I love Goodwill and Savers and similar thrift stores. I actively try not to go to any Salvation Army thrift stores for fear I will want to buy something there. If you don’t understand why I would avoid the S.A., all you need to do is read the following:
Now why would I spend money at the Salvation Army when there are other organizations that do just as much good without spending any of the money on anything related to religion?
This post isn’t about my aversion to the Salvation Army, though. It’s about how great shopping at thrift stores is.
I recently was hired as a financial contractor for a big company. I’m not exactly sure what the dress code is going to be – the people I met on my interview were a little more casual than I expected. Nevertheless, I’m going to need to dress more professionally than I’m used to. That means I needed to go shopping.
Where did I go? I went to Goodwill. Goodwill is awesome for professional clothing – as long as you are willing to look and try a lot on, you can find loads of button-down shirts, skirts, dress pants, and even blazers or suit coats. There are even entire suits available, although none of the available ones fit me today.
I went to four different stores today starting with Goodwill. I spent $35.92 at Goodwill for 8 items – 4 button-down shirts, a pair of nice pants (that are long enough to wear heels with… this never happens for less than $50, yet I only spent $5?), two short sleeved shirts that I can wear to work and a casual shirt that I happened to like.
Then I went to TJ Maxx and spent over $70. What did I get? Two pairs of shoes and a $6 blow-up floaty thing for my niece and nephew (it’s shaped like a dinosaur/Nessy/Minne). One of these pairs of shoes are professional-ish (Bandolino Xarby flats… for $35!). The other pair is just an example of how much I love shoes.
Finally I went to Target where I managed to find two skirts that fit me (oddly and annoyingly, one is a size 8 and the other is a size 4 – different brands). I also bought some pantyhose because those are rather necessary. I spent $50.
Shall we review? Goodwill: $35 for 8 items; TJ Maxx: $71 for 3 items; Target: $50 for 3 items.
Clearly shopping at Goodwill is a good idea, particularly if you can’t afford to spend $500 on your professional wardrobe.
My favorite find of today? A $90 Ann Taylor silk shirt with tags still on it. I paid $3.49. I probably won’t be wearing it until fall (long-sleeved and rather a fall color), but do thrift store finds get better than that?
amandatheatheist 
In NS we have these little thrift stores that we all call “Frenchy’s”. Same idea, cheap everything, awesome finds, tons of old ladies ripping good stuff out of your hands, lol. We haven’t got them here in AB and I miss them dearly.
I really dislike how different brands have different ways of sizing. Long ago I switched to only wearing Levi’s, yes they are more expensive but they last and I like the way the fit and hard to find good, comfortable jeans for a man who is 6’8″.
As far as Salvation Army goes, I avoid for the reason that they are very discriminatory in their practices.