me a pang of nostalgia and homesickness.

The board game no-one else had ever heard of,
not where we grew up anyway.

Star Trek board game ca. 1975
(complete with rubbery blurg)

(In fact, when I last went back to England on my own (Oct. 2010), my Mum and I had a lovely time mooching around the many charity shops of Louth and Grimsby. I always get a kick out of listening to the chit-chat of the little old ladies that work in them and want to adopt them all as my grandma.)

Anyhooo, not to sound like an old whinge-bag but I find stores charge far too much for clothes that often self-destruct after the first wear/wash. I've bought $70 sweaters that turned bobbley after one wear, $150 and $1,500 coats whose buttons literally fell off in my hand, paid good money for shoes that soon split or leak and purchased nice wine-glasses that broke if you so much as looked in their general direction.

So high-street purchase frustrations aside, thrift store/consignment shopping definitely appeals to the more careful (i.e. frugal) side of my nature. Not only that, but popping tags at a thrift store means I can afford to change/re-stock my closet as often as I like, for next to nothing and, if I buy something I later change my mind about, it doesn't bother me so much because I didn't spend much on it in the first place. I usually just re-donate it to thrift. Unless my sister wants it, such as the lovely figure-flattering faux-wrap dress that I bought for $8.99 but later decided its colour was just a bit too dark for my colouring but it works perfectly with her skin tone and hair colour. (I'm fair skinned, reddish-brown hair, she's dark-haired with more olive skin....hence we are rarely assumed to be sisters.)

Mind you, I should clarify that being frugal or thrifty definitely doesn't mean I'm cheap. Quite the opposite - if I have money, then I'm happy to spend it, enjoy it and be generous though I'm by no means spendthrift. Cheap, in my mind, would imply I buy everything thrift, compromising quality/fit/suitability just for the sake a cheap price tag. Noooo, I'm quite fastidious in what I look for and very discerning of quality, fabric, fit, age-appropriateness and colour etc. I'm very picky about my bargains and getting value for money - even at a thrift store.

According to Wikipedia: Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance.

In behavioral science, frugality has been defined as the tendency to acquire goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourceful use of already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal.

Common strategies of frugality include the reduction of waste, curbing costly habits, suppressing instant gratification by means of fiscal self-restraint, seeking efficiency, avoiding traps, defying expensive social norms, embracing cost-free options, using barter, and staying well-informed about local circumstances and both market and product/service realities.

One of the major considerations for successful thrift store shopping is in knowing where to draw the line. You can certainly look stunning for under $30 but, make the wrong choices, and you can just as easily end up looking like a badly-packed kit bag or worse. It's really up to you. There's no point fighting your way into a shrunken/bobbley sweater just because it says cashmere on the label, or sporting tight, half-mast jeans simply because they're designer label. A fantastic shirt isn't such an awesome deal when it's sporting a stain down the front (unless you want to take a chance on it washing out). I won't buy a cheap lemon-yellow top that's in mint condition and fits perfectly when the colour looks bleedin' hideous on me. I've come close, I won't deny that, but at the end of the day, just because it's cheap doesn't mean you should buy it. Similarly, just because it fits, doesn't necessarily mean it's appropriate. I've tried on some fabulous party outfits....that would be perfect if I was 22 and hanging out at clubs on Granville Street every Saturday night. Which I'm not....and not.....so I know to leave those for someone else....about half my age.

Nor do I sacrifice quality just for a low price, unless it's an easy fix. I'm not going to spend money (all $5 to $10 of it) on a nice purse if the lining's all torn up and the shoulder strap's frayed, nor will I invest in a brand new Samsonite suitcase for $10 when it's evident some disgruntled kitty has peed in it. (Cat-pee isn't quite the duty-free Eau de Parfum I'm going for when travelling.) Even a discounted 'as-is' price isn't so attractive when the item is broken, worn out or just plain stinky.

That said, even at thrift stores I've noticed prices have definitely gone up over the past few years. Tops that used to average $3.99 are now almost double that. I've bought great jeans for $6.99 but some go for $14.99 or even as high as $29. Boots that were once below $10/pair now frequently range between $15 and $40 and it's not unusual to see a tag of $12.99 on a small handbag, compared to $5.99 just a couple of years ago. But for the most part you can still score some incredible deals, you just need the time and patience to pick through while closing your eyes/ears to some of the freakier characters that often hang out at thrift stores. Or, for those in the UK, the same wierdo's who climb in your car the moment open your trunk (i.e. boot) at a 'Car Boot Sale' only to grab at your stuff before it's even unpacked and begin arguing you down to 10 pence for a pair of pants because there's a button missing! Yes, I speak from bitter experience.

So there are some days where I realize much of what I'm wearing was 'pre-owned' (with the strict exception of underwear - even I definitely draw the line there!) and yet the whole get-up probably cost me less than $50 total, accessories included. (I never could justify the $200 t-shirts at Holt Renfrew or a poncey Louis Vuitton wallet.....not least because I hate the over-priced and overt snobbiness of Holt Renfrew anyway and think the LV design of Louis Vuitton is just plain ugly.) And there's a part of me that sometimes wonders about a second-hand item's previous life - who owned it, where did it come from originally, what was that person's story, had it changed hands before that and who might get it after me? Imagine you followed the life story of, say, a great pair of jeans, shoes, even an armchair or the wordly travels of a suitcase. The tales they could tell, I'm sure. Anyhow, I digress....

If you have the time and inclination you could easily go scouring the thrift stores, garage sales etc. to snap up items and then sell them on to a consignment store or on Craigslist/Ebay. I've definitely seen clothes, purses etc. on sale in a consignment store that I know I'd seen in a local thrift shop the week before, for a fraction of their freshly-inflated price. But that's if you can be bothered to go to that extent - you'd definitely keep yourself busy, but I'm not sure there's all that much money in it. Besides life's too short to tolerate obnoxious consignment store staff, scowling at you with palpable disdain as they profess, "we're already over-stocked for the coming season" - which really translates as; "Why you bring me this shit? I don't like your face. Get out of my sight." Even when you take brand new and very decent stuff to them, however 5 mins perusing their rails will show you a bunch of clothes in way mankier condition than those you just tried to drop off. I've long-since given up trying to consign for those very reasons. 

Anyway, since this posting is already getting waaayyyy too long, I thought I'd wrap up by including a few pics of some of my recent finds - though I'm not convinced the photos do them much justice.

I believe this was $5.99

These dresses actually look great on
but I don't have any pics. Just $8.99 each.

These boots are brand new, super-comfortable & stylish.
What more could you ask for, especially at $9.99? 

A couple of lovely shirts from MEXX - waiting
for the weather to get a bit warmer. ($6.99/ea)

My $6.99 fabulous-find jeans -The perfect fit!
And guess what? I look freakin' awesome in them :-)

While I never ever used to buy footwear 2nd-hand (for foot
hygiene reasons) I've scored some great boots/shoes for
between $5 and $15.

Sequined purses - perfect for money, lipstick, ID and keys.
($2.99/ea)

These bags/purses look much nicer in real life but perhaps a little
garish in these pics. Both Aldo and in perfect condition, $6-$8.

And to prove it's not all about clothes & shoes, here's a
great little sequined jewellery box I scored for $3.99. I'd been
looking for one just to keep on the bedside table - perfect!