Thrifting Lately...

So I have been doing some thrift shopping lately and have found some pretty neat little trinkets! I'll be sure to do a haul soon to show anyone whose interested, but in the meantime I just wanted to talk a little bit about thrift shopping.

Where I live we have a bunch of little thrift stores/consignment shops/antique malls where you can find just about anything you want for less than $100, most things being less than $10! My first thrift find was when I went on a daytrip with some friends to an artsy village about an hour away from where I live. We found a vintage Samsonite luggage set for only $58! Since there were 5 pieces in the set, I bought the smallest (which I now use as a makeup holder since it has a little mirror in it) and the largest (I travel a lot). One friend took the second largest and the other took the two in the middle. So far, that's been my proudest thrifting moment ^_^ I also love buying books and movies from thrift stores; I once found "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" for only two bucks!

Some people are grossed out by thrifting, but when you think about it, just because someone else didn't want something or just because it's used, doesn't mean it's not good! I've found articles of clothing at thrift stores that I would otherwise have to look endlessly on Topshop or Nastygal to find...for $50 more! I consider it a shopaholic's dirty little secret. I spend around 90% less for something that is generally in mint condition; I'm just very cautious to look out for stains or anything broken/missing, like a button or a ripped seam.

Today, I went with my grandpa and found a lovely rose headband, a pair of vintage earrings, and a book about Feng Shui. I spent around $5 ^_^ The way I look at it, I don't need to buy new jewelery from stores like Forever 21 or Claire's because I might not like it or need it anymore after a few weeks, so I'd rather pay the smaller price for the most interesting/staple piece even though it's not new. Here's a list of things I almost always shop for when thrifting:

-clothes (again, no stains, missing/broken items)
-books
-movies
-jewelery

Sometimes I find really interesting furniture or home decor as well, but I don't need any of it since I'm moving in about a year to LA.

One last thing - there are so many cute vintage pieces or trinkets at thrift stores that you just don't find anywhere else. I love polaroids, and although I don't buy them, I always see around ten polaroid cameras lying around, and it makes me happy knowing they exist. Maybe I'm an old soul, but I love looking at things from the 30's and 60's. I like to imagine what life was like back then, and thrifting usually turns into a day-long adventure for my sister and I with some educational benefits lodged in the day as well. It's great bonding time for us and also a great time to learn some cultural history.

xoxo
The Angie Diaries